Ten Minute History - The Late British Empire (Short Documentary)

1783 and the Americans have left. The Empire, led by King George III, famous for being crazy, now had to find a new place for a penal colony, and it found one, in Australia. So both Australia and New Zealand had been known to Europeans for centuries because of past Dutch explorers. It was Captain James Cook who sailed to both and claimed them for Britain. New South Wales was chosen as Britain's new penal colony and the first convicts arrived in 1788. So in the next year the French Revolution happened, paving the way for the Napoleonic Wars which were a British victory. Victory here gave Britain a few new colonies such as Malta and South Africa. Importantly, it also weakened Britain's great imperial rival, meaning it could increase the size of its empire without much resistance. Which it did. The century following the Napoleonic Wars is known as the Pax Britannica, the British Peace, in which Britain was the world's sole superpower. Over the next few decades Britain, which Ireland had formerly been incorporated into, seized Guiana, Singapore, Assam and this territory in India. Britain was helped in these ventures by the East India Company who oversaw Britain's trade with China, mostly in opium. China had previously banned opium but Britain refused to listen and kept importing it anyway because money. In 1839 the imperial Chinese government seized opium from British ships and destroyed it, which led to armed conflict which Britain won, gaining lots of money, a continuation of opium selling and Hong Kong. Britain's victory here also gave it huge influence over China's economy, bringing it into what is known as the Informal Empire. The Informal Empire consisted of places which weren't directly under British control but due to military and diplomatic pressure were often coerced into acting in Britain's interests. To the northwest of India, Britain turned its eyes to Afghanistan. On the surface this was for trade but the major reason was Russia. Britain was afraid that Russia would seize either Afghanistan or Persia from which it could then invade India. Britain was also worried that Afghanistan would make an alliance with Russia and so invaded. This was a complete disaster and amounted to nothing more than a slaughter of British and Indian troops by the Afghan militias. This competition for influence between Britain and Russia is known as the Great Game and spread beyond Asia and into Europe. The Russians were increasing their influence in the Balkans and Britain was worried about Russian dominance there as well. In order to curb Russia, Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire began the Crimean War which was a victory for the Allies and slowed the growing Russian power. In North America, Canada was established as a province and the borders between itself and the US were finalised. Canada later gained autonomy by becoming a dominion which meant that the colony was self-governing but foreign policy was left to Britain. Also about this time the British began to settle New Zealand. At first the Maori, the natives of New Zealand were fine with the Europeans as they brought trade to them but eventually it dawned on them that the Europeans weren't going to stop coming. This led to war which the British won leading to more European settlement. In contrast to populating New Zealand, Ireland faced one of the greatest depopulations in human history thanks to the potato pan in which decimated potato harvests. The British forced the Irish to grow cash crops which meant that there was less space to grow food there. The Irish grew When the famine struck it was made worse by the British government who ordered that food would still be exported from Ireland to Britain and that aid would be limited. Ireland's population dropped by half and still has yet to recover to its pre-1800 level. All the way back in India, Britain, specifically the independent East India Company was having some trouble. So background. The East India Company's military was mostly staffed by Sepoys who were Indian troops who served under British officers. These Sepoys became increasingly unhappy as their treatment Their pay stagnated and they were also forced to fight abroad despite British promises that they wouldn't have to. British policy in India had also led to massive changes in its society as well which upset many of those living there. For example the British levied heavy taxes and did nothing to protect the Indian textile industry. The British were also arbitrarily grabbing more and more territory which understandably made some Indian rulers nervous. Furthermore the British were also keen proselytizers and many Hindus and Muslims felt that the British wanted to convert all of None of this endeared the British to the Indians and in 1857 the Sepoys revolted against the East India Company. One Sepoy called Mangal Pandey mutinied against the British by assaulting some officers and his execution made him a martyr. The earlier British defeat in Afghanistan also gave confidence to the Indians since it meant that the British could be defeated. The actual rebellion began when Indian troops were issued with ammunition coated in either pig or beef fat which offended both the Muslim and Hindu Sepoys. When they refused to use the ammunition the British arrested them and they, alongside others, mutinied. The rebelling Sepoys seized some cities including Delhi but eventually the British were able to defeat them. The reasons for this were that only a few Indian states actually joined the rebellion, many were neutral and support for the British remained strong. One reason for this was that the concept of being Indian didn't really exist. India is an exceptionally diverse place and a Muslim from Bengal or a Sikh from Punjab had little in common with a Hindu from Delhi. Another reason for the rebellion's failure was that it was The cost incurred in money, prestige and lives led the British crown to take control of the running of India and the East India Company was dissolved in 1858 and Queen Victoria was proclaimed the Empress of India. The British also gained more land from the Indians removing disloyal chiefs called Nawabs from power. Britain's dominance over its colonies was secured by increasing technological advancements brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Some of the most important of these advancements were the steam powered ship, trains, the telegram and more advanced firearms. This dominance wouldn't last forever and towards the end of the century Britain found itself with new rivals. These were the United States which was recovering from its civil war, the newly unified German Empire and a rising Japan which was looking to carve up Asia. The new German Empire wanted colonies of its own and so turned to Africa. This worried the British and in order to soothe tensions the Berlin Conference was called to divide up Africa in a way that avoided war. So Africa went from looking like this to this with Britain and France getting the lion's share. So the British public's response to imperialism was mixed. Outright opposition to colonialism was very rare. Most people's attitudes sat between apathy and a deep pride in Britain's role as a colonial power. This was primarily due to the belief that Britain was a civilising force. So Britain's conquest of Africa was not a simple and straightforward affair. Britain had substantial military advantages over the Africans it was conquering such as rifles, machine guns and gunboats. Yet many Africans were able to win victories against the British such as the Zulus who slaughtered the British at the Battle of Isandlwana. On the same day the British won one of its best known battles, the Battle of Rorke's Drift. Another group of Africans, the Boers who were originally Dutch settlers also resisted British expansion in South Africa. In order to defeat Boer guerrilla warfare by denying them shelter the British placed many women and children into concentration camps where they faced horrible conditions. The conquest of Africa was short and pretty much complete after 30 years with only Ethiopia and Liberia remaining independent. The southern colonies in Africa were unified into South Africa which alongside Australia and New Zealand became a dominion just like Canada. The empire grew to its territorial height after the First World War where Britain gained sizeable Ottoman and German territory. It wasn't all gains for Britain though as throughout the war Britain's hold on Ireland became untenable and Ireland became an independent republic in 1922. From the crumbling Ottoman Empire the British gained Palestine which it was decided would become a home for the world's Jewish people. Hundreds of thousands of Jews arrived in Palestine over the next couple of decades and their increasing numbers and political powers there caused several revolts against the British all of which were suppressed. After the Second World War many more arrived and the tensions rose again culminating in a civil war and the creation of Israel. So the Second World War was a British victory but had brought Britain to the brink of economic ruin. Indians had been seeking independence from Britain since about five minutes after it turned up. Many Indians felt that their contribution to both world wars meant that they were owed independence. In 1937 India held elections in which the Indian National Congress, an advocate for independence, won the largest share of the seats. Furthermore the famine of 1943 which was caused mostly by Britain diverting food away from India had cost the lives of many millions increasing demands for the end of British rule. The most famous opponents to the British were Mohandas Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Gandhi was not a politician but was very important since he practiced a non-violent approach. Jinnah is famous for advocating that India be divided so that Muslims could have their own state as well. In 1947 India gained its independence and was subsequently divided into India and Pakistan. Britain was unable to fight this tie due to its weakness. It simply couldn't afford to force India to stay. Furthermore Clement Attlee, Britain's post-war Prime Minister, was sympathetic to the Indian cause. The division of India was not so peaceful though and it is believed that during the mass migration ethnic cleansing and fighting that occurred afterwards as many as two million people died. In the aftermath of World War II Britain found itself opposed by two anti-imperialist superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. Slowly but surely over the course of the 20th century colonies broke away from British rule, some violently, some peacefully. A notable example of British imperial retreat is Kenya. Kenya had been run similarly to most other colonies with white settlers owning lots of land amassing wealth and forcing horrible working conditions on the natives. Many Kenyans, notably Jomo Kenyatta, attempted to get reforms from the British, all of which were refused. Some Kenyans then turned to violence and what is known as the Mau Mau uprising began. The Mau Mau resorted to guerrilla warfare but the British were able to suppress the uprising after capturing its leaders. Both sides committed horrendous war crimes including torture and the murder of women and children. In 1960 Britain announced that it would move towards an independent Kenya and in 1963 Kenya gained its independence with Kenyatta as its first president. Britain's motives for this were simple, the writing was on the wall and the empire was going to end. Harold Macmillan, the prime minister of Britain, made sure that the handover of power was swift to help promote good relations between Britain and its former colonies. Decolonization would continue for the next several decades until Britain's last major colony, Hong Kong, was handed back to China in 1997, thus marking the end of the empire. So in conclusion the legacy of the British empire is undeniable. One only needs to look at a map of countries that drive on the left, play cricket or rugby or still have the British monarch as their head of state. Opinions on the empire range from it being a civilizing force to an oppressive one. What can be said for definite is that without the empire the world would have looked very different today. I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for watching.