Evidence against Imperial Culture

Question 1

Which historian argues that empire did not permeate into British culture, even after the ramping up of propaganda at the end of the C19th?

Answer 1

Bernard Porter

Question 2

How many canonical novels in the 19th century featured the empire significantly?

Answer 2

None

Question 3

When did oriental architechture decline?

Answer 3

After the death of George IV

Question 4

Where did painters often look for exotic inspiration?

Answer 4

The Middle Ages

Question 5

What was the focus of history in public schools? In middling schools?

Answer 5

Ancient history and the classics (public schools)

The growth of individual liberty in Britain (middling schools)

Question 6

What does Porter believe defined British culture and identity in the C19th and C20th centuries?

Answer 6

Class

Question 7

Who said in 1883 that empire semmed to have been acquired “in a fit of absence of mind”?

Answer 7

J.R. Seeley

Question 8

Which former Colonial Secretary argued that schoolchildren would be better off “given practical lessons in the geography of their own localities” rather than being shown maps of empire?

Answer 8

Lord Kimberley in 1893

Question 9

How may the forms of governance in the empire show the limited impact it may have had on British culture?

Answer 9

Much of the empire was ruled through collaboration and indirect control. This meant it was managed in a way which had a minimal impact on British people in terms of cost and personnel.

Question 10

Why does Bernard Porter believe that the impact of the pro-imperialist propaganda at the turn of the century is hard to ascertain?

Answer 10

• It is hard to measure public opinion
• Much of the most popular propaganda was sugar coated e.g. Empire Day which was a half-holiday
• Non-imperial values and class remained dominant within day to day life and culture

Question 11

When did geograpical societies disband?

Answer 11

After WW1

Question 12

Which of Rudyard Kipling’s books suggests that children may have been able to resist the imperialist elements of Empire Day?

Answer 12

Stalky and Co.

Question 13

What is a counter-argument to the role of Empire Day and the Scouts?

Answer 13

• Children were likely enthusiastic about empire day because it meant a half-day at school and partying
• Camping and activities obviously interested children rather than the colonial undertones of the organisation

Question 14

Why do most historians argue that high literacy rates didn’t necessarily mean imperial books were read?

Answer 14

Just because people could read, didn’t mean they necessarily did. Often, they didn’t have the time or energy to be able to do so.

Question 15

Which two main pieces of evidence counter the idea that Music Hall shows how Britain’s culture was imperialist?

Answer 15

• Many contemporaries satirised music halls which shows how they weren’t taken seriously
• Just because people attended Music Halls, didn’t mean they were imperialist - they may have gone for entertainment and patriotism is different to imperialism

Question 16

Why is using the 1900 election results a weak example of imperial attitudes shaping electoral results?

Answer 16

• Since the Conservatives only won 400,000 more votes than the unstable Liberals
• It was opposition to Irish Home Rule which defined the result as opposed to anti-Boer sentiment
• Liberals won a landslide victory in 1906 anyway

Question 17

What evidence could be used to counter the popularity of the Imperialist Wembley Exhibition?

Answer 17

The placement of the exhibition at a national sporting ground associated with working-class football suggests that this was a marketing ploy. Such an effort suggests that the attraction of imperialism itself was not strong enough to entice visitors.

Question 18

When was the Imperial Institute founded? When did it actually become popular? Why?

Answer 18

1880s but wasn’t popular until after 1914. Even then, it was primarily school children who visited it because it was a compulsory school trip.

Question 19

When did the Imperial Institute close? The Empire Marketing Board?

Answer 19

II = 1955
EMB = 1933 (after just 7 years)

Question 20

What might the tight controls placed on cinema in the 1930s suggest about imperialist attitudes?

Answer 20

It suggests that the imperialist attitudes weren’t as strong as the government wanted. Hence, they were forced to ensure that films had a pro-White official outlook.

Question 21

What is the crucial flaw with evidence in favour of imperial culture?

Answer 21

Much of it is propaganda and entertainment - it is hard to determine what impact this had on people’s imperial perspectives. Most likely, they were more concerned with the entertainment value or ignored the propaganda.

Question 22

Why, according to Michael Paris, did children’s authors write about imperialist themes?

Answer 22

Because they feared the decline of empire

Question 23

Why, according to Richard Price, did the working classes sign up for the Second Boer War?

Answer 23

For socio-economic reasons

Question 24

What was the impact of WW1 on imperialist attitudes according to Robert Pearce?

Answer 24

In some ways, it weakened imperialist attitudes. It showed how the White Man’s Burden and Social Darwinism was unjustified - White Europeans had been brutally killing each other for 4 years. The weariness of war had led to more modernist art in an attempt to go against the patriotic works in the pre-war period which had contributed to the conflict.

Question 25

Who wrote a parody of Macdermott’s jingoistic music hall song from 1877?

Answer 25

Henry Pettit

Question 26

What does McDonough argue was the main reason for working-class voters electing the Conservatives in the 1900 election?

Answer 26

Opposition to Irish Home Rule and not pro-Imperialism in the Boer War