Union Flag of the United Kingdoman imperial flag

‘Forging a Nation’- Linda Colley Britons

From 1707 Both the creation of a strong and vibrant Nation-state

commercial opportunity (of Empire, in large part)

religious securityconstitutional freedoms domestic

securityfreedom from invasion

and, a shotgun marriage – defined by enforcement within and

Paradoxically, against ‘other’empire intricately linked with nationalism, in this modern

democracy

Imperial Motives: early commercial empire

“money, money, money, it is a rich man’s world”

Economic motives: traderaw materialsmarkets

Political motives: geopolitical and militarydiffuse internal tensions

Cultural justification: missionary campaignsthe ‘civilizing’ mission

How does ‘other’ define a nation?

In this ‘imagined community’: consisting of its own various ethnicities

Wars were of central importance: avoided major invasionavoided conscriptioncreated consensus Paton, Sir Joseph N. In Memoriam. 1858

Continental Wars: with France who supported the StuartsSeven Years War supported American colonists after 1778colonial conflicts: N.A., south Asia, Africa, MediterraneanNapoleonic Wars

(unattributed) 18C French print

War is expensive ….

‘Family of Sir William Young’ by Johan Zoffany, R.A. (1733-1810) Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.

as is the infrastructure of a modern state

…but it was worth it• pepper in Sumatra, • but increasingly focused on India – not to replace but

complement trade – 1607 Indian textiles to market in spice Islands, as well as pepper and indigo

• In India, the English negotiated with the Mughal Empire for trading posts

Fort William, c.1700; factory in Bengal, c.1790

• until the mid-19C, British interests in India managed by the EIC – virtually a govt. [law, diplomacy, military, commerce]

• main trading settlements in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras – shipped goods from Asia worth 1 million per year₤

Prior to the 18Cthe English government had neither the ways nor the means to administer an Empire itself:

→ into the 17C; when it needed to move troops, private commercial vessels were re-fitted for that purpose→ the earliest ‘imperial’ ventures consisted of a collusion between: the state (that granted monopolies of trade)

individuals (privateers)new limited joint stock companies

like the East India Company (1707)

→ investors got rich, the state raised money, and grabbed land

A ‘polite and commercial people’

Empire impacts everyone: £s in circulation, andculturally (what it means to be British)

increases in production: commoditiesmanufacturing

but the real money was in?

Great Linford, near Milton Keyes and every Briton was involved

Impact of Empire?Commercial growth: state capital for

infrastructurepower and authority

individual capitalsocial shifts – consumer growthscience and industry

Geopolitical knots: EuropeNorth America and

the Caribbean Mediterranean

S. and S.E. Asia

Intellectual challenges: state and society; economics

human naturerace and place

Worlds entangled:Africa and Atlantic Worlds“…They resemble us, but in appearance are the colour of pumpkin-porridge… .They are rude of manners and without any graces or refinement.”

• organized, dynamic societies dynamic prior to arrival of Europeans• respond to Europeans in a variety of ways

accommodationadoption/adaptationresistance

• societies, cultures, economies stressed

The Triangular TradeThe scale: 12 men in 1441

1460s - 500 slaves py1520 - 2,000 py17C – 20 000 py18C – 80 000 py

1. European manufactured goods (esp. firearms) sent to Africa

2. African slaves purchased and sent to Americas3. Cash crops purchased in Americas and returned to

Europe

Foundation and Nature of the Slave Trade• all societies have had slaves:

• practice of slaving in the continent dates to antiquity• war captives • criminals • people expelled from clans• indebted; kidnappings

• qualitatively distinct from Asian, European slavery• not the same concept of private property • therefore wealth defined by human labor potential, not

land• slaves often assimilated into owner’s clan

• non-permanent status: slave in society, not slave society

Horrific Social/Political ImpactOn African regions: variable

resist Rwanda, Bugunda, Masai, Asante, benefit Dahomey, Oyo peoplesincreased violence in existing regional

conflicts

total pop. grew due to crops like manioc or casava but

depleted regional populations distorted sex ratios result

increased polygamy ♀ acting in traditionally ♂ roles

ethnocentrism in modern contact

The Middle Passage (Africa-Americas)Historical amnesia and memory:• ‘new’ histories – 1960s• i.e. teaching industrial revolution• pop. histories Amistad (Spielberg; 1997)

The middle passage• mortality high – between 25% and 30% died • numbers game

However, the majority of British people not horrified

Good evidence suggests they knew from richest to poorest(cost of sugar)

Britons understanding their involvement in slaving Olaudah Equiano

b. Essaka, Nigeria, 1745captured at 11; shipped to Barbados and then Virginiaowned by: tobacco plantation owner

a lieutenant in the English navy (fought against French)

shipwrightsaved £40 to buy his own freedom (1768)1787 involved in government provisioning

of Sierra Leone published ‘Narrative of a Life’m. in Britain with two daughtersd. 1797 he says this is wrong and we can change it

Sierra Leone• efforts of an entire network of British philanthropists and missionaries – one example with local resonance:

• Granville Sharpe (1787) – society to find place in Africa to settle freed slaves

• Why? large, volatile communities in e.g. Liverpool, Nova Scotia

and, to introduce ‘civilized’, Christian blacks as models for the rest

of Africa

• by 1800 fractious – no clear leadership nor stability – British role i.e. SPCK in Canada, not for black settlersBritish administeredbut, center for trade and evangelical activity

‘the British Empire is arrived at that height of Power and Glory, to which none of the States and Monarchies upon the Earth could ever lay the like claim’

- Rev. John Entick, 1774

Tension: defining ‘greatness’liberal philosophic developments – desire for power

encountering and making sense of ‘other’