The Cultural Importance of the British Empire During the reign of Queen Victoria, Great Britain was the centre of a global empire, controlling nearly one-quarter of the Earth. Although only a small minority of the population of the Empire was actually British, British bureaucrats directly administrated it. Moreover, Victorian age is often referred to as the period of the Pax Britannica, since the territories controlled by the British Crown lived under a relative peaceful kingdom. Especially the motherland enjoyed peace and prosperity; the only wars of this period were the sporadic rebellions in the distant colonies, which, however, did not trouble the British citizens on the island (Greenblatt 1636-1640). Through the Empire, British people …show more content…
For instance, Thomas Babington Macaulay in his Minute on Indian Education argues that a ruling Indian class should be educated in English, rather than Sanskrit and Persian, because only by knowing English they would be able to enjoy the most advanced literature in the world and in turn educate the rest of the country. He believed that: “all the historical information which has been collected from all the books written in the Sanscrit language is less valuable than what may be found in the most paltry abridgment used at preparatory schools in England” (Macaulay 1641). Macaulay’s words reflected the Victorian perception that British culture was the most valuable, not because it was the most ancient of the world, but because it was the widest. He adds: “Whoever knows that language, has ready access to all the vast intellectual wealth, which all the wisest nations of the earth have created and hoarded in the course of ninety generations” (Macaulay 1641). He does not see the promotion of a foreign language as an imposition, but rather as a wonderful tool that the British are donating to the
The British East India Company took over India because of all the resources that they had. when the company made the Indians join a military they rebelled and started firing back at the British and then the company “called” the British government and they came with big guns to take control and regain India for themselves. British imperialism has a negative impact on the politics of india because of the British courts and the government wasn't far toward the indians. British imperialism had a negative impact on the economy of India because the British did not help the environment and they made railroads to take away from the land. British imperialism had a positive impact on the economy of India because the British eliminated highway robberies,
On the 31st of December in the year 1600, ‘The Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies’ received a Royal Charter to be England’s trading representative in India. By they early part of the 17th Century, Britain had already eclipsed Portuguese interests in India. The company bought in cotton, silk, indigo, opium, saltpeter and tea mainly in exchange for silver bullion. These were valuable commodities in Britain at that time. By 1720, 15% of British imports were from India.
British imperialism had a negative impact on the politics and economics of india because the British were running the country for their own good and not for the good of the indians. In contrast the British had customs that ultimately ended up benefiting the Indians.
The British imperialism is a negative impact on political, economic and social of Indian. The British controlled the government and made the Indians pay unfair taxes, grow cash crops and increased the frequency and severity of famines and manipulation of the cloth market. The British also wouldn’t let all Indians learn English. Why did the British do this to the Indians? The Indians politics had a negative Impact because the British controlled the government and made the Indians pay unfair taxes.
The British originally came in as a decent sized company in East India, but when the sepoys attacked that company, England sent their whole army and navy to get the sepoys under control, but while doing that they also took over all of India. Although economically and socially the Indians did benefit in some ways, the British established a massive infrastructure by controlling India and having a huge political, economic, and social impact on India that helped them more than it helped the Indians.
Starting in 1754, the Seven Years’ war began and led up to a sequence of events involving the Parliament. The Parliament is the highest legislature in Great Britain and consisted of the House of Lords and House of Commons. The Parliament made three acts because of the Seven Years’ war, which affected the colonist greatly. The three acts made by the Parliament included the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and the Tea Act. The Parliament made the acts to resolve issues and to enforce more laws, however, some acts made the colonist very upset and led up to events of commotion. The colonist had mixed emotions towards the act because some were liked and others were not.
How did the Great War for Empire change the relationship between England and its American colonies?
In the past few centuries, multiple countries largely involved in imperialising had been in Western Europe. They had imperialism in places such as Asia, Africa, and America. When a country imperialized, they extend their rule into a foreign country. Imperializing a country allows trade with the country that is taking the rule and also their allies. With this in mind, it is clear that there is a worldwide economy coming together through the trade of goods and services.
The British applied a new imperial policy upon the American colonies in order to pay off the debt accumulated from the French and Indian War. Some of these policies included acts that the British enforced in order to further regulate the colonies and make themselves more money for the mother country. These acts showed the colonies that they were still controlled by the British and that they were inferior to them. Britain's transition from salutary neglect brought about great social and political problems. The social, political, and economic conflict grew in large extent due to the new imperial policies that were implemented.
The British Empire contributed to tremendous improvements to transportation and communication in many parts of the world. In India, before colonization, goods were transported manually by animals and humans, there was no concept of the railway and such modes of transportation. In the middle of the nineteenth century the railway was introduced to many British colonies, alas the extremely useful mode of transportation was born. Of the many benefits, the railway system made it very easy to carry large quantities of goods at a fairly cheap price and this double advantage helped in the ease in exporting and importing of goods. India could now easily distribute goods and the factories of Bombay and Calcutta could be supplied with cotton. Another major contribution by the British Empire would be religion.Missionaries worked throughout the British Empire during the end of the eighteenth century, spreading the message of God as they saw it to be their duty to convert people to Christianity. For many, this specific religion provided answers to questions about evil in the forms of poverty, disease or other misfortunes. It aided many individuals facing crises and problems. Of all the effects of the British Empire in India, the utmost important effect was the spread of the English language. Today, English is arguably the main
The colonization of Virginia, Maryland and the Massachusetts Bay corresponds to pivotal points in history that began the formation of our modern day United States of America. In all three of these regions the process of transplantation developed because of the hunger of finding the Northwest Passage and ultimately the search for a get rich-quick-scheme, gold. Besides their initial intentions, other common factors were the shortages of financial resources and the need for continuous investment from London.
During this period of time, Britain was a very influential world power, but all too often they abused this power. The colonists that had been sent from Europe knew first hand what it was like to be taken advantage of by the British Parliament. These colonists had spent years creating an infrastructure for future generations and were enraged when King George III sent out unjust acts over the colonies. Neither George III nor the Parliament had a right to force their hand over the colonies. First of all, the colonies did not have adequate representation in Parliament. Next, the colonists did not all originate Britain. Lastly, the colonists had been extremely isolated from Britain, so they had to learn to fend for themselves. Even though Britain
The context of Britain’s imperial policies was to regain control of the American colonies. When the French and Indian War concluded in 1763, Britain was in victory in the defeat of the French and her allies, but that victory resulted in great debt. The King of Britain and Parliament figured the colonists were the key to their dilemma. Aside from being in debt, Britain was also struggling to maintain control of the colonies. Britain began to enforce taxation and acts in which the colonists claimed unjust. These British imperial policies that were implanted onto the colonies resulted in the colonists showing resistance towards British rule.
The empire has many good things but it also has bad things to it. On the positive side, it created better means of transportation. It also transported goods to other countries including cotton which was in high demand. On the negative side, the rich would profit off the poor. The british empire is a good thing because it helped increase transportation and increased trade.
In the Minute on Indian Education, Thomas Babington Macaulay argues for the creation of a Westernized educational system. By utilizing the English language, Macaulay believes that he can transform India’s thinking. He undermines the importance of the Arabic and English language and continues to explain the superiority of England and the English language. He goes so far as to exclaim that one bookshelf in England contains more valuable information than all of the literature in India and Arabia, even though he admits that he has no knowledge of Sanscrit or Arabic. Babington has a braggadocios attitude in order to justify the colonization of India. By teaching the English language and ingraining