Britain’s Colonial Past

8/18/2019 Britain’s Colonial Past

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BRITAIN’S

COLONIAL PAST


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The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates andother territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated withthe overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th andearly 1th centuries. !t its height, it was the largest empire in history and, "or over acentury, was the "oremost global power.

#y 1$%% the #ritish Empire held sway over about &'( million people, one)*"th o" theworld+s population at the time. The empire covered more than ,--,---m% /1,-1%,--- s0 mi, almost a 0uarter o" the Earth+s total land area. !s a result,its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. !t the pea o" its power

it was o"ten said that 2the sun never sets on the #ritish Empire2 because its spanacross the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one o" its

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_colonial_empire


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• After the end of the Second World War, as part of a

larger decolonisation movement by European powers,

Britain granted independence to most of the territories of

the British Empire. This process ended with the political

transfer of ong !ong to "hina in #$$%. The #& British

'verseas Territories remain under British sovereignty.

After independence, many former British colonies (oined

the "ommonwealth of )ations, a free association of

independent states. Si*teen "ommonwealth nations

share their head of state, +ueen Eliabeth --,

as "ommonwealth realms, of which all but about twomillion live in the si* most populous states the /nited

!ingdom, "anada, Australia, 0apua )ew 1uinea, )ew

2ealand, and 3amaica.


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At the height of the British Empire, the power and prestige of the institution were unmatched

anywhere else in the world. "ompanies and advertisers were 4een to use the imagery

associated with this powerful Empire in order to sell their own products.


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British "olonisation in Africa•

-t is important to note that the advent of British coloniation of Africa coincided withthe era of scientific racism as represented by social 5arwinism 6survival of the fittest7.

The British believed that because they had superior weaponry and were therefore

more technologically advanced than the Africans, that they had a right to colonie and

e*ploit the resources of the Africans in the name of promoting civiliation.

Why were Europeans enslaving Africans8

Because they needed labourers to wor4 forthem in this world new to Europe 9 the

Americas. -n the process of con:uest they

had annihilated many of the native peoples;

those who survived the Europeans< guns and

diseases not unnaturally refused to wor4 in

the mines ta4en over by their con:uerors, or

on the plantations they created. The

Europeans tried two solutions e*port

prisoners, and e*port men who indentured

themselves to pay off debts. But both groups

either succumbed to diseases new to them,

or ran away to freedom. So another solution

was sought. Africans did not have guns either,so why not enslave and transport them8


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#ritain "ollowed in the "ootsteps o" the 3ortuguese in voyaging tothe west coast o" !"rica and enslaving !"ricans. The #ritishparticipation in what has come to be called the +ne"arious trade+was begun by 4ir 5ohn awins with the support and investmento" Eli7abeth I in 1'. #y "air means and "oul, #ritain outwitted itsEuropean rivals and became the premier trader in the enslaved"rom the seventeenth century onwards, and retained this positiontill 1(-. #ritain supplied enslaved !"rican women, men andchildren to all European colonies in the !mericas.The efects on Arica! "ew thousand !"ricans gained outo" the slave trade, but millionssu8ered. There had been slavery "orcenturies in 9est !"rica, though thewor that slaves did varied "romplace to place. !t *rst, criminals andprisoners o" war were sold to

Europeans by !"rican ings andchie"s but they became greedy andneighbouring ingdoms wereattaced to capture young, strongmales. :n the coast, local cra"ts"aced sti8 competition "rom mass)produced European goods that were

traded "or captives, and much "armland was turned over to growing


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The


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/pon arriving at the coast slaves were put in dar4 airless European dungeons

where they were held for wee4s, months, or even years to be sold to traders

and shipped across the Atlantic ocean 6as slavery became a big business

large pens were built called baracoons7. When it was finally time to be sold the

slaves were dragged out of their holding places, stripped of their clothing, and

inspected by doctors and European traders. Traders only wanted to buy stronghealthy men and women. After sale the salves were branded with a hot iron,

given a mar4ing to determine weather they belonged to the English, >rench, or

to people from other nations. 'ladaudah E:uiano, a salve who gained his

freedom and got an education wrote this about

his first e*periences on the voyage

"I was soon put down under the decks, and there

I received such a salutation in my nostrils as Ihad never experienced in my life. So that with

the loathsomeness of the stench and [people]

crying together, I became so sick and low that I

was not able to eat." "he closeness of the place, and the heat of the

climate, added to the number in the ship, which

was so crowded that each had scarcely room to

turn himself, almost suffocated us. his produced

copious !abundant perspirations !sweat, so that

the air soon became unfit for respiration

!breathing, from a variety of loathsome smells, and

brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which

many died."


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• Zululand is an area in Southern Africa which has a rich and vibrant history.

The 2ulus became historically important in the early #$th century under the

leadership of Sha4the people who con:uered and united many of the

people to creat a large nation in southern Africa.


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• Cost 2ulu people state their beliefs to be "hristian.

• When the British succeeded the Boers as rulers of )atal in #&D, they encountered a

hostile 2ulu people led by Cpandes son, "etshwayo. -n #%, the British laid claim

on the whole of 2ululand and demanded that the 2ulu !ing, "etshwayo, submit to

British rule. "etshwayo refused and 1reat Britain launched an attac4, starting the

Anglo=2ulu War where the British initially suffered a high number of casualties. Thebattle at the -sandlwana Countain on FF 3anuary, #%$ was particularly disastrous for

the British where F@,@@@ 2ulu soldiers overran the British army camp. The British

army was routed with more than F@@@ causalities. At first, the 2ulu victory shoc4ed

the British, however England decided to send more troops and the Anglo=2ulu War

continued with heavy losses of life on both sides. -n #%, the British defeated the

2ulus, and anne*ed 2ululand and declared it a British "olony.

• They remain today the most numerous ethnic group in South Africa, and now have

e:ual rights along with all other citiens.


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-n #?% Eliabeth granted royal permission to Sir umphrey 1ilbert 6c.#?D%9D7, an

early advocate of American coloniation, to

“ discover, search, find out and view such remote heathen and

barbarous lands countries and territories not actually possessed of any

Christian prince or people…”

As Spain had already laid claim to much of South and "entral America, this

meant that English attention was directed northwards, to the eastern coast of )orth

America. 1ilbert led three unsuccessful attempts to establish a colony in America,

and was lost at sea on his last voyage in #?D. The following year, Eliabeth

granted a patent to his half=brother, Walter Galegh 6#??&9#H#7, to whom she

transferred 1ilbert


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Ralegh and Roanoke

• Galegh was a soldier, poet, courtier and adventurer. e charmed Eliabeth with his

good loo4s, wit and manners, and became one of her favourites during the early

#?@s. -n addition to his patent for America, he was granted a wine=trading monopoly in

#?D and appointed "aptain of the +ueen


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• Galegh sponsored a number of attempts to establish an English colony at

Goano4e, in the territory he claimed on the east coast of America and which

he named


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The Lost Colony

• The ne*t attempt at founding a colony in Iirginia was more ambitious. This time, 3ohn

White was named governor and the group included families, who were also investorsin the pro(ect. -n 3uly #?% White and around #?@ men, women and children arrived

safely in Iirginia. Galegh had instructed the group to head for the "hesapea4e Bay

area north of Goano4e but, for some reason, the group returned to the previous

settlement on Goano4e -sland instead. The birth of the first English child in America,

White


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The fate of Sir Walter Galeigh


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• England


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'pium War Britain Stole

ong !ong >rom "hina

• British Hong Kong 6英屬香港 7 refers to ong !ong as a "rown colony

and later, a British dependent territory under British administration from

# to #$$%. 6A Crown colony, also 4nown in the #%th century as royal

colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British

Empire.

• The British ong !ong period began in the #$th century when the British,5utch, >rench, -ndians and Americans saw "hina as the world


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•

The !irst "nglo#Chinese $ar 6#D$9#&F7, 4nown popularly as the !irst%pium $ar or simply the %pium $ar , was fought between the /nited

!ingdom and the +ing 5ynasty of "hina over their conflicting viewpoints on

diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of (ustice.

• "hinese officials wished to control the spread of opium, and confiscated

supplies of opium from British traders. The British government, although not

officially denying "hina


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"rown "olony of Singapore

6#H%9#$&F7• &ingapore in the &traits &ettlements refers to a period in the history of Singapore

from #FH to #$&F, during which Singapore was part of the Straits Settlements

together with 0enang and Calacca. >rom #D@ to #H% the Straits Settlements was a

residency, or subdivision, of the 0residency of Bengal, in British -ndia. -n #H%, the

Straits Settlements became a separate "rown colony, directly overseen by the

"olonial 'ffice in Jondon. The period saw Singapore establish itself as an important

trading port and developed into a ma(or city with rapid increase in population.• British rule was suspended in >ebruary #$&F, when the -mperial 3apanese Army

invaded Singapore during World War --.


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• As Singapore continued to grow, the deficiencies in the Straits Settlements

administration became increasingly apparent. Apart from the indifference of

British -ndia


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The British Ga(

• The British Ra' is a term of history. KRa'K is a word of -ndian languages

which means KruleK, so KBritish Ra'K means rule by the British in -ndia.

• The British first arrived in -ndia around #H@@. They came to trade. The

British East -ndia "ompany was formed to facilitate that trade. The >renchwere also there. At the end of the Seven Mears War 6#%?H=#%HD7, the

>rench lost there trading rights in -ndia and the British East -ndia company

began to establish greater control, generally through agreements with the

Cughal rulers. By the #&@


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• The British con:uered -ndia with the help of -ndian soldiers, but did not

treat them properly. They were denied higher positions in spite of their

abilities. The -ndians were also traded as slaves to other British colonies.

The company was indifferent to education and so the old system of

education suffered under the British rule.• The British introduced modern technology with the intention to sell

manufactured goods li4e te*tiles and machines for profit. -n the process

of trying to ma4e a profit and e*ploiting -ndia, the British did of course

benefit -ndia. They built railways throughout -ndia in order to ma4e

everything readily accessible. They established Jaw "ourts, civil services

and transport systems. They also established factories, schools anduniversities to introduce western ideas and to incorporate the idea of

democracy. Cissionaries came to -ndia and spread "hristianity. This was

all done in the name of Britains economy.


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British "olonialism and

5arwinism


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The country which profited most from 5arwin


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)o matter how much "olumbus is portrayed in films about the discovery

of America as having a warm and humane attitude to the natives, the fact

is that "olumbus did not regard the native people as human.

THE MAAC!E "# THE $AT%&E AME!%CA$

$ith %hristopher %olumbus& discovery of 'merica there began a

dreadful massacre of the (ative 'mericans.


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"hristopher "olumbus was the person who first set in motion a

great massacre. "olumbus established Spanish colonies in the

places he discovered, made slaves of the natives and was

responsible for the starting of the slave trade. The Spanish

Kcon:uistadorsK saw the policy of oppression and e*ploitation that"olumbus implemented, and continued it the massacres carried

out reached enormous dimensions. >or e*ample, the population of

one island, F@@,@@@ when "olumbus first came to it, was only

?@,@@@ F@ years later, and by #?&@ only a thousand people

remained.

B t th l i f th l i li t did t i t - E t


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But these claims of the colonialists did not win many supporters. -n Europe at

that time, the truth that all people were created e:ual by 1od and that they all

descended from one ancestor9Adam9was so widely accepted that the "atholic

"hurch in particular too4 a clear position against such plundering invasions. 'ne

of the best 4nown e*amples of this is the reply by the bishop of "hiapas,

Bartolome de las "asas, who set foot in the )ew World together with "olumbus,

who said that the natives were Keach a real human being,K in reply to the

colonists< claim that the natives were Ka species of animal.K 0ope 0aul --- cursed

the savage treatment of the natives in a papal bull in #?D%, and declared that the

natives were real human beings with the capacity for faith.

But in the #$th century the situation changed. Together with the spread of

materialist philosophy and societies< growing distant from religion, the truth thathuman beings were created by 1od began to be denied. This, as was touched on

in the preceding pages, was at the same time the rise of racism.

With the rise of 5arwinist=materialist philosophy in the #$th century, racism grew

stronger, and this created a great support for Europe


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,arwin-s nmity Towards the Turks

The most important target British colonialism set itself towards the end of the

#$th century was the 'ttoman Empire. At that period the 'ttoman state ruled a huge area from Memen to Bosnia=

eregovina. But by now it was finding it hard to control this area which it had

managed in peace, calm, and stability. "hristian minorities were beginning to rise up

in the name of independence, and such great military powers as Gussia were

beginning to threaten the 'ttomans.

-n the last :uarter of the century Britain and >rance (oined the powers which werethreatening the 'ttomans. Britain particularly set its eyes on the 'ttomans< southern

provinces. The Berlin Agreement, signed in #%, is an e*pression of the European

colonialists< decision to divide up the 'ttoman territories. >ive years later, in #F,

Britain occupied Egypt, which was an 'ttoman territory. British colonialism set about

its plans to later ta4e over the 'ttoman territories in the Ciddle East.


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As always, Britain based these colonialist policies on racism. The British government

deliberately tried to portray the Tur4ish nation, the basic element of the 'ttomans, and

particularly the 'ttoman state, as a so=called Kbac4wardK people.

British 0rime Cinister William Ewart 1ladstone openly said that the Tur4s are e*amples of

man4ind


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5arwin


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•http>??en.wiipedia.org?wii?;olonial@ong@Kong

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•http>??simple.wiipedia.org?wii?#ritish@AaB

•http>??harunyahya.com?en?wors?$1?the)disasters)darwinism)brought)to?chapter?%-

•http>??britishempire.co.u?

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Britain’s Colonial Past