Why do some people the British Empire was a "Great" thing?

Question

THINK********

great as in good, sorry iu should never have added " "

Answer 1

It is not just certain people in UK who believe that the British Empire was a great thing. The fact is that in India today children are taught of the benefits which India gained and achieved because of the British Raj and Empire.

Of all the former member states of the British Empire, India is a shining example of what can be achieved. Not only did India gain independence by her own efforts, she captured democracy and took it to her heart and made India into the real jewel in the crown.

When the British packed up and left their African colonies, all of them had money in the bank and a potential to become richer. The sorry truth is that much of this wealth was squandered and economies ruined.

What happened in Zimbabwe and is still happening, is just the sort of worst case example possible. Corruption rules the country and stalks the night. A living hell for the people, many of whom must yearn for Empire and for the stability which it gave to the people.

On balance, the British Empire achieved much and most people now seem to agree that the overall result of Empire was for the good.

Answer 2

There are a few reasons, some of which are more valid than others and some of which probably wouldnt be openly stated by people who would say that the British Empire was "Great". Off the top of my head here are a few:

- Bringing things like trains, the telegraph, western medicine and formal education to areas of the world which had never seen them.

- Spreading the ideas of liberal democracy around the world (granted, Imperial rule was far from democratic, but the ideas spread nonetheless - which wasn't really part of the plan)

- The Empire and the money we made from it made Britain the biggest world power for about a century, and helped put us in the position of still punching above our weight, millitarily and economically.

- National pride / nostalgia

- Xenophobia

Personally, I would say that while British Imperialism was fundamentally immoral, it helped Britain a lot and had some beneficial effects on the subject nations. Not enough for me to call it great though.

Answer 3

Because the British cast the seeds of Democracy with the Magna Charta & ushered in the Industrial age they have to be considered a Great Empire... regardless of what one thinks of them. Undoubtably they made mistakes in dealing with some 3rd World Countries, but these 3rd World Countries were not the wonderful people the far left would have us believe.
The current fad of blaming the West for the World's ills is a leftover from Marxism & the old Soviet Union's desire to discredit any non communist form of government... especially if the country had any form of profit motive.

Answer 4

The reason people think that the British Empire was a great thing is because it was small and on an island and survived so many attacks on land and sea and survived to tell the tale!

Answer 5

The thing with Empires is that people take for granted then forget all the benefits given to them and just remember all the negative things, its the same with every Empire in history, The same thing is happening with America now.

Answer 6

They were the greatest country in the world until the USA came along. They contributed more to world stability than any other superpower before them.

They have been brutal at some points but they were certainly more benevolent then any other world leaders before them.

Would you rather exist under the British or the Maoist Chinese, Soviets, Imperialist Japanese or the Romans.

Don't even bother to answer, just spew your leftist dogma in the college classroom; here you may have to explain you ridiculous rants.

Answer 7

Well it was at the time wasn't it?Britain controlled half the world at one time for good or bad.Now it is America#'s turn.The Empire was good for Britain but not for the countries it controlled.But that was life in the 18th and 19th centuries wasn't it.It is pointless harping on about it now. It is all history.

Answer 8

Genetic experiments in specific circumstances require a purging; for this reason the flood. certainly, it became worldwide huge flood #2, in accordance to Scriptures. In #a million, each little thing became killed. "a hearth, no longer a flood, next time." Asbestos long johns, all of us?

Answer 9

Without the British Empire, the USA might not exist today. And that would be an unimaginable loss to humanity.

Answer 10

Probably because they brought such ideas such as capitalism, private ownership, and english jurisprudence which is the basis for all western law to primitive cultures. Unfortunately, they also brought tyranny with them.