Understanding the British Empire’s Expansion and Impact

Posted on Feb 7, 2025 in Geography

UNIT 2: The British Empire

Introduction

The international currency was the Pound Sterling, and London City was the economic capital. Psychological impacts on the British were the success due to sobriety, individual effort, and better or higher moral principles. Britain was divided into two: Englishmen and the rest of the world. The Edwardian Era marked the beginning of the end of the Empire. Threats facing it included other empires such as Germany and the United States, revolts throughout the rest of the Empire from countries seeking more independence, suffragettes wanting the vote for women, and other industrialized countries.

British Empire (I)

Some people think it was created in a “fit of absentmindedness.”

1. British Empire at the End of the 18th Century

The most important event was the Dark Hour: the War of Independence or Revolutionary War, which resulted in the loss of the American colonies and the establishment of the Republic of the USA. America lost colonies, but the British continued expanding firmly in other areas. London was the hub of trade, but other cities such as Glasgow and Liverpool were also involved. There was significant migration to North America.

Regarding the Empire overseas, in the Atlantic, it was characterized by the decimation of local populations, thanks in part to European diseases. In Asia, the Indian subcontinent kept expanding continuously.

2. An Expanding Empire

The process of expansion involved various figures: the naval officer, the Indian Sepoy soldier, the merchant, the emigrant, the missionary, and the traveler. The organization of government was described as an “Empire on the cheap,” lacking a strong centralized power over the Empire. Most trade was between Great Britain and its colonies, with imports and exports throughout the Empire.

There were two “imperatives”: the “military imperative,” in which the Royal Navy and Indian troops defended the Empire, and the “moral imperative,” with British emigrants or emissaries of language and culture, establishing British ways as the norm throughout the Empire. The expansion of the Empire was continuous and seemed to be peaceful, but the facts suggest otherwise. Regarding commerce, there were exports of manufactured goods to colonies, with imports of exotic goods from them.

Colonies of Settlement

  1. North America and Canada: The latest was an example of “responsible government.”
  2. Australia: The major factor in the founding of Australia was as a penal colony. The native population (Aborigines) was largely wiped out. Those not convicted of crimes (merchants, missionaries, adventurers) were “free settlers.” Whites migrated from Australia to New Zealand.
  3. The Cape of Good Hope: The Empire annexed this territory.
  4. The West Indies and West Africa: The slave trade was abolished for the first time by Britain, but full civil and political rights were not necessarily granted to ex-slaves. Sierra Leone was founded as a colony for those ex-slaves.
  5. India: The Army here was larger than Britain’s. Queen Victoria was named “Empress of India.” The main problem was the rising taxes due to the Empire’s need for money. The government was responsible for these taxes, as well as for maintaining law and order and presiding over courts.