![]() ![]() ![]() Whoever was in control of a colony had to be aware of the views of the local elites and govern through them. The colonies were run in a variety of ways – some eventually as self- governing dominions (largely the white settler colonies), others by authoritarian governors but others with an element of local participation. Many of the former colonies of the Empire retain vestiges of the political systems set up by the British. The Man on the Spot often determined what happened We need to ditch teaching about our perceived glorious past and face up to the darker side of our past, but not forgetting that the Empire had a huge impact on the world today and that it was not all bad – even if such legacies were not necessarily intended. We need better education and more open debate on all aspects of British colonial history, warts and all - not as an exercise in self- flagellation but as a means of better understanding the world around us and how we are perceived by others’. Dr Andrea Major, associate professor in British colonial history, called for better teaching of the British Empire when she told the Telegraph, ‘ There is a collective amnesia about the levels of violence, exploitation and racism involved n many aspects of imperialism,…. Understanding its subtlety and its importance to British and world history is essential for every student. ‘ History teaching should be honest or it is merely propaganda’.’The history of the British Empire was not all bad, and no all good. Sir Anthony Seldon, Vice- Chanceller of the University of Buckingham, has made the point that the teaching of the Empire should be honest and not dominated by special interest groups. The British Empire was complex and the teaching of it needs to reflect these complexities. The Teaching of the Empire should be Honest Anyone who was taught a version of Empire which focused on the glorious exploits of Clive, Gordon and Raffles and saw the Second World War as won by Britain fighting alone will have a different view to someone who was taught nothing of empire but the Slave Trade. Such views most likely reflect differences between Labour and Conservative supporters, and the kind of education that was received. Only one in five in a YouGov poll sees the British Empire as a reason to feel regret. On the other hand, a number of recent polls have indicated that more than four in ten Britons view the British Empire as a good thing and colonialism as something that we can feel proud of. However, we must not just focus on these events but examine the Empire in all of its complexities.įour in Ten view the Empire as a good thing As well as the Slave Trade and Slavery, there was the Amritsar Massacre, the Jamaican Uprising, the Boer War concentration camps and the response to the Indian Rebellion. The British Empire was built on the use of and the continual threat of violence and there were appalling examples of the use of force. It would seem that as a nation we are more concerned about beating ourselves up and making the nation feel guilty than understanding how and why the British came to exist, and setting the growth of the British Empire into context. The legacy of the British has been varied and complex but in recent years much attention has been on making value judgements about whether the Empire was a good or bad thing. Kwasi Kwarteng, a British MP and historian has recently written a book ‘ Ghosts of Empire’ in which he focuses on a few of these areas (Kashmir, Burma, Sudan, Iraq, Nigeria and Hong Kong) and details the legacy of the British. In many former colonial areas, political issues remain to be solved that had their genesis during the British era. Within these states much remains of the commercial, industrial, political and cultural apparatus set up by the British. A brief look at an atlas from before WW1 will show over 100 colonies that were then part of the Empire but now are part of or wholly sovereign states. The British Empire has had a huge impact on the world in which we live. ![]()
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