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Union Flag of the United Kingdoman imperial flag
‘Forging a Nation’- Linda Colley Britons
From 1707 Both the creation of a strong and vibrant Nation-state
commercial opportunity (of Empire, in large part)
religious securityconstitutional freedoms domestic
securityfreedom from invasion
and, a shotgun marriage – defined by enforcement within and
Paradoxically, against ‘other’empire intricately linked with nationalism, in this modern
democracy
Imperial Motives: early commercial empire
“money, money, money, it is a rich man’s world”
Economic motives: traderaw materialsmarkets
Political motives: geopolitical and militarydiffuse internal tensions
Cultural justification: missionary campaignsthe ‘civilizing’ mission
How does ‘other’ define a nation?
In this ‘imagined community’: consisting of its own various ethnicities
Wars were of central importance: avoided major invasionavoided conscriptioncreated consensus Paton, Sir Joseph N. In Memoriam. 1858
Continental Wars: with France who supported the StuartsSeven Years War supported American colonists after 1778colonial conflicts: N.A., south Asia, Africa, MediterraneanNapoleonic Wars
(unattributed) 18C French print
War is expensive ….
‘Family of Sir William Young’ by Johan Zoffany, R.A. (1733-1810) Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
as is the infrastructure of a modern state
…but it was worth it• pepper in Sumatra, • but increasingly focused on India – not to replace but
complement trade – 1607 Indian textiles to market in spice Islands, as well as pepper and indigo
• In India, the English negotiated with the Mughal Empire for trading posts
Fort William, c.1700; factory in Bengal, c.1790
• until the mid-19C, British interests in India managed by the EIC – virtually a govt. [law, diplomacy, military, commerce]
• main trading settlements in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras – shipped goods from Asia worth 1 million per year₤
Prior to the 18Cthe English government had neither the ways nor the means to administer an Empire itself:
→ into the 17C; when it needed to move troops, private commercial vessels were re-fitted for that purpose→ the earliest ‘imperial’ ventures consisted of a collusion between: the state (that granted monopolies of trade)
individuals (privateers)new limited joint stock companies
like the East India Company (1707)
→ investors got rich, the state raised money, and grabbed land
A ‘polite and commercial people’
Empire impacts everyone: £s in circulation, andculturally (what it means to be British)
increases in production: commoditiesmanufacturing
but the real money was in?
Great Linford, near Milton Keyes and every Briton was involved
Impact of Empire?Commercial growth: state capital for
infrastructurepower and authority
individual capitalsocial shifts – consumer growthscience and industry
Geopolitical knots: EuropeNorth America and
the Caribbean Mediterranean
S. and S.E. Asia
Intellectual challenges: state and society; economics
human naturerace and place
Worlds entangled:Africa and Atlantic Worlds“…They resemble us, but in appearance are the colour of pumpkin-porridge… .They are rude of manners and without any graces or refinement.”
• organized, dynamic societies dynamic prior to arrival of Europeans• respond to Europeans in a variety of ways
accommodationadoption/adaptationresistance
• societies, cultures, economies stressed
The Triangular TradeThe scale: 12 men in 1441
1460s - 500 slaves py1520 - 2,000 py17C – 20 000 py18C – 80 000 py
1. European manufactured goods (esp. firearms) sent to Africa
2. African slaves purchased and sent to Americas3. Cash crops purchased in Americas and returned to
Europe
Foundation and Nature of the Slave Trade• all societies have had slaves:
• practice of slaving in the continent dates to antiquity• war captives • criminals • people expelled from clans• indebted; kidnappings
• qualitatively distinct from Asian, European slavery• not the same concept of private property • therefore wealth defined by human labor potential, not
land• slaves often assimilated into owner’s clan
• non-permanent status: slave in society, not slave society
Horrific Social/Political ImpactOn African regions: variable
resist Rwanda, Bugunda, Masai, Asante, benefit Dahomey, Oyo peoplesincreased violence in existing regional
conflicts
total pop. grew due to crops like manioc or casava but
depleted regional populations distorted sex ratios result
increased polygamy ♀ acting in traditionally ♂ roles
ethnocentrism in modern contact
The Middle Passage (Africa-Americas)Historical amnesia and memory:• ‘new’ histories – 1960s• i.e. teaching industrial revolution• pop. histories Amistad (Spielberg; 1997)
The middle passage• mortality high – between 25% and 30% died • numbers game
However, the majority of British people not horrified
Good evidence suggests they knew from richest to poorest(cost of sugar)
Britons understanding their involvement in slaving Olaudah Equiano
b. Essaka, Nigeria, 1745captured at 11; shipped to Barbados and then Virginiaowned by: tobacco plantation owner
a lieutenant in the English navy (fought against French)
shipwrightsaved £40 to buy his own freedom (1768)1787 involved in government provisioning
of Sierra Leone published ‘Narrative of a Life’m. in Britain with two daughtersd. 1797 he says this is wrong and we can change it
Sierra Leone• efforts of an entire network of British philanthropists and missionaries – one example with local resonance:
• Granville Sharpe (1787) – society to find place in Africa to settle freed slaves
• Why? large, volatile communities in e.g. Liverpool, Nova Scotia
and, to introduce ‘civilized’, Christian blacks as models for the rest
of Africa
• by 1800 fractious – no clear leadership nor stability – British role i.e. SPCK in Canada, not for black settlersBritish administeredbut, center for trade and evangelical activity
‘the British Empire is arrived at that height of Power and Glory, to which none of the States and Monarchies upon the Earth could ever lay the like claim’
- Rev. John Entick, 1774
Tension: defining ‘greatness’liberal philosophic developments – desire for power
encountering and making sense of ‘other’
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