BRITISH EMPIRE

The first half of Queen Victoria’s reign – the British Empire grew by 100,000 square miles a year

The enlargement process was unsustainable It was acquired by conquest, settlement, part

of dowry, purchased, held on licence (Cyprus) The Empire had no coherence: Englishmen

carried their law to settler colonies but Roman –Dutch law was retained in the Cape, Ceylon and British Guiana, varieties of French law prevailed in Lower Canada, Mauritius and the Seychelles, Trinidad had Spanish Law

There was no judicial impartiality

Local administrations were as eccentric as local proconsuls

Canada, Australia and New Zealand ran their own affairs

The East India Company ruled the subcontinent and held the economic sway between Cape Town and Cape Horn

The Mediterranean Sea was a British lake

The Empire acknowledged the supremacy of the British Crown in the Westminster parliament

Its purpose was to promote the nation’s real interest

Since the time of American and French revolutions Britain had seen the Cape of Good Hope as the barbican of Africa

Seized from the Dutch during the Napoleonic wars, it was retained in 1815 as strategic and commercial stronghold

1820 – 5000 settlers –they believed in the white supremacy

They relied on the Bible and the rifle

They permitted an influx of missionaries and promoted humanitarian ideals

They rejected the Dutch criminal law. Made English the official language and gave limited rights to Africans

Since 1857 the British in India in order to maintain stability felt obliged to rule an oriental despotism by the sword

Generally the British did not look for increased direct imperial authority, yet the last 40 years of the 19th century saw the annexation of vast areas of land in Africa, the Far East and the Pacific

1851 Britain was the world’s trader with an overwhelming dominance of world shipping which continued even when Britain’s dominance in manufactured goods was declining after 1870

India – the chief jewel of the Crown was no longer so profitable

Following the Indian Mutiny, the territory came under direct British administration

1876 Queen Victoria – Empress of India

To safeguard India and the route to this subcontinent, various annexations were made: Burma, Malaya

Egypt and Sudan came under British control

Britain defended the Turkish integrity especially against Russia

Turkey disintegrated, Egypt became more self-reliant

Building the Canal helped Egypt reach the point of bankruptcy and a military coup was attempted

Suez Canal

1882 - Gladstone invaded and occupied Egypt on behalf of the Canal’s creditors and the British remained until 1954

Formal annexation of rebellious Sudan followed in a series of campaigns in 1880s and 1890s

Thus the Turkish decay drew Britain into becoming the major power in the Eastern Mediterranean and in North Eastern Africa

The Boer War was very expensive, costing Britain more than any other imperial exploits in the 19th century

Boer War

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i-hy_0VWZ8,