Killzowned said:
Industrialisation: The single greatest achievement of the British Empire. Without the industiral revolution and Britain, you would not have any of the luxuries you currently enjoy. In fact, the world would be decades behind what it currently is at. Democracy: The Empire brought democracy to a large number of former colonies. During the decolonisation, it was overseen that the countries had free elections that were in the people's interest. However, that did not last long, as the governments soon turned corupt. Zimbabwae would be in much, much better shape today if it were still under colonial rule, as would many of the former colonies in Africa. English Language: The English language has made communication across various countries easier and has increased ease of trade greatly. British Legal System: Numerous countries today base their legal systems on the British and it is the envy of much of the world. British School System: As above, many countries base their system on the British one. Can do more, but I'm going to go revise now. Do a search online if you want more. |
Having gone over British history twice, once in World History and once in AP European history, I can confidently say you are way off. You're twisting a lot of things. Britain's empire did not cause industrialization. Rather, it was the opposite. Britain needed a more markets to sell their goods too and more raw materials. Thus, the solution was to enslave local populations to strip the land of its resources and then use said resources to create goods to sell back to these enslaved countries. I'd hardly consider that a positive aspect of imperialism.
Your post stinks of superiority, and, maybe on a more subtle manner, racism. You automatically assume that bringing British culture to these countries improves them. I'd recomend reading Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness for a bit of a reality check.
Britain has done a lot of great things in its history. Imperialism was definitely not one of them. Britain's not the only country at fault, though. Imperialism was a European phenomenon, but Britain WAS at the head of it.
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Someone said US History started in 1776; they're was off as well. America becomes relevant in world affairs with their involvement in the Great War for Empire (aka French-Indian War). America was one of the great theaters for determining dominance between France and Britain. While the country doesn't become a superpower until after WWI, they become important quickly, if only for the amount of goods they can produce.
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OT: I'd take World History. US History was cool, but learning about about all the different cultures was amazing when I took the class freshman year.
