The Britsh Empire: A Force for Good, or Evil?
Table of Contents Negative Impact: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Divide and Rule Theft Distribution of Wealth Native Culture Spread of Diseases Christianity Slavery
Positive Impact: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
British Culture Education Infrastructure English Language Empire Soldiers The Commonwealth
Was the British Empire a force for good or evil? This is the question we have asked ourselves in our class this year, and we now know that there will never be an answer to this question that everyone will agree on. What we can say is that the huge empire was one of the most important developments in world history. For millions of people, the world today is the way it is because of the impact of the British Empire. It was a very sophisticated network of nations and peoples, linked by trade and political systems, sometimes held together by force. It brought tremendous changes to many people and many countries. Some of these changes involved innovations in medical care, education and railways. The British Empire fought to abolish slavery in the 1800s, but it profited from slavery in the 1700s. For many peoples the Empire meant loss of lands, discrimination and prejudice. Yet the majority of former colonies still keep their ties with Britain through the Commonwealth. Parliamentary democracy, the English language and the Christian religion can be found in many countries. These are just a few of the ways in which the British Empire has had a lasting effect on world history. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/empire/default.htm
http://cameracollector.proboards.com/thread/3346/empire
How did the British empire divide communities in order to rule them ? The British empire existed from1750 to 1997. By 1900, at its apogee the British ruled a quarter of the world. It had colonies all around the world from Canada to India . Colonisation in India lasted from 1858 to 1945. India being a large country, maintaining order was difficult so the British government applied the “divide and rule” strategy.
MARTIAL RACES Trying to assert control in India the British faced resistance in some regions while easily conquering others. They sought people they called “martial races”, accustomed to hunting or from regions with a history of conflict; while others were excluded due to their “ease of living”. These already wide divides were a fertile breeding ground to inculcate pride in one's identity based on “race”. CENSUS Britain commissioned a census of the population in India. The census took over six years to compile, but the results that detailed the demographics of India based on religion, caste and occupation, provided Britain with a recipe for creating communal disharmony.
cle/l-inde-de-l-exploitation-coloniale-6375 http://www.lutte-ouvriere.org/documents/archives/cercle-leon-trotsky/arti
RELIGION To attempt to calm the agitation in some regions of India the government divided the Muslims and Hindus in the region of Bengal: wealthy Hindu land owners in the West lost their lands to Muslims to whom the land had been leased in the East. It created a feeling of mistrust between the two religious groups and religion became the motive for division.
http://www.anuragbhatnagar.com/history/divide-and-rule-in-british-raj
http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Brit_IndianEmpireReligions3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Raj&h=1232&w=1504&tbnid=dqwW tWo14xvoNM:&zoom=1&q=brits divided native communities in order to rule them&docid=o7b1CSOOkQvlOM&hl=fr&ei=aqGGVL6mHoK6Uf6mgpgM&tbm=isch&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=383&page=1&start= 0&ndsp=29&ved=0CCgQrQMwAg&biw=1600&bih=78
CASTE SYSTEM In order to impose its domination the British relied on the caste system that has existed in India for 3000 years before our era, from the top to the bottom : Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisayas, Sudras and Untouchables.
dia
What were the criteria of division ?
http://www.quora.com/How-did-the-British-implement-Divide-and-Rule-policy-in-India
http://www.quora.com/How-did-the-British-implement-Divide-and-Rule-policy-in-In
http://www.academia.edu/460528/Myth_of_Divide_and_Rule_in_British_India
The policy of « divide and rule » is seen as a mechanism used through history to maintain imperial rule. It identifies pre-existing ethnoreligious divisions in society and then manipulates them in order to prevent them from coming together and fighting againt the sovereign authority.
QUESTIONS : 1) Why did the empire use the « divide and rule » stategy if it created instability ? 2) What was the main religion in India in 1909? 3) Did Britain create the division in the Indian society ?
The consequences of the colonial segregation on the independence of India !
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PARTITION OF INDIA!
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The partition of India is the sharing of the British Indian Empire in two difference states based on its religious democracy: The Dominion of Pakistan which has a majority of muslims and the Union of India which mainly has Hindus. This partition had been established in 1947, after the Independence of colonial India in 1945. It created one of the biggest migrations of populations of history, which killed between 100 000 and 1 million people. The violences between muslims and hindus generated by this segregation still exist today. !
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photography of Indian soldiers during the war of 1947.
THE WAR OF 1947-1948!
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Just after the Partition, Pakistan and India started to fight because both of the country wanted to control Kashmir (क"मीर in Hindi),
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QUESTIONS:
a northwestern region of south India. In 1948, the United Nations proposed a disengagement and the two countries shared the region. (India has 2/3 and Pakistan has 1/3) ! Today, if these countries had already shared Kashmir, it is still their main subject of conflit. !
1) Why did Pakistan and India fought ?! 2) Explain why the Muslims left India after the independence.! 3) Explain what is the Dominion of Pakistan.
How and why did British steal and bring artifacts back to their contry ?
Document 1 : Map of Britain and their colonies The Great Ehibition is the huge example of Britain's theft. This demonstration took place in 1851 in London. It left a mark on all minds, and showed the power of Britain. The Great Exhibition was a platform on which countries could display their achievements, and Britain demonstrated its pre-eminence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Exhibition
The British Empire had a lot of colonies everywhere in the world, we could think the British only had good intentions but Britain stole many goods from these countries. They took and brought back things like art or diamonds... all the things which let them show other countries that the British were stong and powerful. They could have every thing they wanted, and they wanted to possess as many things as they could.
Document 2 : Painting of the Great Exhibition
Part 1 : The British stole artifacts from the native people British took ressources, like cotton, tea and fur from their colonies, but they paid for these. The artifacts, on the other hand, they simply took. The British committed thefts and the colonies couldn't protest. To illustrate this theft, we will look at an example. The Kohinoor Diamond : This diamond has an amazing chemical purity, it's one of the largest and rarest diamonds in the world. This diamond had been the symbol of Asian prosperity since the 14th century. But in the 1840's, this diamond came into the hands of the British. This diamond is still on display in the Tower of London today. http://pazhayathu.blogspot.fr/2009/12/story-of-curse-of-kohinoor-diamond.html
Document 3 : Kohinoor Diamond
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http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/t/the_rosetta_stone.aspx
There are many other examples of the British theft. Like the Rosetta Stone, an Egyptian stone with historical hieroglyphs which allowed the world to translate the hieroglyphs. This is in the British Museum since 1802, but it's an Egyptian good. Today Egypt wants to get it back, but the British don't agree with this. There are many negociations between these contries, There are today some attempts to get back the Rosetta Stone.
Document 4 : Queen Victoria with The Crown Jewels with the famous Indian diamond
An other example, typical objects from North America which are the culture of this colony. The British stole these and exhibited them. Like on the Grand Exhibition, the document 5 can explain you this exhibition. http://www.enl.auth.gr/gramma/gramma10/ciugureanu.pdf http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/themes/native_north_america.aspx
Part 2 : There is motive behind this theft
« Yet, the colonies were encouraged to show not only rich and exotic exhibits (from an Anglocentrist viewpoint), but also human displays (Bengali artisans, for example, fashioned ivory trinkets in their section for the enjoyment of the audience). Contrary to the spatial differentiation between the public who watched the colonial subjects and the subjects who were being watched, the distinction between the observer and the observed was blurred. Foreigners and locals alike became both spectators and performers in an interaction in which the English were meant to be posited as the Self or as holders of power and knowledge (they owned the most colonies, they displayed the most and best manufactured goods) and the non-English as the Other or holders of neither power nor scientific knowledge (they were subjects of the British Empire, they could not rise to the industrial progress of Britain, their knowledge was empiric or exotic). » Document 5 : extract of an
Adina's Ciugureanu article, called Mediating between the Mass and the Individual: Punch
YOUR TURN ! With documents and lessons answer to the questions. 1) Doc 5 : what sort of exhibition was it? 2) Make a list with all the negative impacts that could be after the theft. 3) What sort of goods were stolen by the British ?
On the net ! @ With this site, find the impact today of the theft. « President Putin and the Elgin Marble » by The New York Times
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/08/us/historic-sculpture-swept-up-in-international-hate-triangle.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=aut&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet
The Loss of Cultures
The Britons took the British culture with them to the colonised countries. This led to many cultures disappearance. For example, the aboriginal culture in Australia. DOC 1
Painting from 1799 by Thomas Gosse showing the arrival of British colonists in Australia in 1788 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Describe the painting.What does this picture suggest about relations between the colonists and the Aborigines?
DOC 2
In Australia, aboriginal people had lived in this land for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. They were scattered in 300 clans and spoke 250 different languages and 700 dialects. Each clan had a spiritual connection with a specific piece of land. However, they also travelled widely to trade, find water and seasonal
produce and for ritual and totemic gatherings. According to an Aboriginal myth, totemic spirit ancestors forged all aspects of life during the Dreamtime of the world’s creation.
Many things changed after Europeans arrived: The aboriginal people suffered a lot. When Captain Cook visited Australia in the late 1700s, it was estimated that there were 750,000 Aborigines. Later, in the 1920s, the count had fallen by 90%.
Many of them died because of British violence and diseases that Europeans brought to Australia. The gradual
takeover of Aboriginal lands for farms and settlements and the British farming methods, like the use of wire fences, disrupted the traditional Australian way of life. The introduction of sheep and rabbits devastated the environment,
food sources and the Aborigines' hunting grounds. Many Aborigines moved to the towns to try and make a living. In towns, they suffered from alcoholism, and this disease has been a recurrent problem ever since. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
Why and how did the Aboriginal culture disappear?
Doc 3 Before/After
Aboriginal farmers at Loddon Aboriginal Protectorate Station at Franklinford, Victoria in 1858.
http://aboriginalsandcolonisation.yolasite.com/
Describe the pictures and conclude: What did British people do for aborigines?
UNIT 1
The development of the British empire strenghten the inequalities between the poor and the rich of Britain. Document 1:
Document 2: Adam Smith 1723-1790
Over London by rail, Gustave Doré (1832-1883)
He is a philopher and economist of capitalism, professor of moral philosphy at the University of Glasgow. 1776 : published « An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations ».Adam Smith strongly disapproved of excessive regulation of colonial trade by parent countries.Smith points to the impossibility of monopolizing the benefits of colonies
Row of attached house, that all look the same, very narrow street that seems crowded. Use of bricks. Oppressing view ://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1776-1785/adam-smith-from-the-wealth-of-nations-1776-the-cost-of-empire.php
Document 3 :
http://www.netnicholls.com/neh2001/pages/aspects5/56frame.htm
Child labour and working conditions William Cooper's testimony before the Sadler Committee in 1932 « Sadler : When did your first begin to work in mills ? Cooper : When I was ten years of age. Sadler : What were your usual hours of working ? Cooper : We began at five in the morning and stopped at nine at night. Sadler: What time did you have for meals ? Cooper : We had just one period of fourty minutes in the sixteen hours. That was at noon. […] Cooper : We had no time to go to school. […] Cooper : I can read, but I cannot write. »
QUESTIONS : 1) According to the testimony what was a day like for a child working in the mills ? 2) Why do you think the majority of children at this time were illiterate ?
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UNIT 1 Document 4 : Excerpt from The Conditions of the Working Class in England Friedich Engels in 1844
Every great town has one or more slum areas into which the working classes are packed. Sometimes, of course, poverty is to be found hidden away in alleys close to the stately homes of the wealthy. Generally, however, the workers are segregated in separate districts where they struggle through life as best they can out of sight of the more fortunate classes of society. The slums of the English towns have much in common--the worst houses in a town being found in the worst districts. They are generally unplanned wildernesses of one- or two-storied terrace houses built of brick. Wherever possible these have cellars which are also used as dwellings. These little houses of three or four rooms and a kitchen are called cottages, and throughout England, except for some parts of London, are where the working classes normally live. These streets themselves are usually unpaved and full of holes. http://homepages.udayton.edu/~santamjc/Engels.html
Document 5 : Picture which represents the British bourgeoisie
QUESTIONS : 1) How does Engels describe conditons in the slums and the factories ? 2) How does this picture illustrate the inequalities between the children ?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/jennymccartney/3554816/That-old-class-system-of-bourgeois-guilt.html
Finally how do all these documents show inequalities between the rich and the poor ?
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Diseases in the British Empire How did diseases spread into the colonies? The British empire colonized a lot of countries between the 16th and 20th centuries. During this period a lot of diseases circulated into the colonies. There were many deaths due to epidemics.
DOCUMENT 1 : http://nativeweb.org/
Small-Pox: Jeffery Amherst was an officer of the British empire. Amherst himself had encouraged the tactic of Captain Simeon Ecuye which was to kill the American Indians with smallpox infected blankets and handkerchiefs, to use them as germ warfare against the Indians. The aim of this tactic was to commit genocide in order to eliminate all the native Americans. Smallpox is an infectious disease caused by the virus ÂŤ variola Âť. This disease is very contagious so a lot of people died because of it. This illness has recognizable symtoms: a specific kind of rash, fever, headache, backache, and feeling tired. http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/infection/smallpox.html
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DOCUMENT 2: Syphillis:
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infectious disease caused by a spirochete bacterium. In the early 1900s, the disease of syphylis caused real havoc in the British colonies, especially in Bugandas. It was necessary to open an investigation and Colonel Lambkin had to implement security measures for checking this ravage. Established treatment was created to provide specialized medical services for Syphilis. In the English colonies there was a lot of prostitution which is why syphilis was so widespread. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1053755/?page=1 http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syphilisan QUESTIONS : 1)What diseases could you catch in the British colonies? How?
Activity: Write a paragraph on what you have understood from these documents.
The negative impacts of Christianity during the British Empire. The British Empire was really huge and made up of a lot of colonies. Those colonies belong to the Commonwealth, an organisation composed of 53 independent states. The beginning of the colonization started during the XV century. Canada and Nigeria have same common points, when the pilgrims landed in the North America, after fighting the French, they decided to teach the native Americans about the bible, even if they had to use force. That was the same story in Nigeria. Africa already had 2 religions, traditional and Muslim, but the British wanted to convert the population. What are the negative impacts that the British left behind them in their colonies ?
A) The Christianization of Canada : In 1763, the British Empire fought and won against the French. After that, many British left their country to escape from the religious conflicts. It was an opportunity for them to reach a new continent. Anglican missionaries were sent to Canada to try to convert the Indians. They missionaries taught them the Bible and they also had to teach them the English of course. Here we can see an Anglican school in Elkhorn, Manitoba in 1885. It was the Church's first of many Indian residential schools to be founded and operated throughout Canada over a period of 150 years. It is a really big problem because the Indians were there before the British but, because they had guns and new technologies, they dominated the poor Indians.
1) Elkhorn Indian Residential School http://www.anglican.ca/relationships/histories/elkhorn
2) First women in school http://ccsonline.ca/diakonia/diaconal-history/
B) African Christianization: 3) Religions in Africa This map represents the different religions in Africa. Before the British came, they were only 2 religions, the traditional and Islam. When they came to make their colonies in South Africa, as in Canada, their purpose was to convert the population. But Africans fought against this injustice so the British used torture and a lot of executions to scare the population and gain their confidence by force.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/travel-journal/is-there-a-christian-vs-islam-war-in-ivory-coast-2010.html
4) Slavery Slavery was an important part of the negative effects of the religion, because people who didn't believe in god were treated as heretics and so they were punished and considered as a bad person. They used the slaves as objects and sold them to a new master or beat them in boats to take part of the triangular trade, then they were brought to the cotton and silk plantations where they had to work harder. In this picture we can see that a black man is tied and is getting whipped by his master. That shows the violence, how hard the living conditions were.
http://www.ph-ludwigsburg.de/html/2b-frnz-s01/overmann/baf4/colonisation/esclavage/ESCLAVAGEPROJETDIDACTIQUE.html
Questions : 1) Can we say that the period during which the Anglicans in Canada tried to convert the population was bloody? 2) Did the South-African people fight for their rights? 3) List the negative points of the religion brought by the British. Activity : Explain the Christianization of Canada in detail to your partner. Speak about their submission and the schools.
BRITISH SLAVERY What are the consequences of Slavery on the British Empire? Over 300 years, the Europeans forced African people into slavery and transported them across the Atlantic, to reach America. For certain countries the problem of slavery endured until the turn of the 20th century. Portugal was the first country to introduce slavery, in 1400. Like many European countries , the British Empire started African slavery throughout the 16th century. Sir John Hawkins was born in 1532 , in Plymouth, England. Quickly, he became a merchant. In 1562, John Hawkins made the first British slaving voyage. At the begining, he and other British traders supplied slaves for the Spanish and Portugueses colonists in America. As their trade was growing, many territorial conflicts emerged with other European countries, so Hawkins and the main traders began to only supply slaves for the British. That's how the British started the triangular trade. http://abolition.e2bn.org/slavery_45.html
The British Empire belonged to the second system of the triangular trade. The second Atlantic system was the trade of enslaved Africans by mostly the Germans, French and British.
http://abolition.e2bn.org/slavery_45.html
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kenanderson/histemp/slavery.html http://abolition.e2bn.org/slavery_45.html
BRITISH CULTURE SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE How is British culture represented in its former colonies?
The Commonwealth of Nations Dinner at Lancaster’s home for the Prime Ministers attending the Imperial Conference, 1926.
Created in 1926, the Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organization of 53 member states. It covers more than 29,958,050 km 2. Members are monarchies or republics, but they are all led by the United Kingdom, with Elisabeth II. After a long past, countries are finally united: by language, history, culture, and their shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. In this picture taken during the Imperial Conference at London in 1926, we can see the group of Prime Ministers of Commonwealth. The Canadian minister Mackenzie King, who was the longest-serving Prime Minister in Commonwealth history, is located in the first row, third from the left. The Commonwealth promotes a set of values to its members such as equality and democracy. The use of the English language in most member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations was inherited from British colonization. This language is spoken as a first or second language in most countries of the Commonwealth. Many regions, notably Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia, have developed their own native varieties of the language. Sources : http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca ; http://thecommonwealth.org/ ; http://www.royal.gov.uk ; http://www.wikipedia.org/
Sporting union predated federation.
In 1877 an intercolonial cricket team represented Australia in the first test match against England. In this cartoon the umpire tells the Australian cricket team: "Punch, or the London Charivari”; "Combine, Australia!”; "Umpire Punch : 'You've done jolly well by combination in the Cricket field, and now you're going to federate at home. Bravo, boys!'"
Most of the members of the Commonwealth are English-speaking countries, they also have adopted British sports: rugby, football and cricket. In fact, if we take the example of rugby, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia are the best rugby teams in the world. The Indian cricket team was created in 1932 when the country was still an English colony. Since that time, the team has won the Asia Cup five times and the World Cup twice. Nowadays, the sports that the English transmitted to their colonies are a perfect way to consolidate the friendships between them. Sources : http://www.peo.gov.au/ ; http://www.wikipedia.org/ ; http://www.worldrugby.org/
A 1927 pictorial map with all the dominions and trade routes. British Empire Marketing Board. Library and Archives Canada
With the trade that had been made by the British Empire and the advertisement that were encouraging people all around the world to buy the "empire goods", we can nowadays see that a real mixture of international food has been established. Can anyone other than the Indians say that they have their own national curry? Well yes, the English can. And if you believe that only the British got inspired by the foreign smells, you should know that Australian food is pretty much the same as English or American food. Sources : http://imperialglobalexeter.com/
Questions : 1) 2) 3)
How did the United Kingdom perpetuate its strong culture over the Commonwealth? What impact did the creation of the commonwealth have on member countries? Find two examples of famous meals that you can find in two different countries.
THE BRITISH COLONIZATION, SOURCE OF A GOOD EDUCATION What mark did British colonization leave in their colonies' education? The British Empire colonized lots of countries and brought some improvement for the education of the commonwealth countries. Sports, languages and customs changed with the arrival of the British. With the example of two countries, India and Malaysia, we will see one of good consequences of the British colonization: education.
During the British colonization, the British education system was everywhere in India. The Indian children learned the English language and they still practice it. The school organization is the same as the English one. As in England, the boys and girls wear uniforms so as not to differentiate the poor and the wealthy children. Today, there are connections between India and England. Some Indian students go to English Universities and even the most prestigious: Oxford and Cambridge.
Doc 2 – Iindian cricket player
fetitch.com
Doc 1 – Indians wearing uniforms wordpress.com
In school, the children practice lots of sports like the British ones. One of the most played is cricket. This sport is really famous in India, played in the street or on the ground,no matter.Today, cricket is still a sport played very much even if the British are gone. So it's a thing which is embedded in their culture. Today, India is a high nation and Indian people have their cricket champions like: Sachin Tendulkar: a cricket player, considered as the best cricket player in all India. (And the wealthiest too. ) Other typical English sports are practiced by Indians like golf and polo.
Doc 3 - A new measure to help students in their choices In the Commonwealth countries,the British education system is still endured to the the present day. First,we notice that english language is still learned by the natives students.Indeed,much of britannical customs are still practiced in these countries.In India for example,english sports like criquet, which were imported by the british ones,really became an Indian custom. More,the education is also crossing the ability of the students to have a chance to register in a renowned college or university. To help them,British advisories and students placement agencies like "MABECS" were created to focus on specialist counsilling on higher stidues to have a better orientation and to have the same level of education as the UK students. These are very big progress for these developping countries. That's why one can say that the British colonization was also a chance to the commonwealth children and students,to have a good education and obviously more chances to have a better future life.
MABECS(Malaysian British Educational Cooperation Services) MABECS was set up in 1985, to assist students in Malaysia to find suitable places, at universities in the United Kingdom.We were one of the first advisory and student placement agencies to be established in the country and the region and we have continued to focus on specialist counselling on higher study options in the UK. Since our establishment, students we have counselled, have been able to take up
degree studies at every university in the UK, at both undergraduate and
postgraduate level. Working closely with education institutions in Malaysia, MABECS has counselled many thousands of students and helped them to find the most suitable courses and universities for their further studies. Our consultants have all been educated in the United Kingdom and so are able to give first hand information on study and life in the UK. We also draw from the expertise of a variety of professionals- Malaysian and expatriate, who provide added support and expertise, to the services that MABECS provides. Our strongly studentcentered approach to counselling, means that we give students the fullest possible information on all available options, to http://www.postgradasia.com/institution/m help them make sensible decisions. Advice, information and assistance with abecs-malaysian-british-educationalapplications, are given free of charge and cooperation-services our consultants are always ready to sort out any problems that may arise, and to brief you on preparations for travel to the UK.
Questions : 1. What do we learn about the British education influence on the colonized countries ? (doc 1 and 2) 2. What did the British education system establish, in order to help commonwealth countries students? (doc 3)
The Infrastructures Some
colonies have benefitted and still benefit today from the infrastructures built by the Empire in the past. Among the several infrastructures, the railway systems certainly represented the biggest profit for India and Canada.
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Indian railway system : The beginning
In the mid-nineteenth century, India was completly devoid of railways. But in 1848, London started to push for building railways in India. The Great Peninsula Railway (GIPR), founded in 1849 by an act of the British Parliament, decided to start the construction of the first Indian railway linking Bombay and Thane, 14 miles to the north. It opened on April 16, 1853. Very quickly, many other lines were opened in the whole country. Source
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Indian railway network
Source 1
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"Lifeline of the Nation"
Source
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The benefits The railway development in India was a real opportunity for the country. Firstly, it participated in the proper development of the economy. Then, it allowed the most remote cities to develop. It also made trade easier throughout the country as well as allowing for population movement. Today, it's one of the world's largest railway networks. In 2013, there were 71,000 miles of track, 23 million passengers, 18 million tons of freight, the revenue was 23 billion dollars and the profit was 2.6 billion dollars. Without these railways, India would not be what it is today. Source
5 4
Source
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Britannia's wish: Railway
Canadian Pacific
Railway development in Canada
In Canada, the national government strongly supported railway construction for political goals. First it served to knit the far-flung provinces together, and second, it served to maximize trade inside Canada and minimize trade with the United States, thus stopping the USA from becoming Canada's economic hub. Anglo entrepreneurs in Montreal wanted direct lines into the U.S. and avoided connections with the Maritimes to compete with American railways. One of the most famous railway companies is the Canadian Pacific Railway which links Montreal to Vancouver. Source
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British Empire: Source of longevity
The Canadian Pacific Railway still exists under the name of "Canadian Pacific Railway Limited" (CPRL). This company is a real economic factor for the country because it creates over 15 000 fulltime employments. But also because it built other infrastructure like hotels to promote tourism. Source
Questions Source
1 - Why did the British Empire want to develop railway systems in its colonies ? 2 - What were the benefits to the colonies from this development ?
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3 - Why can we say that the railways systems are a pilar of India and Canada ?
The English language is richer today because of the many words which come from the Colonies. Also, English is almost universal and spoken throughout the world, which makes for good communication between nations.
More than 75 countries have the English as the official or special language
LANGUAGE The English language is richer today because of the many words which come from the Colonies, for example a lot of English words are stemming from the Hindi : «jungle» «pyjama» «bungalow»... Also, English is almost universal and spoken trought the world, essential for a good communication between nations
The six countries with a majority of native speakers of English:
United Kingdom (97%, 64 million),
The English words origin A survey by Joseph M. Williams in Origins of the English Language of 10,000 words taken from several thousand business letters gave this set of statistics:
Republic of Ireland (94%, 4.3
million),
Australia (87%, 17 million), New Zealand (82%, 3.7 million),
United States (79%, 255 million),
Canada (59%, 19 million).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-speaking_world
Old french : 29% Latin : 29% Old English : 25% Greek : 6%
Other languages : 10% http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language
The Asian colonies: the mighty war of the British Empire How did the British Empire benefit from the Asian colonies during the World Wars? During the first and the second World Wars, the British Empire enlisted their colonies, especially the Asian colonies like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. The Empire used them to have more soldiers, but also for the land. A- A favorable land use In September 1939, Victor Alexander John Hope 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, the Viceroy of India declared without consulting Indian political leaders, that India and the British Empire should fight together against their enemy. It was a great opportunity for the British Empire to have a territory as vast as India to install military bases, and so the English benefited. India is a territory with a long coastline so it was a key place to set up maritime bases. Therefore, it strengthened the English maritime military power. In 1941, India has been also an important place of defense against Japan that became aggressive. Japanese were allied to the German and Germany was the ennemy power, and it was important to preserve territories of the British Empire against the ennemy. So it has been an opportunity to have a territory next to the Japan to fight the Japanese and keep it from coming in Europe.
Doc 1- Royal Indian naval establishments and bases in India during World War II ibiblio.org
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kenanderson/histempsequel/page16.html http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/India/RIN/index.html
B- A favorable use of manpower Most of the Asian soldiers were volunteers who enlisted in the army to fight their enemy in Europe with the British army. However, propaganda was much used by the British Empire. A lot of posters like this one were plastered in the Asian colonies of Burma, India, Borneo, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. One can see soldiers originating from different British colonies. They are together to fight against the enemy, under the United Kingdom's flag. They are determined to fight for England and some are smiling: they seem almost happy. The poster is quite colorful and light and gives us a sense of well being. Indeed, the idea of devoting yourself to the British Empire and its army is shown as a good thing. And the slogan couldn't be more showy. It is written in yellow uppercase on a dark blue background, in the middle of the foreground. It was really made to be eye-catching. So we could ask whether Asian soldiers who fought for the British army during the First and Second World Wars were Doc 2 – A British propaganda poster to encourage truly volunteers or simply manipulated by a power who the Asians to enlist in the British army during needed men. World War II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_and_India_in_World_War_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_and_India_in_World_War_II
[Hindi] 21st February 1915
England
England is a superb country with an excellent climate. Think it a great honour that we have an opportunity of showing our loyalty to our great Emperor by the sacrifice of our bodies and by the favour that is accorded to us of being present on the field of the battle. Have no anxiety about my illness. If my desire is fulfilled, what is to be gained by anxiety? It is a noble fate for us to be allowed to sacrifice our bodies for our King. If our ancestors help us and God shows us favour, if we die on the battlefield in the service of our King, this is equal to entering heaven. And if I am not to die, then what does it matter whether I fall sick or am wounded by bullet or sword on the field of battle? Having shown my loyalty and caused my great Emperor to be victorious I will return to my own country. In either case it is a good fate. There is no need for anxiety. If I am to die for the sake of the great Emperor, then what could be more glorious? Although I am in hospital, yet my spirit yearns for the battlefield. My prayer is that the great God will quickly make me well and give me an opportunity of showing my loyalty. http://www.centoannigrandeguerra.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/omissi.pdf
Doc 3 – Letter written in 1915 by an Indian soldier;
C- Noble and necessary: the sacrifice of the during World War one. http://www.centoannigrandeguerra.it/wpcontent/uploads/2014/02/omissi.pdf Indian soldiers. Most of the Indians soldiers were proud to participate in World War I, because they could help the army of the British Empire. Also, the Indian soldiers were thought of their service as a sacrifice. No matter if they died, because they were proud to honour their country. For the Indian soldiers it was an opportunity to show their loyalty by a sacrifice of their bodies. Indeed, the sacrifice of soldiers was necessary for the British Empire but it was also a noble sacrifice. However, despite the fact that the Indian soldiers were honoured to participate in the war, all of them were volunteer to be in the army of the British Empire. So, their sacrifice was noble and honourable but also necessary. http://www.centoannigrandeguerra.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/omissi.pdf
Doc 4 – Photography of Gurkhas soldiers of Nepal, during the World War one. blackpresence.co.uk
D- The British Empire also recruited from their other colonies in Asia. Indeed, to help the War effort, the British Empire sent most of one million men from the Asian colonies. They came from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In this photograph, one can see some Gurkhas of the Nepalese army, sent to France to fight the enemies of the British Empire. The most of them were volunteers to participate of the War effort. http://www.hommes-et-migrations.fr/docannexe/file/4845/44_59_1268.pdf
Some questions about what you have learned thanks to these history pages: 1) How did the British Empire use the Asian colonies? 2) Were the Asian soldiers happy to fight for the British Empire? 3) How did the British Empire encourage the colonial soldiers to enlist? 4) Now, draw a propaganda poster that will incite soldiers to enlist them in the war, like the British Empire has done during the World Wars. Sources : asiedusud.info ; hommes-et-migrations.fr ; centoannigrandeguerra.it
The Commonwealth of Nations is an association created by the British Empire. It's based on free, volontary and international co-operation between 53 states which have English as the official language. They see a world in which every person is able to participate in the development of an equitable society. Their mission is to develop the capacity of the countries and of their civil societies. The word “Commonwealth” was first used by the British Lord Rosebery, in 1884. During his famous speech, he compared the Bristish Empire to a “Commonwealth of Nations”.
The history of the Commonwealth The Commonwealth comes from the many territories colonized by the British Empire. In the history of the Commonwealth, there have been three major declarations: – The Balfour Declaration of 1926. It declared the United Kingdom and the Dominions* to be autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, united by a common allegiance to the Crown. – The Statute of Westminister is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1931. It gives effect to some resolutions passed by Imperial Conferences. – The London Declaration is very important. It was issued at the 1949 Commonwealth Prime Minister's Conference. It marked the birth of a “new” Commonwealth and allowed it to admit members that were not Dominions. After World War Two, many countries wanted independence. India was the first country to get it, in 1947, and adopted a Republicain Constitution. But Indians also wanted to remain a country of the Commonwealth. The London Declaration of 1949 accepted that India take King George VI as “the symbol of a free association association of the independent Member
Nations and as such Head of the Commonwealth”. After this, British rule ended in a lot of countries. Today, the Commonwealth of Nations keeps an important social and political role in the world. For the Queen, who currently is the head of the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth symbolises “the transformation of the Crown from an emblem of dominion into a symbol of free and voluntary association. In all history this has no precedent”. *Dominion: a self-governing confederation, where the British Empire and its Parliament in London still retained a number of key political powers. Comprehension Questions: -When was the Commonwealth created? -What is the aim of this unity? -How have the three major historical declarations changed the Commonwealth? -How does the Queen view the Commonwealth?
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations Wikipedia
http://www.royal.gov.uk British Government site http://thecommonwealth.org/ Commonwealth site
http://www.royal.gov.uk British Government site