The Blog was written in response to a question from a friend's 9 year old. It has many generalisations,but contains names and episodes for further research for anyone who is interested.What I hoped to argue was that episodes in history should be judged in terms of what was
believed at the time.Our view of history is also affected by who we are, where we are from and where we have been...seems obvious... but I know a German who knew nothing of the Holocaust.I know a Belgian who attacked me for the British Empire, knowing nothing of the history of the Congo. I was taught the Empire was something to be ashamed of but I think that any view can be argued and facts can be found to support any argument.
It is easy to argue Empire was bad;
- Individual episodes of idiocy/cruelty eg (Massacre ordered by General Dyer in Amritsar) You can find a terrible incident in any history of anything eg the Black hole of Calcutta, where British wives and children and soldiers were locked in a small cell and died.
- Acts which are now generally recognized as bad (slavery, concentration camps during the Boer war)
Slavery still exists in the world. At the time it was considered normal, and was backed by the Church as right. It was accepted that Africans were put on earth by a benevolent God to be used by the white man. Furthermore, Africans and Arabs sold the slaves to the white slave trader;guilt can be shared. The British were first to abolish the Slave trade and then slavery.The Boer war is always used as an anti Empire argument. But it was considered a disgrace at the time.The word 'concentration' was used for camps where Boer women and children were kept, to stop them helping their men folk the war against the British. Many died of measles, most of them children, but it was not the plan.
- Bad decisions usually made by individuals who ignoring advice from Colonial Office eg( the independence and partition of a sub continent like India in months rather than the suggested years) During partition, an estimated one million died and around 14 Million had to leave their homes to move across the borders of the new states..See Mountbatten, Gandhi, Nehru and Jinnah-Each one could be blamed.
- Arrogance of a nation which thinks it knows best
There is always a nation who has the power to rule the world in some way.
At the moment we have the USA who are protecting their supply of oil.
Not so long ago the USA 'shared'vworld power with the USSR. Between them they caused death, injustice and misery all over the world, providing arms and support for opposing factions, fighting for influence, and trying to deprive the other of their influence.
No-one talks about the arrogance of the Romans. Its all Roads, Aquaducts, Clean water, Order and Peace. People need to accept that there will always be a dominant nation……..It gives us someone to hate.
China and India next!
- Arrogance of a religion that thinks it knows best.
Missionaries really do believe they are spreading a knowledge and a happiness for everyones benefit.They take their wives and children to malaria infested parts of the world knowing in their own minds that they are doing Gods work. Half of them died, and none of them had anything to do with the British Governments Policy. Religious toleration was a policy. See David Livingstone for impact of missionary teaching on a community.
- Arrogance of the notion of discovery. For goodness sake! We know the locals already knew of The Victoria Falls, and already had a name for it. They weren't the map makers. Perhaps we should call it "The Mapping of..."rather than discovery.
In defence of The British Empire.There are some generalizations in here!
The Empire was an accident.The debate is -Was the flag or trade first? Did the government follow and support the merchants and trade treaties or did trade begin once a region was claimed by the Government. The answer is obviously both. India began as a commercial venture of the East India Company. The carving up of Africa by European Powers was a dash to plant the flag...See Scramble for Africa. Missionaries set off soon after both. We did not plan to conquer. We negotiated trade treaties, and beat the French to the most useful areas of West Africa. There were few wars for expansion.
The British at least know about their Empires, good and bad,but we have learned mostly the bad. Ask a Belgian or Frenchman about their empire.They know nothing, or nothing bad.For the very worst see King Leopold 2nd of the Belgians.He used the Congo as his personal rubber farm, murdering its citizens in their millions.In the end the Belgian Government had to take over.It was like a naughty boy smashing toys and having them taken away.
Independence of countries in the British Empire was planned for; Structures for Government and law and elections were in place, and handover of power was an organized event. Communications(railways!!!!!look at India!!!!!), Power plants,Industries, Clean water, Some great institutions of education.
Having English as a 1st or 2nd language is so important in the 21st Century- ask India.
The French saw their African Colonies as an extension of France (sounds nice?) but when forced to leave in a hurry at the end of the wars for independence,they took everything they could carry and destroyed anything else. It was “if we cant have it neither will you” They took the phones, and destroyed the phone lines. They still hold some power in their old colonies. The Portuguese also viewed their colonies as provinces of Portugal. They left in an even bigger hurry leaving the countries to warring factions supported by either US or USSR/Cuba. Angola and Mozambique are only just starting recovery and having democratic elections.British colonies have their problems too…That’s what Africa is like.
The BRITISH EMPIRE did more good than harm; travel to India or Africa now and many people who remember, who will talk with nostalgia about the Empire.The Empire cost Britain a fortune to run. During the time of ‘exploitation’ of colonial peoples, most of the British population were working in factories, living in slums, dying of cholera and dysentery, dying in poor houses, children were cleaning chimneys and being hanged or shipped to Australia for stealing an apple. All this was normal.
The countries of the Empire still belong to the British Commonwealth and Mozambique, a Portuguese ex-colony has joined too.Membership is voluntary and suspension of membership is not seen as a dash for freedom from the Imperialist yoke;COuntries work together for mutual benefit in lots of areas.The Commonwealth is headed by the Queen, who visits the countires of the commonwealth regularly. Its the biggest gang after the UN.Its the biggest games since the Olympics. The existence and membership of the Commonwealth speaks for itself.
