The British EmPire
The British Empíre was at its largest and most
powerful around 1920, when about 25% of the
world's population lived under British rule and over
a quarter of the land in the world belonged to Brítain'
It was said that it was an empire 'on which the sun
never sets'.
The building of the EmPire
The growth of'the British Empire was at first the
resuli of competition among European nations,
especially Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands, for new areas in which to trade and new
sources of raw materials. Explorers visited the
Americas and the Far East, and in the 16th century
trading companies, such as the Dutch and English
*East lndia Companies, were set up. Many colonies
(= places taken over by a foreign country and
settled by people from that country) began as
trading centres, or were founded to protect a trade
route, and were run for the profit of the mother
country. Some colonies were founded by people
trying to make a new life for themselves, others
were originally penal colonies (= places where
people were sent as a Punishment).
Britain gained its first foreign possessions in the
late 1Sth century. Newfoundland, now part of
*Canada, was claimed for England in 1497 - Canada
itself was won in 1763 after war with the French.
During the 17th and lBth centuries colonies were
established on the east coast of North America,
including *Plymouth Colony founded by the
*Pilgrim Fathers. ln the 1770s people in the
American colonies became angry with Britain,
mainly because of taxes they had to pay. This
*American Revolution and later the
resulted in the
independence of the United States'
The wealthiest area in the early days of empire
was the *West lndies because of money made
from sugar cane and tobacco. Britain's colonies
*Antigua and *Montserrat and
included *Barbados,
*Jamaica. Later; other islands were added' *Slaves
were brought to the West lndies from Africa to work
in the plantations. The slave trade was abolished
(= ended) in the British Empire in 1807, though
slavery did not end in the West lndies until 1838.
*tndia was controlled for many years by the
wealthy English East lndia Company. After the
Company expanded into Bengal, the British Government began to see lndia as important politically and
took a greater interest in the territory. Roads and
railways were built to make trade easier and
improve contact with more remote districts, a
Governor-General was put in charge, and British
*civil servants and troops were sent to the region.
*Australia, discovered for Britain by Captain
*Cook, was first settled as a penal colony. The first
*Botany Bay in
prisoners and their guards reached
1788. Originally there were six colonies, including
New South Wales and Tasmania, but in 1901 these
*New
joined together and became a federation.
Zealand became a colonY in 1840.
From 1801 the expanding empire was managed
from London by the Colonial Office. District
officers and civil servants were sent out to àdminister
the colonies on behalf of Britain. Regular imperial
conferences were held in Britain to discuss
matters of general concern, such as trade, defence
and foreign policY.
Expansion
The second period of empire-building took place in
the late 19th century. At that time Britain was one
of the leading economic and political powers in the
world, and wanted to protect her interests and also
increase her international influence by obtaining
new lands. lt was also thought by some people to
be a matter of moral obligation and destiny to run
poore[ less advanced countries and to pass on
European culture to the native inhabitants. This
-Kipling called 'the *white man's
was what Rudyard
burden'.
*Hong Kong was important both for trade with
China and for strategic (= po'litical and military)
reasons, and became a British colony in 1842' lt
later became an important business centre.
*lndian Mutiny, lndia was
ln 1858, following the
placed under the direct control of the British Government and a viceroy replaced the Governor-General.
British influence in lndia had expanded from a few
.Rai (= British rule)' lndia
trading stations into the
brought Britain great wealth and strategic advantage,
*jewel in the crown' of the
and was called 'the
Empire. Local lndian rulers were allowed to remain
in power provided they were loyal to the viceroy.
Many British people spent years working in India
as civil servants, engineers, police officers, etc.
and took their families with them. By about 1880
the British in lndia had developed a distinct lifestyle
*Forster's A*Passage
which is described in E M
*Scott's
The . Rai Quartet.
to tndia and Paul
ln Africa, the Gape of Good Hope was important to Britain because it was on the sea route to
lndia. lt was bought from the Boers in 1815, and
British settlers went out to live there alongside the
Boers. There were many problems between them
and in 1836 the Boers left to found the Orange
Free State, Transvaal and Natal. ln 1889 Cecil
*Rhodes formed the British South Africa Company
which took over land further north in what came to
*Boer
be called Rhodesia. ln 1910, after the second
War; the Cape, Natal, the Transvaal and Orange
Free State formed the Union of South Africa'
Between about 1870 and 1900 Britain, Belgium,
France, ltaly and Germafiy took part in what came
to be called the scramble for Africa. The journeys
of explorers and missionaries (= religious teachers)
like David *Livingstone encouraged interest in the
interior of Africa, and gaining control of these areas
became important for national pride as well as
providing new opportunities for trade. ln 1884 the
European nations, in an attempt at cooperation,
agreed spheres of influence. Britain's colonies in
*Ghana),
West Africa were the Gold Coast (now
*Gambia'
*Nigeria, *Sierra Leone and
ln East Africa,
protectorates
as
countries that were acquired
(= states controlled and protected by Britain)
included the East African Protectorate (now
*Kenya), *Uganda, Somaliland, Zanziba[ Northern
*Zambia and
and Southern Rhodesia (now
*Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland (now .Malawi)' After
"World War I Britain also administered the formen
German colony of Tanganyika which later joined
*Tanzania'
with Zanzibar to form
lndependence
ln the 19th century the Empire was a source of
pride for Britain. During the 20th century it became
expensive to run and also an embarrassment.
The middle of the century was a time of changing
values and it was morally no longer acceptable to
take over other countries and cultures and to exploit
them. Many colonies had growing nationalist
movements for ndependence.
Canada, Australia and New Zealand had already
become dominions (= self-governing regions) in
1907 and South Africa in 1910. Each had a British
governor advised by local ministers. They gained
full independence in 1931.
The lndian National Congress under Mahatma
Gandhi led the movement for independence in
lndia, but the situation was complicated by hostility
between Hindus and Moslems. When lndia was
given independence in 1947 parts of the north-west
and north-east became West and East Pakistan.
After a civil war in 1971 they became separate
*Bangladesh.
countries, "Pakistan and
Most other countries of the Empire became independent in the 1950s and 1960s, beginning with
Ghana in 1957. When Hong Kong was returned to
China in 1997 many people described this as the
final part in the story of the Empire. Many countries,
including lndia and Ghana, became republics after
independence, but others still recognize the British
King or Queen as their head of state. Countries
such as *Bermuda and "St Helena, which are not
independent, have chosen to remain British.
i
The legacy of the Empire
The loss of the Empire inevitably meant loss of
power and status, but Britain's world influence has
*Gommon'
been partly maintained through the
wealth, which was founded in 1931. When countries
the
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commonwealth and to keep their links with Britain.
Britain is closely involved with Commonwealth
countries, both politically arid economically, and has
friendly relations with most of them. From the early
1950s a growing number of immigrants from the
*Caribbean and South Asia came to settle in
Britain. Until 1962 Commonwealth citizens were
freely admitted to Britain, and some areas of Britain
now have large Asian or West lndian communities.
The Empire has had both a positive and a
negative influence on the cultures of the countries
that were part of it. British rule influenced local
systems of government, and most countries have
a civil service, army and legal system organized in
a similar way to those in Britain- Many roads and
railways were also started under British rule, and
schools were established. On the other hand much
of British foreign policy was based on racial
prejudice and contempt for native cultures. Most
British people sent to lndia, for example, showed
little understanding of lndian history, character or
culture. Many people believed that they had a moral
duty to convert local people to Christianity, and did
not sufficiently respect local religions. Native people
everywhere were usually considered inferior to
white people and to have few rights.
Perhaps the most important and lasting cultural
influence of the British Empire has been the spread
of the *English language. After independence,
English remained an official language in many
countries and is taught as a second language in
schools. The ability to speak English as well as
local languages was useful for establíshing a
position in international politics, trade and finance.
The English language has in turn become richer
with words borrowed from many of the cultures
with which it came into contact.
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