history of the british empire
TRANSCRIPT
HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
Postcolonial LiteraturesProf. José Santiago Fdez. Vázquez
400 YEARS OF EMPIRE BUILDING
(1497-1997)
REASONS FOR EMPIRE BUILDING Economic reasons
National prestige
Release from national conditions
Ideology
THE FORMATION OF BRITAIN
Acts of Union with Wales: 1536 and 1543
THE FORMATION OF BRITAIN
Acts of Union with Wales: 1536 and 1543
James VI as sovereign Act of Union, 1707
FIRST PHASE OF EMPIRE
FIRST PHASE OF EMPIRE Ireland as a colony:
Imposition of English as dominant language
Repression of indigenous population and development of a colonial foreign aristocracy
Ireland’s controversial “colonial status”
THE ATLANTIC EMPIRE Jamestown, Virginia (1607) Native
Americans
THE ATLANTIC EMPIRE Jamestown, Virginia (1607) Native
Americans
The West Indies Seven Years War (1756-1763)
Plantations and slavery
THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
THE ATLANTIC EMPIRE (2)
• American Independence (1776)
• Slave trading outlawed (1807)
• Slavery forbidden (1833)
THE PACIFIC EMPIRE James Cook’s voyages (1768-
1779)
Australian policy: Terra nullius Penal colony
New Zealand’s conquest (1840)
Dominion status
Treaty of Versailles (1919)
Statute of Westminster (1931)
THE SECOND EMPIRE 1600: East Indian Company
THE SECOND EMPIRE 1600: East Indian Company
Mughal Empire:
Established in 1526 Declining in 18th century
THE SECOND EMPIRE 1600: East Indian Company
Mughal Empire:
Established in 1526 Declining in 18th century
Trading presence evolves into colonialism:
Armed struggle (1746-1761) Doctrine of lapse + misgovernment
THE SECOND EMPIRE (2) East Indian Act (1773) + End of trade
monopoly (1813): East Indian company controlled by government
India as an attractive destination for colonial officials
Transformation of India: language, economy, religion, social structure
1857-1858 Sepoy Mutiny
THE SECOND EMPIRE (2) East Indian Act (1773) + End of trade monopoly
(1813): East Indian company controlled by government
India as an attractive destination for colonial officials
Transformation of India: language, economy, religion, social structure
1857-1858 Sepoy Mutiny
19th century control of Hong Kong + colonial influence on continental China
THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA: 1880s & 1890s
THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA
British colonies in Africa:
Egypt Central African Federation
(Rhodesia) Nigeria East Africa South Africa (after Boer
War of 1899-1902)
System of government:
Direct rule Indirect rule
THE MIDDLE EAST After World War I
League of Nations mandate:
Mesopotamia (Iraq)
Palestine
END OF EMPIRE Emergence of a new superpower: USA
Irish Home Rule Bill (1912) Fragmentation of Ireland (1922)
Anticolonial feeling in India: India and Pakistan (1947) + Ceylon (1948)
1960s: Most West Indian and African colonies Become independent
Mau Mau rising (1950s) Kenya (1963)
Symbolic end of empire: Hong Kong (1948)
LEGACY OF EMPIRE
New colonial borders in Africa and the Middle East
British Nationality Act (1948)
Diverse Britain