Even though modern political correctness and deliberate revisionism might sometimes regard a pride in our nations past as a highly negative and backward looking attitude to take, it is still sometimes hard to believe that less than a hundred years ago, the relatively small collection of islands that now form the modern United Kingdom were once at the centre of a global Empire that extended its reach throughout much of the known world. Reportedly the largest Empire that has ever existed throughout human history, at its height the British Empire was reported to have ruled over some four hundred and fifty millions subjects, a quarter of the world’s population at the beginning of the 20th century and controlled an estimated thirteen million square miles of territory, around 25% of the world’s total land surface.
However, within half a century of having reached the absolute zenith of its power, much of its power and prestige, along with virtually all of its larger overseas possessions were gone and the vast British Empire, which had evolved and been fought over for well over four hundred years, began to pass into a collective memory. Perhaps even more sadly, over the past sixty years, even these national recollections and celebrations of Britain’s glorious past have been almost entirely expunged from British national life for fear of being seen as racist, imperialistic or undemocratic, such is the overwhelming desire for our United Kingdom to be seen as a multi-cultural, egalitarian and forward looking modern state. Even though Britain’s great and expansive Empire has long since been consigned to the history books, even today it continues to divide opinion, with some critics accusing it of being the root cause of modern day Africa’s political malaise, founders of the world’s first infamous concentration camp systems and the world’s first major exploiter of other nations and of the earths vast natural resources.
This five hundred page project, containing over four hundred images, identifying some of the notable individuals involved with the rise and fall of the British Empire, tries to take a balanced view of Britain’s vast imperial possessions, how they were acquired, how they were lost and their histories, since they gained independence. The publication attempts to take a specific look at some of the more troubling aspects of the Empires past, including those dealing with the Troubles in Ireland, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Indian Subcontinent, the European Scramble for Africa, as well as the numerous wars and battles that such imperial expansionism created.
However, within half a century of having reached the absolute zenith of its power, much of its power and prestige, along with virtually all of its larger overseas possessions were gone and the vast British Empire, which had evolved and been fought over for well over four hundred years, began to pass into a collective memory. Perhaps even more sadly, over the past sixty years, even these national recollections and celebrations of Britain’s glorious past have been almost entirely expunged from British national life for fear of being seen as racist, imperialistic or undemocratic, such is the overwhelming desire for our United Kingdom to be seen as a multi-cultural, egalitarian and forward looking modern state. Even though Britain’s great and expansive Empire has long since been consigned to the history books, even today it continues to divide opinion, with some critics accusing it of being the root cause of modern day Africa’s political malaise, founders of the world’s first infamous concentration camp systems and the world’s first major exploiter of other nations and of the earths vast natural resources.
This five hundred page project, containing over four hundred images, identifying some of the notable individuals involved with the rise and fall of the British Empire, tries to take a balanced view of Britain’s vast imperial possessions, how they were acquired, how they were lost and their histories, since they gained independence. The publication attempts to take a specific look at some of the more troubling aspects of the Empires past, including those dealing with the Troubles in Ireland, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Indian Subcontinent, the European Scramble for Africa, as well as the numerous wars and battles that such imperial expansionism created.
