thesis statement about the british empire

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History of British Empire Argumentative Essay

Introduction, decolonization, the british empire’s stages of decolonization, causes of british empire’s decolonization, works cited.

The European empires had common characteristics that marked colonial relationships including the importance of trade and extraction of wealth by the colonizers.

The Great Britain or the British Empire conquered vast lands in Southeast Asia and the Pacific including India after which it turned to Africa beginning with Egypt, Southern Africa, and Eastern Africa. This great accomplishment meant the colonies were forced or encouraged to venture into tradable goods thus it resulted to trade for the colony and forced labor. This marked the beginning of colonization of and these countries were placed under British rule and were not allowed to choose their own political leadership.

Colonization brought many good things to the colonies including education and other forms of civilization. However, the resulting social injustices, discrimination, and forced labor with low pay led to formation of liberation movements thus revolution by the colonies thus the beginning of decolonization in the period after the Second World War (Smith 92).

The pressure of liberation movements and other factors led to the British Empire’s decolonization of its former colonies. Given that, the British Empire was one of the most successful in capturing colonies around the globe, various historical landmarks that were beyond the Empire’s ability to contain marked decolonization.

Nevertheless, the question remains; what caused decolonization and what were the effects of the same?

Well, as exposited in this paper, the Second World War, anti-colonial movements, the United States, the United Nations declaration, the Cold War and the USSR were the main forces behind the decolonization while the end of British Empire and formation of the common wealth coupled with the bearing British legacy are some of the outstanding results of the decolonization.

Decolonization may mean different things depending on the perspective from which one looks at it from. On one hand, it is regarded as the obtaining of independence and self-governance where the colonies could determine the form of government that they wished to rule them.

From the colonizers point of view, decolonization meant the giving away of political dominance of the colonies translating to loss of world power, which came after a series of historical events that discussed later (Shunhong 4).

Decolonization is the process by which a colony, in this case an oppressed country, is determined enough to demand self-governance or the right to determine the political system of their respective country.

The fact that there are many cultures in the world means that there are different ways to live thus the need for the people to determine how to live. Determining ‘how to live’ may range from how to take care of their well-being, manage their expenditure and how to express their human rights.

Though not globally accepted, decolonization is the source of today’s emphasis on democracy, good governance, and human rights activism (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein, and Smith 8).

To some extent, the imperial retreat of the British Empire was not determined by their own will though they could manage to whom and how they would transfer power to their now enlightened colonies.

The British decolonization mainly took part after the Second World War ended in 1945 that took a general direction of confrontation between the local nationalists and the British imperialists.

It consisted of different forms and sometimes, peaceful negotiations were carried out between the colonizers and the colonies like the emancipation of the British India in 1947, while sometimes it was the result of bloody liberation wars and violent protests.

However, in most cases, there were departures of the nationals and confiscation of their goods and weapons.

The Great Depression had a big impact on the industrialized world as much as it had on the rural colonies due to the fall in agricultural prices faster than those of industrial goods did from around 1925 to World War II. International trade flows were damaged because the colonial powers shifted focus to domestic issues.

While some colonies like British Malaya retreated to small-scale farming, others like India and Africa, diversified leading to industrialization and as a result, they could no longer fit into their colonies systems.

The colonizers owned and run plantations were more susceptible to deflation compared to the natives, which led to reduction in their dominance and finally their retreat back to indigenous elite.

Later in 1930s, colonial efforts made only hastened their end; most notably, they changed from collaborative systems to creation of genuine bureaucratic governments. Political nationalism sprouted all over colonies and the British Empire appeared less capable of dealing with it.

The Government Act of 1935 was the culmination of reforms in the British Raj and direct control was reduced in Egypt. The World War II was followed by post war chaos and it presented a loophole for colonies like India in mid 1940s.

India’s leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led the masses in a peaceful resistance against the British Empire.

He became an icon of peace in comparison to the British imperialism leading to giving people a sense of nationalism. Indian citizens viewed their colonizers as the cause their violence and miseries leading to an independent India in 1947.

The Malayan Emergency began in 1948 and lasted until 1960 and its main origin was anti Japanese movements who after the defeat of Japan in the Second World War turned to the British Empire in hope that independence would be granted.

The Malayan Muslim collaborated with the British to overcome the guerilla attacks largely made up of Malayan-Chinese. It was not until 1957 when through independence a consensus was finally reached to give independence under commonwealth.

Britain continued to dominate as a world power and established her presence in the Middle East despite losing India because of the base at Suez Canal. The Suez Crisis engineered by Britain and France in a bid to regain it from the powerful Egyptian government that had nationalized it only served to expose Britain’s hidden cracks.

It was in such agreements that followed the Suez crisis that Sudan was decolonized followed by the Gold Coast in West Africa.

The Wind of Change Speech by the British Prime Minister Macmillan marked the last stage of British decolonization.

The Prime Minister wanted to avoid a ‘colonial war’ like the one France was fighting in Algeria resulting to Britain decolonizing most of its African colonies. However, the British white settlers in Eastern and Southern Africa only served to complicate the withdrawal.

The Second World War

Britain and its Empire did win the Second World War but it could not shy away from the devastating effects that the war had left both at home and in her colonies. Although Europe had previously dominated the world, it was now a limping continent because it was in ruins.

Britain was almost bankrupt because of the high cost of the war except for a negotiation of a $3.5 billion loan by the United States that helped to prevent insolvency. The loan was been repaid to the United States and the last of its installments was repaid in the year 2006.

Anti-colonial Movements

Anti-colonial movements increased in the European nation’s colonies in the period after the Second World War.

The British considered the African colonies as immature and only introduced democratic level at the local levels or in the villages, forgetting that they had educated a number of Africans in the Western education system in the 1930s.

The leaders mentioned include Kwame Nkrumah of Gold Coast, Senghor of Senegal, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, and Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Cote d’ivore. These people came back to their home countries only to begin a revolt and lead their respective countries in the struggle for independence.

The nationalistic movements arrived at different times in different territories of the empire and this explains why independence was obtained at different times. Generally, India and Malay got independence almost immediately after the Second World War while most colonies in Africa had to wait until the 1960s.

The movements used different approaches in their struggle for self-determination and independence. Some used violent protests and guerilla wars while others like Gandhi in India used non-violent protests.

The Role of the United States

The then President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 12 February 1941 in a discussion on the world matters after the war, which resulted to the Atlantic Charter.

Roosevelt was keen to introduce a provision in the charter, which stated that the imperial colonies would become autonomous implying self-governance.

The United States had the power to do impose such a clause for she was emerging as the new world power considering she had given Britain a loan to enable participation in the war. When the war ended, the African colonies and the United States exerted pressure on Britain based on these particular provisions.

Churchill had no option but to introduce the Charter in parliament, intentionally misinterpreting the term colonies to mean the ones they had captured from Germany during the war.

The Charter passed through parliament and it was on its provisions that most African colonies got independence through non-violent protests.

The Suez Canal Crisis came after the Second World War and presented another challenge for the government of the British Empire. The British wanted to maintain its wading presence in the Middle East and maintaining its base at the Suez Canal was crucial.

However, the lack of support by the United States served to weaken the prospects of British advancements and her army left in shame and defeat that led to the resignation of the then Prime Minister Anthony Eden.

The Role of USSR

The Soviet Union was the main party against colonization. The Bandung 1955 Conference of the third word countries led by Nehru for India, Nasser for Egypt and Tito for Yugoslavia led to the creation of Non-Aligned Movements in 1961 and the movements were supposedly neutral because they supported neither the “first” nor the “Second” worlds.

However, the US refused to support decolonization fully against its European allies and this led to the nationalist movements, which were yet to win independence, lean more to the East.

China later appeared on the world scene led by Mao Zedong and created a conflict between the Soviet Union and other independent movements.

Although the non-aligned movement had a goal of being independent of both the US and the Soviet Union, they finally went the way of USSR and the smaller independent movements depending on their ideologies chose either U.S.S.R or China.

An example is the Cuban government that was neutral at first but later went towards Moscow and later sponsored other liberation movements itself in Angola and Mozambique.

The Cold War

Historians do not necessarily agree on the exact time that the Cold War began but a general agreement is that, it is the period between 1947 and 1991.

The period as shown relates to the period immediately after the Second World War, which was coupled with political conflicts and economic competitions between the Soviet Union and the United States and their respective allies.

It was because of the tension between the West and Soviet Union that each of them went ahead to support decolonization to gain global support.

Although the US was neutral in the beginning, it had to change and support decolonization based on the Atlantic Charter of 1941 that emphasized on the right of all people to choose their own form of government.

It is important to note that the Cold War rivalry complicated the aspect of decolonization further because in principle, both nations were against colonialism.

However, America was opposed to communism while the Soviet Union was against imperialism and therefore, the United States would support existence of the British Empire if only to keep communism at bay.

The United Nations Declaration

The UN General Assembly voted in favor of the ‘Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples’ (“United Nations: Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, 1960”).

The declaration said in part that it recognized the desire of the world to end colonialism and that the continued existence of colonialism was a barrier to achieving international economic co-operation.

The declaration stated that everyone had a right to self-determination and further declaring that any inadequacy whether social, political, or economic was not going to be an excuse for delaying independence.

The British Empire was a member state of the UN since its formation in 1945 and was required to implement faithfully and strictly the provisions of the Charter. The Charter was a serious step towards decolonization especially for Africa whose liberation movements was greatly out-numbered military power and few numbers.

The ‘Wind of Change’

The British Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan went for a tour across the African British colony for a month. He concluded his visit by addressing the South African Parliament in Cape Town on 3 February 1960 and it is on this day that he delivered the now famous ‘Wind of Change Speech.

The speech was the clearest indication that the Conservative party led British government was planning to grant independence to its colonies in Africa. This was a continuation of what the Churchill-led government had begun during and immediately after the Second World War.

The speech owes its name to a quotation in Macmillan’s speech that declared ‘The wind of change is blowing through this continent…’ (Myers, Frank 557). The speech marked the beginning of the last phase of British decolonization and most of the African British colonies won independence between 1960 and 1968.

However, this wind of change excluded Southern Rhodesia where racism had prompted the British colonial rule to supervise until 1980 when elections were held and Robert Mugabe became the Prime Minister of the newly formed state of Zimbabwe after winning the elections held in 1980.

End of the British Empire

By 1981 after granting independence to Zimbabwe, the New Hebrides and Belize in 1980 and 1981 respectively meant an end to the decolonization process that had began after 1945.

However, in 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Island one of the British overseas territories and the British were quick to respond in a bid to retake the island, which was seen as an opportunity to rejuvenate itself and prove as a world power.

Later, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand delinked their respective constitutions from Britain that meant an end to British involvement in constitutional changes of these countries. The last major British territory that remained was Hong Kong that British government had to negotiate a deal with China.

It was agreed that Hong Kong would be an administrative region of the People’s Republic of China and this remained so until the handing over that took place in 1999. This handing over ceremony according to some that marked an end to the British Empire.

The British Empire Legacy

The Great Depression of the 1930’s, the Second World War, and the decolonization period marked a downward trend of the British Empire from where it were regarded as a world power until the emergence of the US and U.S.S.R who came to undermine Britain’s superiority.

However, the British Empire has proved to be the most successful of all the colonizers of the world. Until 2002, Britain had 14 overseas territories spread across the globe although British sovereignty of some of these territories lies in dispute.

These territories still rely on the British government for foreign relations and defense although they govern themselves. Britain succeeded in passing to its former colonies several of their cultures, traditions, and institutions.

The English language is a mark of the dominance of the British Empire and spoken by approximately one and a half billion people around the globe today (Hogg 224).

Most of the former colonies used the format of the English parliamentary system as the starting point of their governments and most of their constitutions that they are still using today were drafted in the United Kingdom.

During colonization, the Empire drew boundaries some of which became sources of conflicts between indigenous people and sometimes between the indigenous and white settlers from its former colonies.

The British Empire exported among other things its sports for example, football and the idea of driving on the left hand drive.

The Commonwealth

The British Empire gave birth to the British Commonwealth, which was later to be known as The Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states all of which are former colonies of Britain except Mozambique and Rwanda.

These member states work together guided by the Singapore Declaration on 22 January 1971 after the conclusion of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting where they promote upholding of human rights, good governance, democracy and observing the rule of law among others (Shunhong 77).

The British Empire had conquered the world with its economic and military power but it is important to note that it is on these same points of economic power and military strength that was its greatest undoing. The Second World War also exposed the colonies to politics empowering them through education.

Its passion to remain a world power made it to enter into debt and the British economy almost crumbled, which was the beginning of the process of decolonization by the British Empire that ended around 1980.

These reasons certainly caused the British Empire to give in to the pressure of the independent movements and decolonize its colonies.

The British Empire however, did not become extinct and the formation of the commonwealth is a testimony of the same. Continued partnerships and bilateral trade agreements between Britain and its former colonies go a long way to state the fact that colonization had a lasting effect to the colonized countries.

However, in today’s world, the effects of colonialism have continued to cause pain and suffering to former British colonies in the form of weak governments, civil instabilities, and human rights violations.

Talking of human rights violations, a delegate of former freedom fighters from Kenya accompanied by their lawyers visited the United Kingdom last month to present a case in court to be compensated for bodily harms caused during the colonization epoch.

It will be important to look into a form of decolonization that will involve new negotiations on the benefits the Empires got through contemporary trade and political relations.

Hunt, Lynn, et al. The Making of the West Peoples and Culture . Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.

Myers, Frank. “Harold Macmillan’s ‘Wind of Change’ Speech: A Case Study in the Rhetoric of Policy Change.” Rhetoric and Public Affairs 3.4 (2000): 555-575.

Shunhong, Zhang. The Collapse of the British Empire . China Social Science Documentation Publishing House, 1997.

Smith, Tony. A Comparative Study of French and British Decolonization. Comparative Studies in Society and History 20.1 (1978): 70-102.

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The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

Introduction, the rise of the british empire, the decline of the british empire.

The 16th and 17th centuries saw the emergence of the British Empire that affected world politics considerably before its fall in the 20th century. Particularly, the development of the British Empire required Britain to establish overseas colonies to safeguard its political and economic interests. The British Empire traversed global boundaries as Britain took over the political administration of countries with colonies in America, Australia, New Zealand, and various African countries (Coates, 2014).

Before the integration of the British administration in the various colonies, many delineated landmasses, as well as small islands, were characterized by dullness and the lack of inspiration. Delineating here is used to denote the act of marking boundaries around an area. The entry of the British administration in the various colonies sought to bring about a new era of politics at the global stage besides fostering the unification of countries by a common language.

In addition, factors such as globalization, naval capabilities, trade, and communication improvements favored the rise of the British Empire. However, as the paper reveals, the rise of nationalist movements in the various colonies, especially the ones in Africa and Asia, led to the decline of the British Empire. In this respect, this study offers a detailed discussion of the rise and fall of the British Empire.

An array of factors prompted Britain to expand its administration in different colonies globally. The notable factors range from the geographical location of Britain that fostered the development of its naval capabilities. Just like Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands, Britain’s location ensured that Britons enjoyed proximity to the seas (Kaul, 2013). Thus, they could easily adapt to marine life. Britain strategically delineated various regions to help in attaining its imperial agenda.

In politics and the economy, world regions are delineated with the goal of facilitating certain connections between places. Hence, for the British Empire, the need to explore the lands overseas, as well as the knowledge in sailing the seas using sophisticated ships, enhanced the capability of Britain to send its representatives in different parts of the world to identify opportunities that could help the country to persuade its imperial motivations. Therefore, the availability of adequate human resources that could help Britain to man ships sailing to distant places favored the development of the British Empire.

Furthermore, the reign of King Henry VII spanning between 1485 and 1509 facilitated the establishment of various maritime policies that favored the persuasion of Britain’s imperial ambitions. Particularly, King Henry VII focused on enhancing the creation of a new age of English Merchant Marine systems that would foster the expansion of English shipbuilding, as well as seafaring. Moreover, maritime policies led to the creation of the Merchant Marine framework as a move that was geared towards reforming the financial position of Britain.

Besides, financial reforms that were underwritten by Henry sought to expand the size of the Royal Navy as denoted by the construction of a dry dock situated at Portsmouth (Kaul, 2013). The efforts of King Henry VII towards reinforcing the naval capabilities of Britain saw him collaborate with John Cabot, an Italian mariner, between 1496 and 1497. The move resulted in the capturing of Britain’s first overseas colony, Newfoundland, a Canadian island.

The successor of King Henry VII, King Henry VIII, played a considerable part in enhancing the development of the Royal Navy. Importantly, King VIII upheld the relevance of expanding the English warships besides pioneering the construction of vessels that were mounted with heavy ammunition. The leader ensured that the Royal Navy acquired a centralized and formal administrative system characterized by the development of modern docks, the installation of network beacons, and lighthouses. These developments led to the easy navigation of Britain and foreign merchant sailors. Importantly, the munitions-based Royal Navy favored the dominance of Britain’s merchant sailors as denoted by the neutralization of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

The passing of the Act for Kingly Title by the parliament of Ireland in 1541 marked the beginning of Britain’s imperial ambitions. The statute helped Ireland to secure its autonomy from the English monarchy to form its distinct kingdom (Coates, 2014). The event triggered Britain to consider the re-conquest of Ireland as a way of enlarging the country’s territory. Eventually, Britain adopted a colonization policy by 1550, a move that led to the development of the Plantation of Ulster (Kaul, 2013). The plantation acted as the model that would facilitate the development of the British Empire. Individuals such as Francis Drake and Humphrey Walter Raleigh who took part in the Ireland re-conquest also participated in the annexation of North America

The establishment of English Navigation Acts in 1651 played an instrumental role in fostering the expansion of the British Empire (Nanni, 2012). Particularly, the policies sought to limit the trading activities between Britain and its colonies. Such policies ensured that Britain took advantage of the resources available in its colonies, thus fostering colonial developments in its favor. As a result, Britain could not engage in direct colonial trade with France and the Netherlands, including other European countries.

Furthermore, the renewal of the original ordinance of 1651 through the Restoration by Acts of 1660 and 1663 provided a legal framework that guided the trading activities of Britain in its overseas colonies (Thompson, 2014). By so doing, Britain merchant sailors could engage in trading activities in different continents to support the financial and imperial ambitions of the growing empire.

The economic interest of Britons also bolstered the rise of the British Empire. Notably, the need to safeguard the financial interests of British-chartered companies influenced the growth of the British Empire in different countries. In 1600, the founding of the British East India Company to secure the financial interests of Britain played a significant role in fostering the annexation of India. For this reason, India became the empire’s largest source of revenue. Importantly, the British East India Company helped Britain to create its Asian territory that favored its trade privileges (Dawson, 2013). Additionally, the operations of British companies such as the British South Africa Company and the United Africa Company in the African continent ensured that Britain acquired adequate revenues to facilitate the running of its empire.

The Industrial Revolution motivated Britain to spread its imperial ideas in different countries, owing to the emergence of new technologies. Notably, the Industrial Revolution influenced Britain’s informal empire by providing it with essential tools, including the Gatling gun, steamship, and the railway. These tools presented by the revolution made it easy for Britain to conquer countries that were experiencing weak industrialization (Coates, 2014). For this reason, Britain realized a remarkable economic leadership against rivals such as France besides the dominance of the Royal Navy in the international seas. Further, the free-trade environment supported by the Industrial Revolution promoted the expansion of the economic and political influence of the informal empire.

During the Industrial Revolution, the informal British Empire valued the essence of identifying new markets that would foster its economic stability. Notably, the 1875 depression prompted Britain to venture into new markets as a strategy for fostering its economic stability amid the economic turbulences experienced globally (Nanni, 2012). In this respect, Britain saw the economic potential of countries that it had found easy to colonize, thus expanding its operations in such places. The outcome of the strategy fostered the colonization of different countries globally, thereby leading to the growth of the British Empire during the 19th century. Other European powers such as France, Spain, and Portugal followed the footsteps of Britain and acquired colonies to realize similar economic benefits.

The scramble for Africa among European nations, including Britain, France, Germany, and Portugal, contributed to the growth of the British Empire in the later years of the 19th century. Britain’s move towards securing parts of the African continent such as Egypt and South Africa among other countries sought to increase the wealth of its empire. The racism factor created the perception that blacks stood as inferior beings compared to whites (Dawson, 2013).

For this reason, Britain took over the political authority of South Africa in 1899 to foster the realization of economic gains from its overseas colonies. Cecil Rhodes led the expansion of the British Empire in South Africa as denoted by the establishment of the British South Africa Company. Besides, Rhodes spearheaded the creation of Rhodesia, north of South Africa, to stamp the authority of British colonial administration in Africa. Britain also took over the political administration of Egypt since it saw the importance of controlling the economic activities along the Suez Canal. Britain gained control of 30% of the African population as an outcome of the scramble and partitioning of Africa (Levine, 2013). Nonetheless, the 19th and 20th centuries witnessed the decline of the British Empire, owing to an array of factors, including decolonization.

The middle years of the 20th century were marked by a significant decline of the British Empire as its domination of the economic and political aspects of different parts of the world reduced. The decline paved the way for a reduction of injustices and divisions that had been caused by the policies of the British colonial power in different countries around the globe. The former colonies of Britain attained independence, thereby promoting the realization of socio-economic and political justice after periods of exploitation spearheaded by capitalistic interests and racism under the British administration.

The onset of the Second World War affected the stability of the British Empire to a considerable extent. Particularly, the capture of Singapore by Japan in 1942 denoted the invincibility of Britain. Thus, changing the status quo was viewed as a possibility after the global war. Furthermore, an agreement between the British government and the Indian Independence Movement provided room for the loyalty of the Indians during the Second World War after which they would be granted sovereignty. The successful attainment of independence by India inspired many other colonies of Britain to push for decolonization after the Second World War.

The fall of British rule in Ireland further showed the declining authority of the British Empire. Besides, the setting of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921 created an opportunity for Ireland to develop structures that would liberate it from the British rule. In 1948, Ireland secured its independence from the United Kingdom to mark a new chapter of the country’s political and economic development (Dawson, 2013). As such, the British Empire was required to withdraw its Royal Navy from the Irish ports.

The emergence of anti-colonial movements in the various African colonies of Britain played a key role in undermining the power of the British Empire (Coates, 2014). Important to note, nationalist movements pushed for decolonization when they organized uprisings that sought to liberate the masses from social, political, and economic unfairness (Plank, 2015). For instance, nationalist movements in Ghana and Kenya prompted British administrators in the colonies to halt their operations to pave the way for independence. Besides, national movements in the Caribbean and Asia also applied a considerable pressure on Britain to rethink its commercial and imperial ambitions in the region (Dawson, 2013).

Surprisingly, in most cases, Britain hardly fought to retain its authority in its overseas colonies. Eventually, the British Empire lost its authority over many colonies it had ruled for decades, owing to the financial and military constraints it faced under the pressing need for decolonization.

The British Empire played a significant role in shaping the political, social, and economic position of different colonies, which it administered. The factors accountable for the emergence of the British Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries include naval capabilities, commercial interests, and the industrial revolution among other influences. However, the British Empire declined in the middle years of the 20th century as the push for decolonization by nationalist movements gained momentum. The Second World War also uncovered the invincibility of Britain. Thus, more countries sought their liberation from its authority.

Coates, D. (2014). America in the shadow of empires . New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Dawson, G. (2013). Soldier heroes: British adventure, empire and the imagining of masculinities . London, England: Routledge.

Kaul, C. (2013). Media and the British empire . New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Levine, P. (2013). The British empire: Sunrise to sunset . London, England: Routledge.

Nanni, G. (2012). The colonization of time: Ritual, routine and resistance in the British empire . Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.

Plank, G. (2015). Rebellion and savagery: The Jacobite rising of 1745 and the British empire . Pennsylvania, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Thompson, A. S. (2014). Imperial Britain: The empire in British politics, c. 1880-1932 . London, England: Routledge.

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British Empire: Its Beginning, Downfall and Success

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Related Essays on British

In 1979, Britain went through a political change as Margret Thatcher became prime minister. Thatcher inherited the post when the United Kingdom’s economy was in a state of serious recession, and capitalism needed reinvigorating [...]

Although no conflict took place on home soil at any point during the First World War, it’s effects were strong enough to alter everyday life in Britain, both during and after it’s battles. The most important and apparent of [...]

In the painting, Virginian Luxuries (Unknown, 1800), it is possible to observe and describe the roles of those two man races in the U.S. at the time. First off, the painting is in reference to the time of slavery (1619-1865) [...]

The United States of America is a country that, despite much of the relatively progress in race relations, remains gained by a history of prejudice. Even today, elements of our society have a significant impact on the life [...]

Throughout Karen Desai’s novel, The Inheritance of Loss, the Judge’s westernization and Indian resentment amplify during his studies in England despite confronting both internal and external facets of racism. In postcolonial [...]

With the increasing emphasis on cultural exchange in recent literature, writers have attempted to point out how difficult it was for the people to maintain their ethnic identity besides their national identity. Assimilation into [...]

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• British Empire

Essays on British Empire

In the Victorian era: questioning gender roles In the Victorian era, males were not only the society's protectors and providers, but also its rulers and decision-makers. Women, on the other hand, were homemakers, moms, and wives. It was common for males to own all the property, and wives to rely on...

Words: 1273

The Expansion of the British Empire She was able to impose her supremacy over various regions around the world through military and economic means, which greatly contributed to the expansion of the British Empire. It was able to accumulate enough wealth through the economic exploitation of largely uncivilized communities in America,...

Words: 1459

Thoughts on the Aristocracy of England: An Examination of 18th Century England Henry Hooper's essay, Thoughts on the Aristocracy of England, heavily borrows from its title for its primary subject. As a result, the article's subject is: An examination of the English nobility that is both critical and informative. Aristocratic Ideologies and...

Words: 1924

The Impact of the Discovery of America The globe underwent a sea change after America was discovered. During the Columbian exchange and the eras before it, America's strategic location, human potential, and resource endowment provided a chance to advance agriculture, trade, societal development, and commerce. The modern United States of America...

The Woman in White, written in 1859 by a man named Wilkie Collins, is regarded as one of the most exciting and outstanding thrillers. The themes in the text are appropriately contextualized by the author, who easily adjusts them to reflect the Victoria period of the middle of the nineteenth...

Words: 1671

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England underwent a change from being a Catholic nation to a Protestant bastion between 1530 and 1580. By the close of this time, it had transformed into a land of anti-papal activity and whitewashed chapels. This faith shift had an effect on the entire nation, from the cities to the...

Words: 1142

There are two main sections to this quiz. Please respond to the queries in each section by circling the most logical response. Your demographic information is presented in part 1, and other risk variables associated with alcohol consumption are presented in part 2. The responses are neither incorrect nor correct. Simply provide...

Words: 1735

Stonehenge is one of the most iconic and famous archaeological sites in the world. This prehistoric temple, erected in the late Neolithic period around 3000 BC, has captured the imagination of people from all walks of life. But even now, over 1500 years after it was built, its secrets remain...

In Henry V, Shakespeare focuses on the king himself, and the role of the king in society. Henry is fair, compassionate, and orderly, and he rewards the good while punishing the bad. He takes responsibility for his power, and he is an excellent political strategist. He also is a ferocious warrior....

Through his contribution to poetry, Robert Browning is one of the most well-known and significant poets and playwright of the Victorian era. Having lived between the years 1812 and 1889, Browning died at the ripe age of seventy-seven years old. Browning's history indicates that he used to be born into...

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