The Grand Old British Empire

The British Empire has many detractors these days, at times it can seem like most can be found in Britain itself. However, I have always and will always count myself among those who defend the British Empire and the legacy of that historic entity today. It is quite beyond my powers of comprehension how anyone in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or even the English-speaking world could fail to look back on the British Empire without a surge of pride. It was, after all, the largest empire in the history of the world, one of the longest lasting and certainly one of the most influential. Today, the legacy of the British Empire is often attacked as many try to either minimize or ignore it or, when it is acknowledged, regard it as having a purely negative impact on the world. They paint the history of the British Empire in the blackest of terms and do their best to make even modern day Britons suffer or at least feel ashamed of the alleged “crimes” of the British Empire and their colonial or imperialist ancestors. Even the word “empire” or the word “imperialist” is today, virtually everywhere, regarded as purely and inarguably negative. I take a very different view, both of such a context and of the British Empire itself.

First of all, the word “empire” should have no negative connotations. It comes down to us from ancient Rome, predating even the Roman Empire. The word “imperium” was used even by the Roman Republic simply to express legal authority. The Roman Imperium was wherever Roman law held sway. There should be nothing inherently positive or negative about it. Today the word “empire” has become so widespread as simply a negative label to apply to things we don’t like that it has really become a word without a real meaning at all. In the good old days of the British Empire, of course, things were a little more straightforward. The British Empire was that part of the world united by the authority of the British Crown. It started with the plantations in Ireland, put down roots on the east coast of North America, spread to the Caribbean, Africa, India and Asia and Australia. The great figures of history are today often looked upon scornfully as being greedy, cruel and ruthless whereas in the past they were celebrated as ambitious, bold adventurers who accomplished great deeds which benefited not only themselves but almost everyone around them to one degree or another.

Of course, none of these men were perfect from Raleigh to Clive to Rhodes. Neither was every page of British imperial history a proud one. Individuals will always be fallible, some policies were benevolent and some were rather horrible; such is the history of human beings. The eradication of the Thugee cult in India, for example, was a great service to the subcontinent. The Opium Wars, on the other hand, were a terrible injustice (not perpetrated by Britain alone) and quite a shameful episode on the whole. However, the relatively few ugly incidents should not blind us from the immense good that was accomplished by the British Empire nor intimidate proud Britons from defending their exceptional place in history. Were it not for the British Empire the world today would be a very, very different place and, I happen to think, were it still around it would be a better place for a great many people in the world.

The British Empire was so large, so successful and so long-lasting because it worked. Simple as that. It was, generally, well administered, pragmatic, moderate and profitable. The British Empire brought prosperity to many areas of the world, brought the benefits of civilization, modern technology and genuine progress to many corners of the globe that had previously known only darkness, and isolated stagnation. Because of the British Empire, huge masses of people, whole populations which had been living in poverty, unhealthy conditions and ignorance received the benefits of schools, modern medicine, electricity, clean water, modern hygiene and eventually automobiles, trains and all the benefits of modern civilization. The exchange of goods, services, ideas and innovative methods caused areas which had once known only the harshest struggles of survival to improve their livelihoods, produce surpluses and thus a way out of the cycle of poverty. Local people, that is native people and not simply British colonists, gained an education and employment in the colonial administration. Nor is it true that the history of the British Empire is one of an endless succession of cruelty. In fact, the British Empire was one of the most humane in history, they were simply quite adept (though not perfect) at knowing when to be firm or even harsh and when to be compassionate and tolerant.

For example, when the British took over the French territory of Canada, early indications were that British rule would be harsh and intolerant. However, the British won the loyalty of the local population by recognizing French law, granting toleration to Catholicism and removing references to Protestantism in the oath of allegiance. It was a winning policy as in the American Revolution that followed later, not only did Canada remain loyal but French Canadian leaders and bishops zealously supported the royal cause. South Africa was another example. The war against the Dutch settlers had been bitter and ferocious (even seeing the first use of the concentration camp) but once Britain was victorious they did not treat the Boers as a conquered enemy but made them partners in the British Empire, ensuring the staunch support of the South Africans in both World Wars that followed. Ultimately the former enemies worked together to make South Africa the most advanced and prosperous country on the African continent. In India, where Britain has been much criticized, the fact remains that local traditions, customs and religions were maintained under British rule. Intolerance and wars of religion only emerged after independence. The extent to which the British were able to work well in cooperation with the native population is seen in the fact that such a relatively small island, half-way around the world, was able to administer an entire sub-continent with fewer troops than the French republic garrisoned in Indochina alone.

There were times and places, of course, when British rule was much less admirable than it should have been. However, in almost every case these mistakes were, in time, recognized and corrected while still within the British Empire. This would not have happened if the British people had not been a generally moral and upright people. The slave trade and slavery itself was ended in the British Empire, not by brute force or outside intervention but because the British people themselves came to recognize it as an unjust and inhumane practice, abolishing it long before much of the rest of the world. During the early days of the colonization of America and over the course of conflicts with France, Britain had employed quite harsh tactics against the American Indians and yet, they changed and later championed their rights. In the American Revolution, most sided with the British and even over a century later, American Indians who were under threat risked life and limb to reach the Dominion of Canada where they knew they would be better treated and their rights respected. The British Empire, despite mistakes in some areas at some times, was a beacon of civilization, justice and peace for the most part.

However, at the end of the day, the best, most concrete and pragmatic evidence for the British Empire as, overall, a force for good in the world, is a simple look at the world today, decades after the dissolution of it. The fact remains that if you look at the world today, the countries in which people enjoy the most personal freedom, the most stable governments, which are the most prosperous and enjoy the highest standards of living are, for the most part, countries which were once a part of the British Empire. If you look beyond Europe, in almost every corner of the world, the most successful nations are children of the British Empire; whether one considers Canada and the United States in North America, South Africa on the African continent, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand in Asia and the Pacific. If you look at the GDP per capita of nations outside Europe, topping the list are the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan along with former Japanese possessions such as Taiwan and South Korea (and observing that one cannot help but note the degree to which Japan had taken the British Empire as its role model early on) it would be hard to downplay the significant and positive impact of the British Empire on world history. Everyone of every nationality who played a part in it should feel a sense of righteous pride about the British Empire.