Just Finished Reading: The British Empire: A Very Short Introduction by Ashley Jackson (FP: 2013)

It is said, not without reason, that the British acquired their Empire by accident. As Britain grew in power as a maritime nation and explored the world looking for trading opportunities and places to plant colonies it inevitably left an impression wherever its ships made landfall. It was not, of course, alone in this endeavour but seemed to be both particularly good and particularly lucky at it. In numerous wars with its rivals and fortuitous marriages amongst its ruling elites more colonies, territories and sometimes whole countries fell into Britain’s orbit. Equally inevitably previously colonies grew as colonies will and their demands grew with them – for food, natural resources and land. The local inhabitants of the New Lands often traded with these outsiders until it became obvious that they were here to stay and here to rule. After that the choice was clear – co-operate or fight back. Looking back it is unclear who made the better choice between ultimate (at least attempted) assimilation or (almost certainly guaranteed) extermination of their way of life if not their whole tribe or worse. So, over hundreds of years and through the actions, often unknown and unsanctioned from London, of thousands of individuals the Empire grew until it covered a fair proportion of the planet and held hundreds of millions as its subjects. Until, quite suddenly and almost (but not quite) bloodlessly it vanished in an historical blink of the eye.

Covering the main themes of the origins, expansion and ultimate demise of the British Empire this slim volume (as usual around 130 pages) is an excellent introduction to a still controversial institution. After its collapse the prevailing opinion, especially in the more ‘enlightened’ age of the 1960’s and 1970’s, was that Empire and the British Empire in particular was a unarguably bad thing bringing oppression and worse to large areas of the world and was something to both feel guilty about and offer recompense for. Those who offered up any kind of alternative – even those who recognised and acknowledged the Empire’s less than savoury activities especially in Africa, India and most notoriously Tasmania – were considered to be blind to the realities of history and apologists for Imperialism. Others, notably historians, pointed out a more nuanced narrative – of both atrocity and triumph in a rather messy, complex and often contradictory narrative known technically as History. The author struggles with the idea of labelling the Empire either ‘Good’ or ‘Bad’ and essentially dismisses the question itself – although he gives it some serious rumination room. Such labels are, in my opinion at least, both simplistic and naïve. It’s rather like trying to describe the 20th Century in a single word. Sure, you could probably do it – but would it actually mean anything? I think not. As an introduction to the British Empire I couldn’t fault this book overly much. If you know very little about it but for the name and the fact that it existed at all this is definitely the book for you. More detailed books on the topic to come.

That’s this book blitz finished. The next blitz will be: Cinema.