The United Kingdom is one of the most powerful nations during the Victorian era, and its Empire now spreads all over the continents. The second half of the 19th Century could potentially be analysed through the foreign policy of the two main political figures at the time: William Ewart Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. Both are ambitious, charismatic leaders, and both were several times elected as British Prime Ministers. The following texts, which we will analyse, represent both parties: firstly, W. E Gladstone’s speech to the House of Commons on May 1877, on the debate concerning the Eastern Question, and secondly Benjamin Disraeli’s speech at the Crystal Palace concerning the maintenance of the Empire on June 24, 1872. Both texts aim to convince …show more content…
The Liberal prime minister declares, at the end of his first paragraph: “And then I ask you, what quarrel can ever arise between any two countries, or what war in which you may not, if you be so minded, set up British interests on a ground of interference ?” (l.8-10). The very history of the empire shows that its extension was made at the expense of many other countries, such as the political instability of “India” (l.11), as raised by the politician, which led to the growing power of the East India Company. But this also means that the British empire is at risk: with its will to conquer and meddle, it creates conflicts which can potentially backfire on them. In this sense, Mr Gladstone’s foreign policy is rather isolationist, that is to say that the best interest of the nation is not to military intervene if possible: it is costly and unnecessarily dangerous. Less colonial extension would mean less occasion to use the army. As such, he does not completely view colonies as Mr Disraeli does: a military and strategic asset. He explains, (l.22) that the country “[...] could call from aid from colonies themselves.” Colonies can only enhance the military capacity, in numbers, of the British army. Many Indian soldiers were thus used by the East India Company during conflicts. But it is also a strategical location, and …show more content…
It is known that Mr Gladstone, as a liberal, defends free trade. Although this aspect is not brought up in his speech, a reference is made in Mr Disraeli’s speech. Mr Disraeli says, (L.8): “it has been proved to all of us that we have lost money in colonies.” and explains that this argument has been used by his political opponents as a justification to “disintegrate” (l.32) the empire. Although, as previously explains, Mr Disraeli’s concedes that the colonies are in need of reform, it is only an argumentative tactic to strengthen his own argument. The Tories are aware of the weakness of the colonies, and are prepared to act upon it. It is only a matter of reform, easily solved if resolved by the right person, as Mr Disraeli implies in his speech with his detailed solutions. To him, the economic weaknesses of colonies are not relevant arguments to justify the reduction of the colonial empire. Moreover, Mr Disraeli clearly expresses his economic protectionist ideas, by mentioning the necessity of implementing an “imperial tariff” (l.19), an interesting opposition to the liberal notion of free trade. Colonies are an economic disadvantage for the Liberal Party, but Mr Disraeli showed us a different aspect which only aided him to develop his protectionist
Roberts’s argument and stance is made very clear. It is quite evident that he is for free trade through his depiction of it in the tale. While, some may argue that the author is too biased, it cannot be said that Roberts was not convincing and persuasive. In the
For years Britain’s economy reaped the rewards of financial gain through the laws of the Navigation Acts which forced the use of only British vessels for trade between the Britain and its colonies and the Triangle Trade which Britain and its colonies and Africa traded between themselves for slaves, raw goods and manufactured products. During this time Britain’s concern for a relationship with its colonies diminished and as time passed so did the colonists sense of being British. As more immigrants from other nations settled in the colonies and children born in this new land became adults, being British lessened.
Gilbert characterized the debate as whether Americans should maintain close economic ties with the Old world or favor a Utopian separation. Since the conceptualization of America as a Republic, Americans were faced with the necessity of forming a system of foreign policy, they looked to England for a pattern of what their attitude ought to be. (pg. 20) In this section Gilbert
By the early twentieth century the Liberal Government was worried that Britain’s military capability and general military power was not as strong and it once was. Therefore, the Government’s concern over national security definitely influenced the decision for the reforms. However, there are three main factors that also need to be taken into account when deciding if concern over national security was the real reason for the reforms: the Social reasons, concerns for Britain’s Empire and the Political motive. The Social reasons played a large part in persuading the Liberals to reform. The detailed reports of Booth and Rowntree, and the evidence which was brought to light, highlighted that nearly a 1/3 of Britain’s population lived in
The loss of 60,000 Australian soldiers has two perspectives; but it is clear that the loss was not justified. This is because Australia was effectively used as a pawn by the British against Britain’s allies and other countries. There are four main areas of focus - 1, Australia’s motivation to join World War I, 2, Effects of loss of soldiers, 3, Changes in Australia’s view on war, and 4, Britain’s ties to Australia.
“It is true; democracy, votes for men and votes for women, making slow but certain progress in 1914, have suddenly become established facts in many lands in 1917. Already our one-time Mother Country has become the standard bearer of our Americanisms, the principles she once denied, and—cynical fact—Great Britain, not the United States, is now leading the world on to the coming democracy. Any man who has red American blood in his veins, any man who has gloried in our history and has rejoiced that our land was the leader of world democracy, will share with us the humbled national pride that our country has so long delayed action upon this question that another country has beaten us in what we thought was our especial world mission.” (Catt, 1917)
“Our first duty is to win, at any cost!” Sir Robert Borden played an important role as Canadian Prime Minister during World War I, and while he is to be praised, he also to be held accountable for his actions; especially in the passing of Bills through parliament. Sir Robert Borden had not a great vision but more so a motto to live up to (to strive for), a country to lead in a worldwide war, and decisions that if not taken in a certain light, would have disrupted the newly forming “peaceful” dominion into a divided house.
Great Britain is a country founded by a union, the Act of Union, of 1707, states that England and Scotland should be united into one kingdom which they named Great Britain! Even though it has been many years since the 19th and 20th century many facts have not changed from that time. Great Britain till this day is part of the greatest powers of allies of the world. In this paper we are going to talk about the alliance system and about the new imperialism in Great Britain by answering a few questions. First, what alliances did Great Britain belong to and who were their primarily allies and what were
Lugard connects nationalistic and economic motives for imperialism by addressing how it is needed for Great Britain’s economic growth. During the late eighteenth century, many countries were looking for new materials to trade and use and had to go to Africa to find these materials. In the speech saying, “… absolute necessity, for the prosperity of this country” Lugard use this to convey how powerful it could be having imperial lands that the country should not just do it but that it is a necessity. Without it the country would not advance, but with it they will get new raw materials to trade making the empire wealthier. By the reason of this people will have stronger nationalism over having a wealthy empire and more land to gain more wealth.
Britain became the vast and mighty Empire upon which the sun never set through the development and use of what is, in modern terms, referred to as Imperialism. The British approach to the colonization of India came out of: the European, specifically British, superiority mindset; the practical approach of attaining resources in return for modernization and “guardianship”; and the solidification of Britain as the world’s dominating force. Britain’s use of Imperialism, as a necessity to maintain its Empire, acted as the catalyst of the Indian Rebellion.
Archibald Philip Primrose, Lord Rosebery, wrote, in his letter to the London Times, that colonies are essential to the nations survival. “Health of mind and body exalt a nation in the competition of the universe” (Document 8). These political leaders believed that colonization was necessary to keep the nation’s global influence.
Introduction:Why does Alan Taylor believe that it is important to revise our traditional view of colonial history?
In The Empire Writes Back (Ashcroft, et al.), the term ‘post-colonial’ is defined as covering “all the culture affected by the imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day”. Post-colonial theory, then, provides an insight into the complicated power dynamic that occurs between the coloniser and the colonised, and, at its simplest, responds to colonialism with emphasis on the effects, both positive and negative, on the coloniser and the colonised. Having read Jones’s Mister Pip with a post-colonial lens, it becomes clear that Mr Watts and Matilda are a metaphor for the coloniser and the colonised. Within this metaphor, they each take on unbalanced roles in different relationships, and are represented in different ways, though Mr
The first cause that I will discuss that led to British decolonization was its debt from back to back World Wars and the overall affect on the wars itself. World War 1 was costly to the British economy, but for World War 2, the economic losses were far heavier. World War 2 ate up Britain’s monetary reserves and a quarter of its stored wealth. Britain was also stripped of two-thirds of its pre-war export trade. This economic loss forced Britain into acquiring loans from the United States. This meant that after World War 2 Great Britain had emerged from war as a debtor nation with an empire still intact. The once great financial resources of Britain were devastated by the high cost of the wars and even the Great Depression before. Ultimately, this meant that Britain’s foreign policy could not be as extravagant as it was before the Wars.
When evaluating his discourse, one must remember that Rogers’ primary duty abroad was enacting English foreign policy; this is something he managed ably. The text demonstrates intimacy with both William the Silent of the United Provinces and Elector