id like to hear your opinions on this,

do you think the british empire had a positive or negative outcome in world history.

on the one hand, we civilised and brought culture to much of the developing world, taking our ingenious inventions, ideas and language with us, creating many of the countries we see today

on the other with our interference, we sowed the seeds for many later conflicts, destroyed cultures, and were sometimes quite brutal in our methods

what do yu think?

cheers

joe

It's a rather simple argument, but I think it's somewhat human nature. Generally history books teach us the same thing about the Roman's. A force for learning and order, as well as servitude and destruction. Personally I like the way the world has turned out. We could all still be living like the native americans did for thousands of years, without much in the way of advancement. I am not preaching a european superiority element here as there were many other cultures and factors involved in the technical advancement of our civilization. But let's face it, just as in the age of Eygpt, Greece, and later Rome, Europe was the powerhouse of innovation (with help from the Chinese) that got us to where we are today. And countries like Great Britain (and the US) are very much at the heart of that change.

Sorry to get so heavy.

Jim

Hi greatbrit, We could debate all day as to what good the British Empire brought to the world vs. what bad things also came with the building and opreation of this Empire. What side each person would take on the subject would depend on whether they are, or had been, part of the aristocratic or business elite of this nation's development, or one of the downtrodden masses that was being exploited for the formers' financial and political gain.

"Tis true, the British Empire did bring a lot of good to the world, but this good wasn't done intentionally by those who helped expand the empire and make it grow. It was just one of the many after-affects of the European-led policy of colonization. And Great Britain wasn't the worst of the perpetrators.

But I'm not throwning stones at your nation or any European nation and its history. Far from it. Being an American and reading about some of the 'deals' we've been involved in down through our history (the creation of "Manifest Destiny" which is still a concept very much alive and well today), in our own country and around the world, I personally feel we are the very last people who should go around 'slamming' other country's about their less than perfect record of their dealing with the colonies they once controlled and exploited.

But hind sight is always 20/20. We can look back now and see what should have been done and/or what should not have been done. The unfortunate thing is that we, as a species, have such a very hard time learning from our past mistakes and have a real bad habit of continuing to bang our head against the proverbial wall of understanding and not being able to see the forest for the trees. I guess that this, in the end, is our true destiny, a destiny of missed opportunites instead of true growth, which will lead to our eventual downfall as a species on Mother Earth.

For some strange reason we have not advanced beyond the antiquated concept that the world, as well as the universe, exists only for our own pleasure and enjoyment. And we've even fashioned most of the major religions we follow to reinforce this concept in order to justtify what we do to each other and the world at large.

Better end this as I'm getting back into my Edgar Allan Poe mood. Ha, ha!

Take care, Sgirty #:-)

There's an old Polish saying..."Your point of view depends on where you are standing".
I think, being British, it was as for the Romans as mentioned above. A lot of good came from the Empire but equally a lot of bad.
However every country has both done things to be proud of and things to be ashamed of and we are no exception.
Today I think we can all learn so much from each other like never before.
Cheers
Peter

IMHO, as a colonial power, British rule had its share of good and bad points.

As mentioned in most messages, the British did quite a lot in modernizing in Africa and Asia. Of course, the best example of that testament would be Hong Kong and Singapore. After WW2, they were wise enough to recognize that their days as a colonial power has come to an end, hence, the granting of independence to most of their former colonies.

On the other side of the coin, if there is one thing they don't like about the British (as well as any western colonizer) was their tendency to regard other races as inferior or marginalizing them by denying them equal rights or opportunites back then.

95% good!

Knocked on the doors of them enclosed nations, bring civilization as we known today to them, modernize the world. All good.

5% bad, some of the colonies, you should never give up, i.e. Hong Kong....LOL....

Seriously, without the British Empires, I am sure I will still be wearing pig tails, (not it's a bad thing), and Kow Tou to my emperors, (not necessary a bad thing neither, I might had a coup, and be a king myself) #:-)

i thought you might join in lord dave,

just for you



cheers

joe

Hmmm...Bad thing............

I know you are saying it as a joke. But the truth was, the Manchurian dynasty was falling apart, even without the Brits. On the other hand, old China was not colonized by other European powers because British Empire and the US were opposed to such an idea.

So British empire did accelerate the fall of the Dynasty, but also prevented China's being colonized. The same old thing here: some good, some bad.

And about the Hong Kong affair. Hong Kong was a economic miracle under the British rule. You may say it is a "by-product" of the colonial rule. But without a good intention of the ruler to promote welfare of the people, it can't be achive. and then you have to do it right. When the great Scotsman, Sir John Cowperthwaite, laid down the foundation of "leisez faire" policy, Hong Kong economy took off like a rocket.

The current government of Hong Kong screws up everything. So you may blame their impotence. But one of the reason this government is so dumb is that they always want to do things different from the Brits. Anything the Brits have done, they want to change it, without asking why things are done that way. So the Brits have put Hong Kong in the current difficultities indirectly and unintentionally!

im not surprised by that answer! #:-)

but im not surprised why we had such interest in ireland, i love it, very nice place

cheers

joe

Lord Joe,

Thanks!!!! I have tears now!!!!!

I had written to the Brit embassy and volunteered for werewolf operations, in exchange of some bodington and Spice Girls....and never heard from them again. #:-)

ah sweet sweet boddingtons! #:-)

not sure about the spice girls though!

cheers

joe

And I'm off to sample the dark and delightful mysteries of the Guiness in June. Fair Dublin town here I come. God I'm thirsty....better put the kettle on...disappears in to kitchen muttering...."it's just not the same this t......"
Cheers
Peter

If the brits did'nt colonize, some one else would have, and the country's that kept close ties to Britain after Independence was granted to them, are now mostly properous 1st world countries. Those (e.g South Africa) that chose to cut all ties with Britain are now sad cases, 3rd world, crime ridden countries only joining the commonwealth to get their grubby hands on some undeserved money.

my 2.1 cents anyway

Erik

Britain went out and created Nations and natioanl identity where none had existed before. Many had tried to unite the peoples in areas of Asia and Africa before, but the British did.
Best example is India. Before British imperialism it was split into hunderds of principalities in conflict with one another. Now India is a strong democratic nation. Though I do wish they would stop exporting all their techinical professional to the US
The greatest eample of British colonialism of course is the United States, we after all started out as 13 British colonies. And the American treatment of the Native American started out as a tranplantation of the same attitudes that Britain had towards Ireland in the 17th Century.