Definition:
Describes the domination of a country by a major power of a different culture, whereupon the colonised country and inhabitants are dependent, exploited and controlled by military subjugation and political, economic and cultural influence.
From the 16th century on, the British began to establish overseas colonies. In 1607, they established the first permanent settlement in America’s Jamestown and in 1620, the Mayflower set sail to New England. From 1624 onwards, Great Britain colonised the countries Barbados, Nevis, Bengal, Madras, the Bahamas, the Dutch colony, Newfoundland, St. Kitts, Hudson’s Bay, Gibraltar and Minorca. Extension of the British Empire continued into 1783 with the establishment of colonies across the Americas and the West Indies.
Great Britain was also part of the triangular trade with America and the African continent and benefited from the slave trade. In the course of the American Revolution, the First British Empire came to an end because the British lost the American War of Independence and consequently the North American colonies then belonged to America. Canada however, remained a British colony. The loss of the American colonies and the end of the First British Empire induced Great Britain to expand eastwards to Asia and Australia. In 1770, Australia was colonised and in 1788, the first convicted criminals were shipped from England to Botany Bay, Australia by James Cook. The colony of New South Wales was established soon after. In 1801, the United Kingdom was born when Northern Ireland and Great Britain were united. In the 19th century, a Second British Empire was formed, which was based on the British sea-power and colonies, mainly India and Africa.
Colonisation by the British Empire consisted of economic, imprisonment and settlement colonialism distributed over the Asian, American and African continents, as well as Australia and Oceania.
An economic driving force was the East India Company. The East India Company controlled all the trade from Europe to South Africa as well as the Indian and Chinese coasts. Most of the trading from India consisted of natural resources, tea and silk. One-third of the British taxation revenues [dt.: Steuereinnahmen] were from the Indian population. Besides the trade mediated by the East India Company, the most important economic factor was the opium export from Great Britain to China. China wanted to stop drug trading but in the course of the Opium Wars, China lost the Wars against the UK and the opium trade went on. In addition, Hong Kong became a British colony. In the 19th century, the British/British people were at war with the Boers from the South African Republic, hence the name: the Boer Wars. In the 20th century, the British Empire peaked when Germany lost the First World War and the German colonies were added to the catalogue of the British Empire.
A quarter of the world’s land surface belonged to the British. The Empire quite literally spanned the globe which gave rise to the saying “The sun never sets on the British Empire”.
Many parts of the British Empire, such as Ireland, India and Palestine, started a battle for independence in the 20th century. In 1945, after the Second World War and the Cold War, the elected Labour Party supported decolonisation. When Great Britain suffered defeat in the course of the Suez-crisis, the British Empire came to an end. In 1997, Hong Kong was given back to China.
Quote:
“(The political class) went from believing that Britain could do anything to the almost neurotic belief that Britain could do nothing”
~ Margaret Thatcher (Great Britain’s prime minister 1979-1990)
Because of overpopulation in Great Britain, many British people moved to British colonies to escape poverty and hunger crises. Religious persecution was one of the push-factors that pushed emigrants out of Great Britain. Besides North America, Australia has been one of the most famous colonies that people fled to.
What remains from the British Empire are fourteen Overseas Territories. The British Queen is still the head of state of former colonies like Canada or Australia. While the British Empire itself does not exist anymore, most of the colonies are members of the Commonwealth of Nations whose leader is Great Britain.
Many of these 54 nations are characterised by British culture due to the influence of decades of rule by the Empire. Living conditions, economy, technology, politics, language and culture were all affected by the British.
All in all, the Empire was a group of countries ruled by one single monarch. These colonies grew under the influence of Britain’s technological and economic superiority. Great Britain’s pride was at the expense of the lives and culture of native inhabitants such as the Aboriginal Australians. British colonialism can be described as a system of subjugation, [dt.: Unterwerfung] exploiting a country’s citizens to obtain raw materials. The destruction of societies and human suffering were often downplayed and concealed. Even today, some former colonies are suffering from chronic wars partly caused by colonialism.