The British Empire

The British Empire was one of the best things to happen to the world and we would be much better off with it back in force.

Discuss.

 

I think that the british empire should've ended so long ago.
The british empire is a glorified chinese empire, ruling by conquest through battle and the destruction of the people,the culture,the beliefs and the rights of the inhabitants.Look at India,ireland,America,etc,etc.
Sure british people have discovered things that without them, life wouldn't be the same but without them cultures,would be intact,people would've been happier,the whole religious belief ratio would be different and history in general would've been less gory.This is all speculation and history could've been worse but we only know of the history we have now and from my speculation, the british empire is the worst thing to ever happen to planet earth.

 

I think.... things are fine the way they are. << >>

 

The British Empire started, funded, and perpetuated the slave trade earlier and for longer than any nation. That is enough of a reason for me to say no.

But because I hate to leave it at that, here's some more things the British Empire was responsible for:

Destruction of indigenous peoples (Africa, Australia, India, America - almost every tribe gone), depriving people of basic human rights in their own homeland (British rule of African areas, India, British/American relations), the idea that the British were somehow superior to those they were colonizing (SLAVERY, oppression etc).

The ONLY thing they did well was wage war, and they even failed at THAT (American Revolution).

Enough reasons for ya? :)

 

I have to admit i had the urge to post that too but i decided to keep a calmness about myself.I'm actually from ireland and i had a serious urge to flame but of course we must restrain ourselves.All of what you said is true and the more i think about what you said, the more it sounds like a nazistic rule implemented by britian.
Britian has gone wrong with the parlement and there feeling of supriority just because they have an old,liver spotted,monarchist of a so-called women sitting on top of the common person and looking down upon the other races and divisions of the world.Look at her relatives and there racist comments towards the people countries like the common chinese farmer, or the racist things they do like prince hairy wearing a nazi uniform.

 

I never said I supported the statement, I was just throwing it out there to see how people viewed the empire.

As for the war thing, the American Revolution was about the only conflict that the British truly lost lol America has a comparatively poorer record ;)

Yes the slave trade was spread mostly by the British Empire, but it was the done thing at the time. I cannot agree that what they did was right. But Britain was also the major cause of the end of the slave trade (and the beginning of the Abolitionist movement).

On the superiority note, would you not feel like you were more skilled than someone if you beat them in a game of chess or some other test of skill? Surely this does not also apply?

The other actions are not defensible, of course. Although I would like to mention a quote from the Monty Python film "Life of Brian", "What have the Romans ever done for us?"

@Daxma: The monarchy has little or no control over the running of the United Kingdom and it has been like that for some time. The current members of the Royal family are people, just like you and me. Everyone makes mistakes, and I'm sure you have been racist before in your lifetime.

 

The thing is bunter we don't know whether it would happen with any other country because it has not happened in other developed countries like our own.Sure victory gives' us big heads and what not but to feel suprior as a country can only be compared to the thoughts of hitler in "Mein Kempf".

 

Hitler felt superior as a race, not a country. British people felt "superior" as being a member of the British empire. Not because they had blond hair and blue eyes.

 

Everyone sometimes, of an occasion has a small racist thought at least once in there life but the thing is it is kept where it was created, in your head not shown to the world as if proud of it.prince harry didn't feel as if he had done anything wrong with that nazi uniform escapade, as if proud of it, therefore marking him as a racist.It's one thing to be a bit racist on a menial,petty manner on which you are just messing or something and you don't really mean it, but to outwardly be racist like that isn't exceptable, by anyone.

 

I highly doubt he wore it with the intention to offend people. He wore it as a costume. Admittedly in bad taste, but as a costume nonetheless. I mean, if I dressed up as death it doesn't mean that I think death is awesome and that I am happy when people die.

 

I never said you supported it either; I was making a joke.

Britain kept slaves for much longer than America did, I believe. Just look at the movie "Amazing Grace" (not focused on the song, but on the British slave trade)

They didn't feel that type of superiority. Every time they found a tribal group (America, Australia, Africa, etc), they would pity them and feel that it was
their duty as British to "educate" and "civilize" the "poor savages", usually destroying their original cultures. Now, admittedly, they were not the only nation to do this. It was kind of a disease that had infected Europe at the time. Just look at Spain destroying the Aztecs, or Portugal getting into the slave trade, or the French missionaries sent to "civilize" the Canadian Indians.

And kind of off-topic, but, although Roman monarchs were reduced to mostly gibbering madmen at the end, Rome did give us roads, some of which survive to this day and are the basis for several main European roads, the Arch, military formations, and, for better or worse, they did unite a large portion of the world and allowed great eras of learning to occur.

 

I checked up on Wikipedia before posting and slavery was abolished in the UK in 1807, while in the US it was 1865 (i.e. the end of the Civil War)

EDIT: I have also discovered from reading on that slavery was already a widespread practice in Africa, carried out by Africans, before the British got there. They were just doing as the natives were doing. Slavery is still actually continuing in parts of Western Africa apparently.

The quote was meant to show that although the British Empire may have been seen as oppressive, they certainly brought a lot of good aspects of civilisation to remote corners of the world, just as the Romans did.

 

Ok, so Britain did end it earlier. Oh well.

What the African slavery was based on was spoils of war, not inherant race. In most slavery systems the slave is either captured in war and can eventually earn freedom for himself or his (her) children, or was a criminal who had to work off the sentance (or life, depending on the crime). European slavery was the first time (perhaps barring the Hebrew slavery in Egypt) that an entire race was thought of only as potential slaves because of some physical characteristic.

 

the british empire tended to be very oppressing in its time of power and that may not be something we need in the world today; itd be best to improve what we have instead of dreaming about the past and what could happen if things were like they were.

 

I never got the British Empire. Britain is an island with nearly no valuable resources left.

BUT THEY RULED EVERYTHING. PLEASE EXPLAIN.

 

Ships. They had a great navy, and legend around the world, I believe, must have made it seem invincible. I have a feeling that some areas may have capitulated without even fighting. Also, they colonized less developed areas (America, Australia, Africa, India), and utilized their resources. Through their navy.

 

I can simply sum it up for you. From around the mid 18th to late 19th Centuries, the British at the time were an extreme trading and naval power, with I believe the largest navy in the world. As natural naval powers, they established colonies and such in certain locations looking for certain goals. Through this system of threaded locations through which connected the lands controlled by the British, thus was born the British Empire; a commonwealth ruled by the crown. The British gained large amounts of territory primarily through conquest, which I believe was due to their advantageous position diplomatically at the time or their technological advantage, but I will have to check on either of those.

I'll explain further if you wish. This is just a vague and broken summary courtesy of a half-asleep What?.

 

Advantageous position? They're on the edge of the map of their time.

 

Advantageous position diplomatically.

Although I will have to check more on that.

 

Africa says hello