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Investigating the mechanisms and processes that maintain power, and how power and influence change over time. Examining the rise and fall of the British Empire and the factors that contributed to its decline.
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4.1.2/3 How do patterns of power change? The rise and fall of the British Empire “The sun never sets on the British Empire” What does this famous quote actually mean?
4.1.2/3 How do patterns of power change? Investigating the mechanisms and processes that maintain power. Investigating how and why superpower status develops over time, recognising that power and influence change, and that influence may wane as new powers emerge.
India was the largest populated country in the empire and had a larger population than England by two or three times At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories. - The sun still does not set on Britain's 14 remaining sovereign territories. The steamship and the telegraph, new technologies invented in the second half of the 19th century, underpinned British imperial strength, allowing it to control and defend the sprawling empire. By 1902, the British Empire was linked together by a network of telegraph cables, the so-called All Red Line. (from wikipedia) By 1921, the British Empire held sway over a population of about 458 million people, approximately one-quarter of the world's population, and covered more than 13 million square miles, almost a quarter of Earth's total land area (from wikipedia) The British Empire included Canada, Jamaica, India, Pakistan, Australia, Egypt, Kenya, Ireland, Suriname, Afghanistan, Normandy, America, Hong-Kong, New Zealand, Burma, Nepal, Blize, Bahamas and Grenada After World War II, Britain was left virtually bankrupt, with insolvency only averted in 1946 after the negotiation of a $3.5 billion loan from the United States, the last instalment of which was repaid in 2006.
Mercantilism and Chartered Monopoly Companies were becoming quite the fashion in the late Sixteenth and Seventeenth century . The king could give permission to explorers to claim lands on his behalf and then authorise certain companies (with the aid of Charters) to exploit the natural resources in that part of the world in return for a fixed income to the Monarch. In many ways it was something for nothing for the ruler. He could provide exclusive (monopoly) rights to certain cronies in return for money, political support or promotion at home. It invariably, but not always, resulted in ignoring the rights of any indigenous or local peoples that were 'in the way'. If the political entity was too large and powerful then alliances might be entered into or the Monarch might lend the Company the support of his nation's military wings. Mercantilism
Slavery would show just how exploitative this system could be. Plantations needed labour and labour was available, relatively cheaply, in West Africa.
Technological and Industrial Superiority Britain would become the first nation to harness the power of steam which in turn would unleash an Industrial Revolution and an avalanche of high quality, mass-produced goods that would flood the markets around the world. They, in turn, would provide a technology gap that non-European nations would find difficult to compete with. Precision-made muskets, rifles, machine guns, train locomotives, steam ships would provide the relatively small and outstretched British armed forces with unparalleled advantages. They could take on vastly larger enemies and yet beat them off, subdue and suppress them. British weaponry was very effective and its communication systems allowed it to shepherd its meagre resources to devastating effect and even its medical resources would improve enough to allow its soldiers and sailors to penetrate deeper and more inaccessible areas. Britain was not the only nation to enjoy a technological advantage over non-European nations, but its combination of industrial might and maritime power meant that it had a peculiar advantage and one that would not be challenged until the development of guerrilla warfare and tactics in the twentieth century.
Strategic Imperatives The Empire was acquired for a variety of reasons that did not add up to a coherent whole. New colonies were being added in order to defend existing colonies and borders. The best example of this might be the colony of India. It was certainly regarded as the Jewel in the Crown of the British Empire but it also meant that a surprising number of supporting colonies would be added to guard the so-called Jewel itself or the routes to and from the Jewel. For example, the British were keen to take control of the Cape Colony from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars to secure the main sea route to India. Of course, when the Suez Canal was opened in the 1869, it was not long before the British took a controlling interest in the Suez Canal Company and soon became involved in controlling the Egyptian administration itself. There was a relentless logic to guarding the next valley, river or island that soon got the British involved in places that had little strategic importance except to the colonies that it already controlled.
Maritime Advantages The Royal Navy would undoubtedly become a formidable military institution, but it was not always inevitable that Britannia would rule the waves. Naturally, being an island nation, shipbuilding and sailing would be important skills and industries to a country like England. The battle of Trafalgar in 1805 would become the defining naval battle for the next century. For the rest of the nineteenth century, there was no maritime power who could come close to challenging British domination of the maritime communication and trade routes. This meant that the British could hoover up all the outlying French, Spanish and Dutch colonies in the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars and could then guarantee the safety of all of these isolated outposts from at least maritime threats. Britannia really would rule the waves and this undoubtedly made imperialism easier to implement.
Understanding colonialism as a sign of power • Read page 143 and add to your spider diagram
2) See page 144/145 • Prepare a presentation arguing that a certain theory underpinned the rise of British colonialism in the world. Presentations will be in role. • Some groups will be preparing debates to counter each view. • In each case research is needed to support your view – don’t just have information about the background of each theory but actually say why it was true or indeed false.
2) See page 144/145 • Prepare a presentation arguing that a certain theory underpinned the rise of British colonialism in the world. Presentations will be in role. • Some groups will be preparing debates to counter each view. • In each case research is needed to support your view – don’t just have information about the background of each theory but actually say why it was true or indeed false. Jim Mc Nut – Pro Modernism
2) See page 144/145 • Prepare a presentation arguing that a certain theory underpinned the rise of British colonialism in the world. Presentations will be in role. • Some groups will be preparing debates to counter each view. • In each case research is needed to support your view – don’t just have information about the background of each theory but actually say why it was true or indeed false. Reverend Semilina Pudding – Pro Evangelical Christianity and social Darwinism Jim Mc Nut – Pro Modernism
2) See page 144/145 • Prepare a presentation arguing that a certain theory underpinned the rise of British colonialism in the world. Presentations will be in role. • Some groups will be preparing debates to counter each view. • In each case research is needed to support your view – don’t just have information about the background of each theory but actually say why it was true or indeed false. Reverend Semilina Pudding – Pro Evangelical Christianity and social Darwinism Lord Henry Blunderbuss-Smythe – Pro Mackinder’s Heartland theory Jim Mc Nut – Pro Modernism
2) See page 144/145 • Prepare a presentation arguing that a certain theory underpinned the rise of British colonialism in the world. Presentations will be in role.
2) See page 144/145 • Prepare a presentation arguing that a certain theory underpinned the rise of British colonialism in the world. Presentations will be in role. Jim Mc Nut – Pro Modernism
2) See page 144/145 • Prepare a presentation arguing that a certain theory underpinned the rise of British colonialism in the world. Presentations will be in role. Reverend Semilina Pudding – Pro Evangelical Christianity and social Darwinism Jim Mc Nut – Pro Modernism
2) See page 144/145 • Prepare a presentation arguing that a certain theory underpinned the rise of British colonialism in the world. Presentations will be in role. Reverend Semilina Pudding – Pro Evangelical Christianity and social Darwinism Lord Henry Blunderbuss-Smythe – Pro Mackinder’s Heartland theory Jim Mc Nut – Pro Modernism
How was it maintained? See if you can guess what these images indicate in terms of the maintenance of power
4.1.3 Patterns of power change over time - Why did the British Empire collapse? Which factor do you think is the most important? What mechanisms of power do you think were undermined?
4.1.3 Patterns of power change over time - Why did the British Empire collapse? Which factor do you think is the most important? What mechanisms of power do you think were undermined?
4.1.3 Patterns of power change over time - Why did the British Empire collapse? Which factor do you think is the most important? What mechanisms of power do you think were undermined?
4.1.3 Patterns of power change over time - Why did the British Empire collapse? Which factor do you think is the most important? What mechanisms of power do you think were undermined?
The public face of Empire loss, a significant moment in History. In 1951, the Conservatives returned to power in Britain, under Winston Churchill. He believed that Britain's position as a world power relied on the continued existence of the Empire, with the base at the Suez Canal allowing Britain to maintain its position in the Middle East in spite of the loss of India. However, Churchill could not ignore Nasser's new revolutionary government of Egypt that had taken power in 1952, and the following year it was agreed that British troops would withdraw from the Suez Canal zone and that Sudan would become independent by 1955. In 1956, Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal. The response of the new British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, was to collude with France to engineer an Israeli attack on Egypt that would give Britain and France an excuse to intervene militarily and retake the canal. Eden infuriated his US counterpart, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, by his lack of consultation, and Eisenhower refused to back the invasion. Eisenhower’s concern was the possibility of a wider war with the Soviet Union after Khrushchev threatened to intervene on the Egyptian side. Eisenhower applied financial leverage by threatening to sell US reserves of the British pound and thereby precipitate a collapse of the British currency. Though the invasion force was militarily successful in its objective of recapturing the Suez Canal, UN intervention and US pressure forced Britain into a very humiliating withdrawal of its forces, and Eden resigned. This is the point at which Britain's capacity as a superpower was publicly shattered.
The legacy • British overseas territories • Football, rugby, Hockey, Golf, Tennis • Anglicised legal systems, parliaments and rule of law • Well developed civil service structures • Physical infrastructure in most countries • Christianity • Speaking English • Driving on the left?!?!
The legacy British overseas territories Football, rugby, Hockey, Golf, Tennis Anglicised legal systems, parliaments and rule of law Well developed civil service structures Physical infrastructure in most countries Christianity Science Speaking English Driving on the left?!?! Religious conflict e.g. N Ireland, Malaysia, Middle east, India Poverty resulting from domination of the natives/ slaves Instability from power vacuum with opened up in 1945+ e.g. Afghanistan, African nations e.g. Uganda Idi Amin etc LEDC resources issues Loss of cultures/ homogenised cultures/ globalisation slavery
Over to you • 4.1.2 / 4.1.3 • How do patterns of power change? • On an A3 sheet, use the books and research to illustrate how and why • Your power became a superpower • How control was maintained and society was organised • It’s current status/ why is collapsed or threats to its superpower status today. • Consider • Historical events, opportunity, expansion. • Economic, cultural, social, political
Over to you • 4.1.2 / 4.1.3 • How do patterns of power change? • Use books and research to illustrate how and why • Your power became a superpower and the ideology. • How control was maintained • It’s current status and/or why it collapsed /threats to its superpower status today. Consider for Q2: Politics- patriotism, nationalism, int. agreements Economic systems- e.g. 5 year plans Social control- education, KGB, CIA Military-standing armies, nuclear, Detail is needed year 13s! Present as a report: Starting points are handout p100 and parrot p 146
