Das Thema “The British Empire” ist sehr häufig in sowohl mündlichen als auch schriftlichen Schulaufgaben sowie im Abitur zu finden. Hier liste ich ein paar Stichpunkte auf, die wichtig sind. Es handelt sich hierbei um Notizen von mir aus dem Englisch Unterricht, es gibt daher keine Garantie auf Richtigkeit, aber vielleicht hilft es dem ein oder anderen.
- The British Empire was in the nineteeth century the largest of the world’s history and it covered about a quarter of the world’s surface.
- “The sun never setzs on the British Empire”
- Britain was a powerful and wealthy nation
- Britain defeated other European countries and conquered indigenous peoples thanks to it’s army and navy
- The rapid technological advances (steam engine, telegraph, steamship etc.) aided expansion
- motives behind Britain’s expansion were for example Trade (The desire to benefit British companies and secure trade routes), economics (desire to increase Britain’s wealth), politics, ambition, adventure, curiosity and religion (the desire to spread Christianity).
- The British Empire was often said to be liberal, guided by the principle that safed the good of the peoples, who would eventually be given the right to self-rule.
- They wanted to improve the welfare of the indigenous peoples, giving them medical care, better legal, education and transport systems.
- The British tried to eliminate practices that they considered barbaric, for example suttee, cannibalism and slavery.
Why did the British Empire decline?
- The 1st and 2nd World Wars led to a decline of Britains wealth and prestige
- The British Empire had less impact
- After the wars: rebuilding their countries, the colonies ruled themselves
- most British terretories had become independent (not always peaceful)
- The British Empire had had a huge impact on the world
- former colonies still have links with Britain
- Many of the colonies are parliamentary democracies
- The legal system is often based on British law
- military, police and civil service often based on british models
- English is still the main or secondary language