Civilisation Britannique

Civilisation britannique

1.The British empire

The starting point is Churchill’s three circles:

- The US

- The EU

- The Commonwealth

The most important for him was the matching point between the three.

The British Empire was nicknamed “The Empire where the sun never sets”.

It expanded quickly over the years. It started in the late 16th century and expanded in the 17th and 18th centuries and there was another massive expansion in the Victorian period.

In the late 19th century and the beginning 20th century, France and Britain were at the head of the two biggest empires in Europe. The interwar period is considered the theoretical high point of the British Empire.

In 1924, Britain held a huge British Empire exhibition to celebrate the Empire and its power. At that time, the British Empire ruled a population of around 500 million people, approximately ¼ of the world’s population and covered about ¼ of the total land area.

In the late 19th century, and more particularly in 1867, Canada obtained the status of Dominion and New Zealand, in 1869. At this specific moment, there was a debate in Britain on colonization in the Empire.

On the one side, you had the Liberal opinion of the subject embodied by Gladstone who saw the granting of Dominion status as the way forward for the Empire. Disraeli, who was the Conservative leader, was in favor of what he called an “imperial union or imperial federation” which is a federal union among the different parts of the British Empire.

The First British Empire – 1583 / 1783

The Second British Empire – 1783 / 1920’s

Within this empire, in this interwar period, there were five types of territories, five types of colonial relations with these territories:

- Companies: it’s one of the oldest types of colonial relation; the monarch would give permission to explorers to claim lands on his behalf and then authorize certain companies with Royal Charters to exploit the natural resources and that part of the world; in return for a fixed income to the monarch. It means that the British authorities did not get involved in the administration or the governance of these countries. Sometimes, the Monarch could provide exclusive monopoly rights in return for money or political support. It led invariably but not systematically to ignoring the rights of any indigenous or local people that were “in the way”. Example: India (East India Company).

- Colonies: These were areas directly ruled by a governor on behalf of the British government. This is an indirect rule where the British authorities relied on local authorities to govern. Colonies were the most common type of territories within the British Empire.

- Protectorates: Territories where the local rulers continued to rule concerning domestic affairs. Foreign and defense policies were left to the British.

- Dominions: Dominions were given significant freedom, autonomy. Yet, their head of state remained the British sovereign. The dominions were mainly settlers’ territories. Examples: Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

- Mandates: They were set up after de First WW, after the dismantlement of the Turkish Empire, after the German defeat.

7. Deconolisation and the British Commonwealth

The process of decolonization

In the post-war period, the political climate wasn’t favorable to the colonial Empires. First, there was the emergence of nationalist movements in the colonies who were calling for the same institutions to be established in their countries; second, the post-war world politics were dominated furthermore by the US and the Soviet Union. They both wanted the European Empires to be opened up to their exports and commercial exchange. They also both supported independence movement in the hope of establishing politically favorable regimes in the ex-colonial countries

The Cold war between the two superpowers meant that nationalist leaders could find easily powerful backers to support them. Between 1945 and the 1990’s, the membership of the United Nations tripled from 50 to nearly 150.

Talking about decolonization is meant under colonizers’ perspective. Decolonization, from the inside, means independence or liberation.

The British Empire faded in less than 30 years which is rather surprising. There are several reasons to explain that:

- Anti-colonial nationalism which played a major role in shaping the decolonization which dominated the politics of British imperialism.

- Decolonization was a global phenomenon, linked to external factors.

We can distinguish 3 distinctive periods of decolonization :

- The late 1940’s : mainly in Asia

- From the late 1950’s till the early 1960’s : mainly in Africa

- In the late 1960’s and 1970’s : everywhere else in the world, left to be independent

The world was totally different after 1945. In 6 years, from 1939 to 1945, nearly everything changed. There was a huge technological change, new political alliances and totally different economic structures.

Before 1945, it was still possible for Britain to see itself as a major figure on the world stage as a political and diplomatic force.

After 1945, this image was much harder to sell. Economic and political power was shifted to the US. Britain wanted to hold on and, at least, to the idea of continued global importance, through the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth was more of an idea more than a functioning reality. Through it, British politicians maintained rhetoric of power and self-determination.

In fact, with the loss of the Empire, Britain was looking for a role. In 1922, there was an international meeting in London which gave birth to the Treaty of London, which established Commonwealth as a free and loose association of three different types of states, headed by the Queen;

 Sovereign Independence States

 Colonies and Protectorates

 Special

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