The British Empire

and its decolonisation

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ORIGIN:
 Voyages of exploration since the
late 15th century

 Rivalry with other European nations

(France and Spain): territorial
conquest

 Economic expansion: new products,

commercial profit, opening new
markets
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 CAUSES
For states
 Need to find new routes to the
Asian market (India, China, islands
of species)
 Need to build a world market for
British goods
 Competition with other European
nations to become a world power
For individuals
 Search for religious freedom
 A new start in a land of promise
(gold, new lands…)
 Famines, economic depression –
seeking economic prosperity
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 Early exploration voyages

 Under the reign of the first Tudor,

Henry VII, Giovanni Caboto (John
Cabot) starts a voyage to the coast
of North America (1497-1498).

 Searching for a North-western

passage to Asia.

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 Failed attempts

 1595. Roanoke colony was

established by an expedition led by
Sir Walter Raleigh.
 It was the first North American
colony by the English.

 By 1588, the colonists had

mysteriously disappeared, when
another expedition returned with
supplies.

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The British Empire: 17th century

 1603 Ireland is fully conquered,

becoming the first British colony. The
Irish are dispossessed of their land in
Ulster creating the first British
plantations.
 1626. The Caribbean (West Indies)
begins to be colonised with the
massacre of the Kalinago people in St.
Kitts by English and French settlers.
 British sugar plantations begin to be
established using prisoners/slaves.

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  The Navigation Act of 1651 set up a closed
MERCANTILISM AND economy between Britain and its colonies
PROTECTIONISM  All colonial exports had to be shipped on
English ships to the British market, and all
colonial imports had to come by way of
Navigation acts England.
 Navigation Acts were designed to restrict
England’s carrying trade to English ships. They
were effective chiefly in the 17th and 18th
centuries.
 The measures became a form of trade
protectionism during an era of mercantilism.

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 The slave trade acquired a peculiar Slavery and the Fate of
importance to Britain’s colonial economy in the Native Population
the Americas.
 1661. Slavery is formally legalised by
Britain in Barbados, followed by Jamaica
and Antigua. Over 2.3 million African
slaves work on British sugar plantations in
brutal conditions.
 1675. A Native American army is
destroyed by English colonists.
 Eventually, 95% of Native Americans in
North America are wiped-out by war,
massacres and disease.
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 18th century
 1700. The slave trade is now
dominated by Britain, bringing over
3.4 million African slaves to the
Americas and Caribbean. 15% of
prisoners die on route (population
in England was only 5.2 million at
this time).
 1757. India is conquered by the
British East India Company.
Later rebellions are violently
crushed. Millions may have been
killed after the Indian rebellion
of 1857.
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 The role of trading companies: The Indian case
 The East India Company, formed
for the exploitation of spice trade
with East and Southeast Asia and
India, was established by royal
charter on December 31, 1600.
 It was a monopolistic trading body
that began establishing trading
posts in India. This was the
beginning of a series of imperialist
policies by the British in India.
 The East Indian Company gradually
became involved in politics and
acted as an agent of British
imperialism in India from the early
18th century to the mid-19th
century.
 The British Raj in
India, or Direct rule in India,
lasted from 1858 to 1947.
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 North America and Oceania

 1763 North America is conquered by British

colonists by an alliance of French colonists
and Native Americans.
 The colonists declare independence 1776,
but Britain retains part of Canada.

 1788 Australia is colonised as a British penal

colony. 90% of the indigenous people are
wiped-out by disease and massacres.

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 19th century
This century marked
THE FULL FLOWER OF
THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
A sophisticated
administration system and
policy towards the colonies
was imposed by
the Colonial Office.
 AFRICA AND ASIA
 1815. Britain colonises South Africa
and establishes lucrative gold mines,
defeating the Dutch Boer colonists.
 The Zulu Kingdom warriors were
latermassacred by British machine guns
in 1879.
 1819. Singapore is captured, followed
by Malaysia and the East Indies.
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 The Opium wars
 1826 Britain conquers and colonises Burma.
 1833. Slavery abolished in the British empire.
Huge compensation paid out (to the owners,
not the slaves).
 1839. Opium is smuggled into China by
Britain, forcing it to trade by getting its
population addicted to it.
 China blocks this, resulting in the Opium
Wars (1839-42; 1856-60) . Britain seizes
Hong Kong.
 Britain forces unequal trade treaties on China
and Thailand.

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 Imperialism in Africa
 1884. Africa is carved up by the
European powers at the Berlin
Conference (Congo Conference),
with Britain getting East and
Southern Africa.

 The conference paved the way for

greater colonial activity by
European powers, which eliminated
or overrode most existing forms of
African autonomy and self-
governance.

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 20th century
 AFRICA AND INDIA
 1902. Britain develops modern concentration camps in South Africa during
the Boer Wars, to hold prisoners. A quarter of them die of starvation and
disease.
 1918. European colonists fight in the first World War. One million Indian
soldiers serve in British army, of which 74,000 are killed.
 1919. The Amritsar massacre in India: British officers fire on unarmed
protesters, killing 400. This helps ignite India’s independence movement.

 WHITE POPULATED COLONIES

 They increasingly claim independence: devolution starts (Canada 1847,
Australia 1901, The Union of South Africa 1910…)
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 AFTER WWII: FINAL PROCESS OF DECOLONISATION

 Nationalistic sentiment increases among territories controlled by Britain.

 After WWII:
 1947. India gains independence from Britain. India and Pakistan separate,
causing refugee crises and massacres, and later wars in Kashmir and
Bangladesh.
 1953. In Kenya, Mau Mau independence fighters are interned in brutal British
concentration camps. Many are tortured and over 1,000 are executed. Up to
100,000 Kenyans died.
 African territories gradually become more or totally independent from the
British and other European nations.

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DECOLONIZATION OF
AFRICA

South Africa: 1910, 1961

Egypt : 1922; 1954
Sudan: 1956; Ghana: 1957
Nigeria: 1960
Sierra Leone: 1961
Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda: 1962
Gambia: 1965
Kenya, Rhodesia: 1963
Zambia: 1964
Bostwana, Lesotho: 1966
Swaziland: 1968
Zimbabwe: 1980

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 …Until the present
 1965. The majority of colonies successfully win independence
from Britain in the 1960s and 1970s.
 However, in 1972 violence erupts in Northern Ireland, British
troops are sent in and shoot dead 13 unarmed protestors on
Bloody Sunday. IRA bombings begin.
 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Peaceful relationships in Northern
Ireland (between IRA and Loyalist supporters)
 After Brexit, some historical nations within the UK are considering
claiming independence and joining the EU.

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 The Commonwealth
https://thecommonwealth.org

 Emerged as a result of:

– Raising claims for independence among certain colonies (white majority)
since the 19th century (Decolonisation)
– Gradual loss of power of the UK during the 20th century, especially after
WWII (in favour of the emerging power of the US).

 It is described as “a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal

countries”.
 It is home to 2.5 billion people, including both advanced economies and
developing countries. 32 of its members are small states (island nations).
 Common goals: development, democracy and peace. Its principles are
expressed in the Commonwealth Charter.
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 Key dates
 1926. The “British Commonwealth of
Nations” is created through the Balfour
Declaration at the Imperial Conference.
Composed of self-governing
dependencies.
 The Statute of Westminster (1931)
formalized its foundation.
 The London Declaration of 1949 formally
constituted the current “Commonwealth
of Nations”. This is the modernised
version of the community: its member
states are treated as "free and equal".
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 Relations between the UK and its former colonies
 Colonies:
– No home rule or self-government.
– Politically & economically dependent on the colonizing power. Seen as a its
possession.
– Supplier for natural resources and as a customer of goods that were
produced in the motherland.
 Dominions: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South
Africa, Eire, and Newfoundland
– A separate state with the right to self-governance (Commonwealth).
– Shares traditions and language and similar institutions with the metropolis.
– Substantial European populations and long experience of British forms and
practices.
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 Crown Dependencies: The Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, the Cayman
Islands and areas in Cyprus
– The last remnants of the former British Empire. 14 colonies that and do
not form part of the United Kingdom itself. Managed by the The Foreign,
Commonwealth & Development Office of the Government of the UK.
 Overseas Territories: Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man
– Three island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing
possessions of the British Crown in the Channel and the Irish Sea.
– Not members of the Commonwealth since their status is that of
"territories for which the United Kingdom is responsible“, not sovereign
states
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 CONSEQUENCES OF COLONISATION

 Economic:
 Economic dependence of former colonies from the metropolis.

 Underdevelopment of certain economic sectors, mainly industrial and

services.

 Development of infrastructures (roads, harbours, bridges) However, some of

the colonies were exploited mainly for their resources, and little attention
was paid to the population’s needs.

 Overexploitation of natural resources.

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 CONSEQUENCES (2)

 Social and political:

 Expansion of British culture and English language.

– Adoption of educational model and traditions, beliefs (religious) and other cultural forms
(sometimes) or conflict over the imposition of foreign models to the detriment of native
languages and cultures - Hybridity
– Spread of a civil, legal and administrative system (gradual democratization?)

 Racial segregation and hybridity. Religious radicalism. Genocide

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