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re: Did the British Empire have a net positive effect on the world?

Posted on 4/21/19 at 6:29 pm to
Posted by Boo Krewe
Member since Apr 2015
9810 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 6:29 pm to
India would have been one of the richest on earth . but in a way, its good if the british cam.e if brits didnt come. india would been a war torn shitshow like the middle east. a muslim empire ruled imndia before britidsh
Posted by SoFla Tideroller
South Florida
Member since Apr 2010
30106 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 6:59 pm to
Compare the countries England colonized compared to the Spanish and French. No comparison. The Spanish and French possessions are still largely train wrecks to this day.
Posted by DavidTheGnome
Monroe
Member since Apr 2015
29166 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 7:07 pm to
The difference in the British and Spanish approach to colonization would be an interesting topic as well. I wonder if the British did something right that the Spanish didn’t and that’s why they burned out. Spain had such a huge start and very well could have been what the British Empire was. What happened, the loss of their armada?
Posted by OWLFAN86
The OT has made me richer
Member since Jun 2004
175885 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 7:09 pm to
the didnt speak English

duh
Posted by Rammin TX
DFW Texas
Member since Oct 2018
1736 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 7:23 pm to
The taught Japan how to do Empire
Posted by Flashback
reading the chicken bones
Member since Apr 2008
8313 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 8:17 pm to
Absolutely. I miss Brits having balls.
Posted by Fat and Happy
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2013
17001 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 9:26 pm to
Well of course.

Any true original strong nation conquered lands and imposed civilization on the heathens that existed
Posted by crazy4lsu
Member since May 2005
36311 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 9:32 pm to
Depends on who you ask. Shashi Tharoor has a decent book on the empire where he takes it to task.
Posted by LSURussian
Member since Feb 2005
126962 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 9:36 pm to
The British Empire led to English becoming the international business and aviation language.
Posted by biglego
Ask your mom where I been
Member since Nov 2007
76305 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 9:39 pm to
I think part of it is the Spanish crown just wanted to extrapolate precious metals and exploit the colonies. Whereas the British developed actual trade and commerce. The British had private investors who bought stock and could buy insurance.
Posted by BuckyCheese
Member since Jan 2015
49239 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 9:46 pm to
India would be an even bigger shithole than it is today if not for the Brits.
Posted by DavidTheGnome
Monroe
Member since Apr 2015
29166 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 9:56 pm to
The importance of the Brits adding the train system in a lot of these countries, especially India, can’t be overstated enough. It played a key role in their development economically as well as socially. The partition of Indian into Pakistan for example.
Posted by Cosmo
glassman's guest house
Member since Oct 2003
120265 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 9:58 pm to
Western European culture is the greatest thing to ever happen to this planet
Posted by Arch Madness
Charleston
Member since Jan 2018
1059 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 9:59 pm to
Is this meant to be propaganda for white supremacy? Rhodesia was also adamantly supported by Dylan Roof
Posted by stateofplay
Member since Sep 2018
1504 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 10:02 pm to
quote:

India would have been one of the richest on earth . but in a way, its good if the british cam.e if brits didnt come. india would been a war torn shitshow like the middle east. a muslim empire ruled imndia before britidsh


In an ironic twist the Middle East is a war torn shitshow in large part due to the British and European powers making up countries with people who hate each other (sykes -picot agreement etc)
Posted by USMEagles
Member since Jan 2018
11811 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 10:38 pm to
quote:

In an ironic twist the Middle East is a war torn shitshow in large part due to the British and European powers making up countries with people who hate each other (sykes -picot agreement etc)


To be fair, the British weren't trying to make up nation states when they drew those lines. They were creating the administrative units of an empire.
Posted by CelticDog
Member since Apr 2015
42867 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 10:41 pm to
quote:

India is better under their own rule. One of the largest economies. 


India did not exist before the empire United them.

They bought out maharajas and took over parts by force. Note that it's got several languages. Millions speak each one.
They represent nations. 50 million speak one. 300 million another. 4 million.
No king United it before the king/queen of little britain. And they have one mutually intelligible language. English.
The fabulous English with 800,000 words. 200,000 more than German and double the best of the rest.

Posted by GeorgiaTiger678
Atlanta
Member since Jan 2019
267 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 11:15 pm to
Rhodesians never die

Also the British Empire ended many barbaric practices in the territories they came to rule over. Specifically the practice of burning a widow with her husbands body in India. The British Empire is the greatest empire the world has ever known and it is a god damned shame how they are made to feel guilty for bringing civilization with them today.
Posted by DavidTheGnome
Monroe
Member since Apr 2015
29166 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 11:20 pm to
I’ve thought about it and in retrospect it’s odd I used Hong Kong as the example of British rule having a positive influence because of its history regarding the opium wars which was Britain declaring war on a nation to force the sale of drugs there.
Posted by kingbob
Sorrento, LA
Member since Nov 2010
67083 posts
Posted on 4/21/19 at 11:28 pm to
quote:

Spain had such a huge start and very well could have been what the British Empire was. What happened, the loss of their armada?


There were a few key differences:
1. Spain lost their armada. That dealt a huge blow to their abilities to protect their claims, allowing the French, British, and Dutch to poach significant swaths of land in the New World.

2. As one gets closer to the equator, the diseases the Europeans brought became far less deadly to the natives, and the native diseases became far MORE deadly to the Europeans. Spain's colonies, were generally far closer to the equator than Britain's, thus the natives did not die off as completely, and the colonists Spain sent there died much more often. This made those areas remarkably harder to settle.

3. England had a massive population boom and needed a place to unload bodies. When Spain started the Age of Exploration, it was fresh out of a centuries long conflict between Christians and Muslims where the Christian kingdoms of Castille and Leon had finally been victorious and pushed out the last of the Muslims. The country was actually war-weary and wasn't about to populate their new colonies with Muslims.

England, on the other hand, was exploding in population by the early 1600's, and was quickly becoming over-crowded despite decades of civil war. The colonies created a convenient place to dump excess citizens. Since Britain was becoming overcrowded, they simply shipped their excess population overseas. Spain did not have this overcrowding problem, so they had far fewer citizens ready for export.
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