The British Empire

So, what is the British Empire?

Well, many recent historians tend to label the Empire more as a concept than a political entity. In other words, the empire was not just another large country in the political map of the world, but a collection of nations, peoples and places which had all been under a certain rule or influence of the British mother country and her king or queen.

Robert Clive after the victory
 at Plassey (1757), starting the
direct British Rule of India.

If we go by that logic, the British commonwealth of nations (Canada, Australia, India and so on), and all British possessions across the globe (Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and so on), are all to some extent still part of this British Empire. But this is not of course the case. So it is slightly more complicated than that.

If we think of this vast Empire as a concept, we need to examine the context of that concept, and what processes had created it. 

The roots of the empire start around the 16th century, with imperial strength of other nations such as Spain and the Netherlands growing. This brought the British to start investing in their naval power and to explore and colonise parts of the world. This was at first an economical endeavour, creating trade ports and cities around India and the East Indies and the Americas (or the East Indies), all through the 17th Century. Along side these trade missions, much colonisation took place, usually where the native people were smaller and less developed communities, such as Australia, North America and New-Zealand.

During the 18th century however, this "peaceful" exploration, trading and colonisation of the globe, all got tangled up in a series of conflicts and wars. It could be said, that these conflicts had brought a military aspect to the young "empire", turning a handful of colonies and trading missions into a more united, serious and fighting empire. Amongst these conflicts were The Seven Year War (1754-1763), The American War of Independence (1775-1783) and finally The Napoleonic Wars (1796-1815). This last conflict, one of the major wars of the modern era, had a profound effect on Europe, the colonised world and especially Britain and her Empire.

King George V and queen Mary visit the
Delhi Durbar, India, 1911.

Britain, having led the coalition against the French Napoleonic army to victory, had become after 1815 the unchallenged superpower of the world, a status that would hardly change for over 130 years (up until the end of the Second World War). This victory had ushered in the 19th century, AKA the "Imperial Century", or the Victorian age. A century that defined the Empire and the British Identity, monopolising much of the worlds economy, ruling the seas, governing up to a quarter of the worlds population and watching a sun that never sets.

During the second half of the 19th century, the process of building this empire picked up pace, there wasn't a year that went by where British troops were not fighting a war in some corner of the world. So, from a purely economical mission, the buisness of empire became very much a political and military affair. British heroes went from the explorers and merchants of the 17th and 18th centuries, to Generals and war heroes of the 19th century.

This Imperial "Golden Age" came to a halt with the start of the First World War (1914-1918). Imperial expansion slowed down while Europe and Britain recovered from this Great War, following which came recession in the 1920's, civil unrest in many parts of Europe, a dwindling of the armed forces and less affection in general to military conflicts. The imperial British identity was however still very strong, the empire itself seemingly unaffected by the war.

However, as with all things things in life, everything eventually comes to an end. In the case of the British Empire, this end begun with the start of the Second World War. Many believe the actions of Britain, trying to avoid war at all cost, had actually created the war. When war did break out, Britain was unprepared, outgunned and outdated, with a highly professional army but with old fashioned unimaginative leadership. The British fighting in the war was of course not with out merits, at one stage fighting the German army almost alone, but all in all her performance was outshone be nations such as the Soviet Union and the United States.

Britain had emerged victories from the war, but the world was now very different, the new superpowers of the age were the USA and the USSR, the cold war had started and the idea of 'Empire' was no longer in fashion. So gradually  the British Empire started folding it's flags from around the world between the 1940's and 1960's, during this time Britain had tried to maintain some forms of power and influence (for example going to war against Egypt over control of the Suez Canal), but at the end of the day this was the end of the Empire.  

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A statue of a lion (symbolising the Empire) at Trafalgar
 square, London.

As with many ideas and concepts, some people to this day hold much affection to the notion of the British Empire, it's symbols can still be viewed around the world. The ruling of this vast Empire, some would argue, was all about 'show'; building big palaces, holding grand colourful events and including the local population and local leaders in the game. And this is perhaps the secret to the empire's success, even though there were many who resented and opposed the British rule, most of the people were mesmerised by the modern technology and 'grandness' of imperial rule. 

At the time, it seemed to some extent, that the local population played along with this imperial game, this strengthened the sense of legitimacy the British felt about their Empire. And, as mentioned earlier, many look back fondly at the days of the old empire. The British Commonwealth of Nations is in some ways a continuation of this notion, independent countries who still see the British monarch as their king or queen (even if only in a ceremonial context). Cities around the world still have a British name to them, such as New-York, Perth and Wellington. There are statues, street names and even flags who all have links to Britain, in any place that was once part of the empire.

So, to conclude, the British Empire was a concept that emerged out of an economical and political expansion. The glue holding it together was a show of pomp and elegance, coupled by technology and development all mesmerising the local populations. It had stood firm for around 400 years, eventually falling out of fashion and being replaced by modern cultural-economical empires such as the United States. However, in many ways, it's still with us this notion of empire and Britishness, the use of English as an international language is perhaps the strongest reminder of the power of that old empire.