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#1
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The decline of The British Empire
Was interested in what people perceive as some of the key events that have led to the decline of the British Empire? Am also combining this with the fact that the sporting empire has outlived the political empire, anyone have any comments on why this could be?
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#2
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Re: The decline of The British Empire
WWII bankrupted the British Empire. That along with their colonies seeing that the great white Englishman wasn't invincible sealed the empire's doom. However many former colonies saw and still see a lot of benefit from being in the Commonwealth of Nations, which includes a lot of British type sporting events, if that's what you mean by the sporting empire (who else would play rugby and cricket with them?).
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#3
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Re: The decline of The British Empire
Obviously, the death knell was WWII. Britain was fighting for its life and suffered severe economic reprecussions, so they couldn't spare the troops to keep their colonies under control. I'm not sure, but I think there might have been a moral component as well: that the Brits believed it was wrong to subjugate other countires.
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#4
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Re: The decline of The British Empire
[ QUOTE ]
Obviously, the death knell was WWII. Britain was fighting for its life and suffered severe economic reprecussions, so they couldn't spare the troops to keep their colonies under control. I'm not sure, but I think there might have been a moral component as well: that the Brits believed it was wrong to subjugate other countires. [/ QUOTE ] Mmmm, no. Troops in WWII were not a major issue, thanks partly to conscription; all of the independences happened after WWII, although they temporarilty lost some colonies to the Japanese. As for them not believing in subjugating other people, do us a favour. They had the biggest Empire the world ever saw and brutally put down resistance to their rule, both non-violent and violent, well into the 1960s. Simply put, the Empire wasn't profitable and they couldn't afford it, and things like Suez and the spread of nationalisms deprived them of political clout to enforce their view of things. |
#5
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Re: The decline of The British Empire
[ QUOTE ]
Simply put, the Empire wasn't profitable and they couldn't afford it, and things like Suez and the spread of nationalisms deprived them of political clout to enforce their view of things. [/ QUOTE ] Exactly. Money was the key. The UK spent a ton of money and a ton of lives on WWI, barely got back on their feet before getting economically creamed by the Depression, then segued directly into a protracted and fantastically expensive war. The Britain of the 1950s was not the Britain of the 1900s or even the 1920s. They had neither the means nor the will to engage in any serious fighting overseas, and once the independence snowball got rolling, there was no credible opposition. Even had they been capable, I seriously doubt whether they could have done anything. France fought to the bitter end to retain its colonies in Indochina and Algeria, and they were routed. |
#6
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Re: The decline of The British Empire
Not to be too abstract, but I would venture a guess that the fundamental causes for the colapse of the British Empire lay primarily in information technology and the widespread desemination of manufacturing technology. As in, it was less caused by political and economic events and more by changes that resulted from technology.
Controling a people from a far when they do not have telephones, newspapers, trains and cars is far easier than when they do. A movement like Ghandi's would be quite difficult orchestrate if word of mouth was the primary means of conveying it. |
#7
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Re: The decline of The British Empire
Their post WW1 occupation of iraq shouldn't be overlooked.
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#8
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Re: The decline of The British Empire
Maybe that's part of it but I don't think it's the major reason. Lot's of past empires had risen and fallen without significant technological changes.
One possible factor is that all empires tend to sow the seeds of their own destruction in their evolution from more compulsive and commerical entities towards more centralised affairs. To a signinificant extent, the British empire started out as a series of individual and commercial ventures in the form of colonies with some government backing and encouragement but limited central government control of them or direct involvement. (I don't wish to suggest that that meant they were benign; far from it). For example India and the East India company. However as it and other empires evolved, empire went from a series of commercially oriented ventures to centrally controlled empires that governments felt the need to control and expand as a matter of prestige, out of rivalry with other European empires, and as the discourse that justified empire (civilising mission etc) increasingly took on a life of its own. Along with that went an increasing tendency for empires to go from being profitable or at least self-financing to being drains on the imperial powers' finances, as commerical motives and realism became increasingly replaced by ideological motives. Combine that with intra-imperial conflict and the rise of nationalism and you don't have a recipe for sustainability. |
#9
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Re: The decline of The British Empire
Actually a surprising number of empires rose and fell because of a technological shift that they did not keep up with...I'll list some.
Philistines -> bow & arrow/ mounted archer Greek (city state pre-Alexander)-> rose due to hoplite warfare superior ship building and alphabet. Athens (vs. the Lakodimonian contingent)-> Fell due largely to Lakodimonian new double hulled ships (shattered Athenian hulls) Persian->fell due to hoplite warfare and Greek ships Greek (city states in general)-> fell due to Alexander changing the hoplite spear from 2 cubits to 3 Mongolia->rose due to adaptation of Chinese stirup China ~ 1300-1500 bc->rose due to iron working and gun powder (crossbows, guns and cannons) Rome-> rose largely because of adaptation of Koine greek(able to administer to everyone in a common language) and use of light armed troops as primary infantry. (When conquoring Greece they were just able to run around to the back of the phalanx and cut their troops to pieces as if they were unarmed.) Vikings-> fell due to unwillingness to eat fish, penguins whales and seals. A large number of civilizations have fallen because of another's technology, their own technology, or just refusal to adapt having very little to do with the political events. This almost happened to the British in WW1. They were very happy to use machine guns on indiginous people, but not so much other white people. The Germans held no such reservation and the English had to change their strategey. |
#10
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Re: The decline of The British Empire
[ QUOTE ]
Vikings-> fell due to unwillingness to eat fish, penguins whales and seals. [/ QUOTE ] Fish were a Viking staple and it's unlikely they ever came within 1,000 miles of a penguin. They ate whales too. |
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