IMPACTS OF EMPIRE Flashcards
attitudes, trade commerce, popular culture (ie books etc)
what was the 1900 khaki election
- a landslide election for the conservatives, displaying their intense electoral support (by using empire to catapult and catalyse their support)
features of propaganda and how did this portray empire, and give examples of this
- propaganda attempted to be inserted into everyday life
- propaganda attempted to unite society
- propaganda was mainly used after the 1880’s to display a sense of justification
- propaganda would emphasise the need for unity, which it claimed empire was doing on a global scale
- also glorifying empire, only portraying its positive impacts
example:
- for example, in the SBW, after the seige of Mafeking by the british, this action became a celebration in the UK
give the statistic for the decline in british goods being invested in empire
1860 - 49%
1929 - 36%
describe popular attitudes to empire pre-1875
- apathy and lack of care toward Empire in Britain
- felt disconnected from the average person because of such entrenched class struggles - no incentive to inquire
- lack of knowledge and portrayal of empire - it felt distant because people were not directly impacted by empire, and its minimal impact meant people were not proud of empire
- government did not promote empire and was not committed to its cause, which did not reflect onto the people
how many people were in poverty in london by 1900
1/3 of londoners in poverty
*key in displaying how the attention of the british government was elsewhere
- after 1902, there is an exponential spike in british domestic investment (ie education acts, free child meals 1906, NI act 1911 etc) - only when exposed do the british acc do something about it
how did empire benefit middle classes
1) employment
- lancashire cotton production - employed 600,000 people in manchester
- shipbuilding yards in portsmouth and glasgow
*advances job security, productivity, demand – prosperous economy and internal self sufficiency
2) literacy of middle class children - would boost pride in empire
- ie boys and girls own paper
- membership of 500,000 increase from 1890-1914
political attitudes to empire of Disraeli and Gladstone post 1875
disraeli:
- more positive, optimistic attitude toward empire, supporting its justification of a civilising mission etc
- post 1870, he adopted a much more pro-imperialist stance
- portrays it as a DUTY to protect empire
- paints the liberals as failing to protect empire - prioritise care of empire)
gladstone:
- supports the existent empire, but is against needless expansion
- supports a strong home government, and co-operation
- the more colonial relationships you have, the weaker you are
- feel that the empire undermines individual freedoms of the public in the UK (more emphasis on the individual)
political attitudes to empire before 1875
- a passive, non-interventionist approach, wanting to pacify empire and prevent needless expansion (influenced by a minimal-intervention government policy)
- the government felt disconnected from their empire
- they felt that empire was a burden to empire and a “millstone around our necks”
give the date and the PM at the time in South Africa:
- cape colony given self gov
- annexation of griqualand to cape colony
- annexation of transvaal
- first anglo-zulu war
- independence to transvaal
- zululand becomes a protectorate
- second boer war
cape colony given self gov = 1872 (gladstone)
- annexation of griqualand to cape colony = 1871 (gladstone)
- annexation of transvaal = 1877 (disraeli)
- first anglo-zulu war = 1879 (disraeli)
- independence to transvaal = 1881 (gladstone)
- zululand becomes a protectorate = 1887 (sailsbury)
- second boer war (sailsbury)
*conservatives = annexation, protectionist attitude etc
*liberals = much more power and autonomy given to colonies
describe the concept of national efficiency
- the concept of physical efficiency and needing a vigorous race (with the way todo so, being to implement social reforms)
- the idea of bringing a more productive british economy and imperial free trade to ensure that the British did not fall behind other powers
- wanting a more efficient economy to meet the demands of empire
- association of physical weaknesses with military weaknesses
name the different PMs from:
1868-1874
1874-1880
1880-1885
1885-1886
1886-1886
1886-1892
1892-1895
1895-1902
1868-1874 = gladstone
1874-1880 = disraeli
1880-1885 = gladstone
1885-1886 = sailsbury (conservative)
1886-1886 = gladstone (resigns over the irish home rule bill)
1886-1892 = sailsbury
1892-1894 = gladstone
1895-1902 = sailsbury
list off all the facts which come to mind when talking about lancashire cotton
- lancashire cotton production employed over 600,000 people
- 25% of the lancashire population worked in cotton mills
- lancashire cotton millionaries increase by 15 from 1850-1914
describe class dynamics in britain at this time from 1872-1914
- very separated society, purely based on class
- lower classes were completely disinterested in empire and what it represented, and therefore chose not to participate in such activities and not educate people about it (background)
- upper and middle classes were much more engaged with empire, and because material was purely focused and attracting them, it created a very insular and isolated society, whereby only educated people knew and interacted with empire (massive disparity)
- the public was living in ignorance to what was actually occurring in empire
- the upper classes and middle classes cared about empire because they directly benefitted from it
when was king george v coronated
1911
- coronated at crystal palace in london
- amplified ideas of empire + pride and extravagance
how many people did the midlothian campaign of gladstone attract
in total, around 87,000
- 5000 at the speech at Dalkeith
give the different categories of popular culture:
- art
- education
- literature
- media and the press
- propaganda
describe the evolution of national insuarance
following the Boer war, the government was fearful of this idea of national decline and a less productive nation
- they tried to implement a baseline welfare state, todo the bare minimum
- the National Insurance Act was implemented in 1911
give examples of britain starting to trade with more international bodies (3)
- 1896 - british trade was worth 700 million, only 183 million was to empire
- in 1894, britain imported 64 million hundred weight of wheat, 30m from the us, and only 3m from canada
- british investment doubled from 2 billion to 4 billion between 1900-1913, but investments were not all imperial focused
*british exports to non-empire countries was always higher than imports from non empire
how did empire impact industry
- empire placed more pressure on industry, expanding shipbuilding and expanding global trade links
- for example, soap and ginger beer businesses grew (ie lever hulme and lever brothers)
- this allowed for the concentration of wealth with individuals
describe the impact of empire on migration
- 16 million people emigrated from britain within a century, 3/4 of these people going to colonies
- it became a default for people to emigrate to empire, because people wanted to escape poverty
(increasing migration increased the demand and need for ships - increased employment prospects)
list some of the critics of the SBW and their impact of imperialism on britain
- hobson
- writer of the ‘imperialism’ book in 1902
- claimed imperial expansion was a capitalist plot, which enabled an elite
- claimed a motivation of the second boer war was to enable this elite - hobhouse
- launched the 1911 Fawcett Comission (looked into conditions on the SBW)
impact:
- triggered socialist anti-imperialism ideas
- led to a government inquiry into the conditions of concentration camps in the SBW – exposed bad conditions, and forced the expansion and construction of a welfare state in britain
- tarnished the glorified portrayal of imperialism in britain
impact of education on popular life in Britain, with examples
- uneven impact, typically depending on class
- mass influx of subjects from colonies going to school in Britain
- establish British education systems in India - ie Kipling - enhance empire abroad (further civilising mission)
- constant emphasis on empire (ABC for Baby Patriots 1899 = mary fraser armes
- 1902 = introduction of ‘empire day’
- 1908+1909 = Baden-Powell’s Boy Scout movement
give examples of educational initiatives in britain todo established in empire, or schooling etc
- ABC for Baby Patriots 1899 = mary fraser armes
- 1902 = introduction of ‘empire day’
- 1908+1909 = Baden-Powell’s Boy Scout movement
- 1903, a boy’s school in Panchami got teachers mostly from england
- entrance exams to Oxford and Cambridge focused on british imperialist ideas or amplified the grand nature of the british educational system
- Ahmed Khan formed the Muslim-Anglo-Oriental college in 1875
describe Gladstone’s Midlothian campaign, and what does this show
- Gladstone resigns in 1874 as leader of Liberal party, and returns in 1876
- he has a planned, political campaign to amplify his dissatisfaction with conservative government policy
- 1879 - he defends imperialist policies and defends the Zulus when speaking in Dalkeith, with 5000 people
- in 1880, the liberal leaders resign to allow Gladstone to become party PM, given he won his seat in Midlothian, and was adopted as a candidate in Leeds (displays extreme public support for his cause, and a focus on Empire at home)
what does this show:
- people want a reform of empire to focus on Britain and want drastic changes
- political focus on person, not politics - desperate for reform
- willingness to step down, recognition of the importance of the domestic sphere and changing colonial policies
- discontent with contemporary conservative policies and their interventionist approach in SA (ie Anglo-Zulu war)
how were literary displays exemplified and portrayed to the british public (ie literary attitudes to empire)
- portrayed that the empire was the sole institution who was discovering what was lost by civilisation, and is restoring civilisation
- emphasis of having a HUGE impact on society and reforming culture
- ideas of opportunity and excitement
- talked about ideas regarding masculinity and being noble – displayed an intrinsic level of strength
- literature is trying to portray how britain is doing a favour for the rest of the world
how did britain economically benefit from empire, with key examples
BENEFIT:
1) employment
- anglo german naval race of 1898 employed over 1 million british people – annual launchings increase from 1 million in 1892 to 1.6 million in 1910
- colonies provided the demand for goods (ie cotton), which maintained employment levels and consistency of production
2) financial flexibility
- number of lancashire cotton millionaries increased by 15 from 1850-1914
- 22 new merchant millionaries from 1860-1919
3) trading and access to product - diverse market
- the empire provided an insulated trading network, in which there was stable and constant trade - conservatism
- promoted a more diverse product industry in britain
give examples of how the british market diversified from empire (goods such as cotton, palm oil etc)
- soap
- lever brothers in liverpool - using palm oil from west africa - ginger beer
give the date and the PM at the time of these events:
- shares bought in suez canal
- victoria is empress of india
- afghan war starts
- occupation of egypt
- berlin conference
- zanzibar war
- fashoda
- abandon sudan conquest
- imperial british east africa charter and south africa company charter
shares bought in suez canal = 1875 (disraeli)
victoria is empress of india = 1877 (disraeli)
afghan war starts = 1878 (disraseli)
occupation of egypt = 1882 (gladstone *but he is voted out the month after)
berlin conference = 1884-1885 = gladstone
zanzibar war = 1896 (sailsbury)
fashoda = 1898 (sailsbury)
abandon sudan conquest = 1884-1885 (gladstone)
imperial british east africa charter and south africa company charter = 1888/1889 (sailsbury)
describe popular attitudes to Empire post 1875
- much more engaged and aware government led to them using empire as a political point in elections - exposed to the general public
media attitudes to empire
- there was a lot of demand for the media and press within Britain, because british people wanted to be well educated on occurrences in empire
- the media filtered information to portray empire has heroic
- it glorified empire and portrayed it as an institution which was ‘furthering civilisation’
- it mainly appealed to semi-educated and literate people, further contributing to an insular upper class
- there was a degree of ignorance of the press, not properly depicting the nature of such battles
- artists and media always would change sketches, which lacked realism and had more of a glorified element
- romanticised and dramatised empire to have more engagement
give examples of literary works which positively portrayed empire and were widely known in empire (give date of publishing) (5)
- conan doyle writing Sherlock Holmes in 1887 - desire to show imperial attitudes / fight
- The Man who would be King - 1888, Kipling - asserting a ‘pure’ british identiy
- Kim, by ruyard kipling, 1901
- If, by ruyard kipling, 1910
- The Jungle Book, by ruyard kipling 1894
- King Solomon’s Mines, ryder haggard 1885
how did the use of propaganda in britain change over time
pre 1880s - propaganda is not widely used
- not many people can vote
- not many people are literate = dont care about empire
post 1880s - empire and its message was much more amplified
- many people could now vote (reform act of 1867 and 1884 by disraeli - expansive electorate)
- empire and its industry was now reliant on the british people
- international competition forced empire to be expanded - the british needed more home support to sustain this
what does the creating of a ‘safety net’ and more welfare provisions in Britain at this time display about Empire
- the government needed to be shown to be doing ‘something’ to protect citizens
- after the government was exposed for letting the health of citizens be run down this much, they established an unintentional safety net, and only then start spending
- before = less emphasis on domestic sphere, but from 1902 (ie boer war and onward), more emphasis was put on the ordinary citzen - through the expansion of provisions
*can be argued that Britain therefore benefitted from this shift
when was the diamond jubilee of victoria, and what was its impact on british popular culture
1897
- it resulted in Chamberlain promoting a ‘Festival of the British Empire’
- the 22nd June was declared as a bank holiday
- it garnered extreme excitement and enthusiasm, especially among younger children
(ie 10,000 children gather in Constitution Hill in 1897 to celebrate the festival)
describe the social programmes introduced to help the british population, esp after the criticism of the SBW:
- education
- healthcare
- policies toward children
- education
- 1902 education act - raise schooling standards – increased the number of secondary schools by 1000 over a decade
- 1907 - imperial college london was founded - technological and medical excellence
- 1906 - free school meals - healthcare
- 1907 - school medical inspections
- national insurance act 1911 - children
- 1908 children welfare charter
describe Gladstone’s speech at West Calder in 1879
- places an emphasis on the domestic environment in Britain, and once the domestic environment is developed, can Empire expand and be focused on
*orientating actions of empire around people - focus on preserving empire for future generations and creating a strong home environment
“avoid needless and entangling arrangements”
describe lascar sailors in empire and their conditions
- lascar sailors are heavily demanded for, because they assist in transporting products
- there were 172,000 foreign sailors in 1898, 31,000 of which were lascar
- lascar sailors had limited rights
describe the class divides and attitudes within britain over education
lower classes:
- did not care about empire - it was too disconnected and distant from them - cyclical because this goes on for generations
- unimpressed by empire
- refused to buy textbooks - don’t care
- hostile toward upper class employers, because they felt that empire was being ‘forced’ onto them
- uneducated about empire
upper classes:
- attempted to restrict lower classes from accessing educational imperial material - fear of sympathising with colonised
- greater access to education for upper, middle classes
- proud of empire and therefore were eager to share its material (impose views)
- upper classes in colonies were eager to send their kids to britain to receive an education – superiority, pride etc
- aristocracy was more involved in empire
- there was a price to pay to have imperial experiences, which lower classes were willing todo
how did britain economically not benefit from empire, with KEY examples
NOT BENEFIT:
1) taxation burden
- 54p/1.56 of tax was spent on defence of empire - unnecessary financial burdens and dependence on british people - lack the financial stability and flexibility todo so
- a person in britain paid 1.56 pounds, but 3p in settler colonies
- taxation fuelled british wars, with tax being 2x as high as germany, yet british public didn’t understand what they were fighting in
2) lack of return on investments
- the british people did not have any tangible benefits from britain
3) britain begins to prioritise international investments over imperial investments
- ie by 1897 only 1.2% of british exports are going to tropical africa
describe the opium trade on empire
- opium traders were paid minimum wages, with chests costing 370 rupees to make sold for 1300 rupees
- opium was used for trade with china in terms of tea, silk etc
- 2 million peasants only worked 2% of the land, but generated 90 million rupees
- poppy and opium cultivators benefitted by being able to purchase their own land, with a vast majority of the wealth generated in BENGAL going back to britain
- opium generated wealth for britain, encouraging them to maintain these bonds of empire (ie opening banks including HSBC - and shipping merchants etc)
how did empire benefit lower classes
*would probably argue for this question that empire did not benefit the lower classes
1) idea of education was limited - insular lower classes and a cyclical structure, whereby education would only expand upper classes on empire - didn’t care
1899 and 1900 COLONIAL LOANS AND STOCK ACTS display how more money was being invested in mombassa and colonies, rather than in britain itself
2) only increased taxation burdens – no return on taxation
3) the british only improved social conditions WHEN NEEDED - 1911 NI act
3 key stats / impacts regarding national efficiency and what do they show about empire itself (LINK DIRECTLY)
- studies by Eicholz repoted that 90% of students were hindered in their studies due to physical defects
- at a recruiting depot in Manchester, among the 12,000 men examined in 1899, 8000 had been rejected, and only 1,200 (after service) were deemed as fit
- a Physical Deterioration Committee was established in 1903, discovering that the army rejected over 60% of men for unfit or being “specials” from 1897-1900 in York, Leeds and Sheffield
*displays that there has been a shift in imperialism after the conditions of physical deterioration had been discovered
- when the state of these men are discovered and published by White and Rowntree, then the government starts spending and placing more emphasis and attention to the care of its citizens
- the state of men disturbed British people - idea of english ways not always being the best
- they were only investing in welfare provisions and a more expansive state in order to have more imperial efficiency and counter this deterioration problem
key statistics about artwork in empire and its impact on britain
- Butler’s 1874 painting ‘roll call’, sold 250,000 copies initially – mass engagement with empire
- 1924 = butler’s paintings were rejected by the royal academy (displaying lowering levels of imperial sentiment etc)
bullet point the catagories in which it could be argued britain benefitted from empire and did not benefit from empire
- industry / economic
- cultural improvements
- social improvements
describe artistic attitudes to empire from post 1875, with examples
Lady Butler = wife of a civilising missionary / solider in West Africa
- pessimistic / realistic view of empire
- condemn and criticise empire and the values it upholds
- idea that empire is cyclical thing (her paintings all allude to imperial defeat)
- nationalist idea that there is NO point in being entangled in these foreign pursuits, because it will always end the same way - critical, don’t understand this emphasis placed on empire
- her work provided insights into empire and were so popular because people did not have this level of education
- she wanted to present how imperialism saw itself, not its reality
George Stubbs
- artist who didn’t focus on imperial image, but instead culture
- not being educated enough about empire
give examples of empire infiltrating into public life (ie exhibitions)
- 1883 - boys brigade - military training
- 1890 - Stanley and the Africa exhibition on regents street - straight after the pasha relief misison, talking about his book (Through the Dark Continent)
- 1877 - a Nubian village is put on display at Alexandra Palace
- 1886 - Colonial and Indian Exhibition in South Kensington - ATTRACTED 5 MILLION PEOPLE**** - magnestism
give an example of a media outlet which educated lower classes on imperial events
- daily mail
- formed in 1896
- sold a million copies a day during the SBW
how did empire benefit upper classes
- merchants and aristocrat trade
- merchants and those with high government networks and links were given imperial power to establish charters (ie goldie in 1888 who lobbied liberals to sign his charter)
- gives them access to palm oil which was then produced in britain
- merchants conducted 1/7th of global shipping between 1860 and 1919
- de beers company established in 1888
- establishes trade avenues, security
(benefits of empire were contained by wealthy people - were not reinvested - concentrated wealth)
describe the impact of empire on wheat sales
- the plentiful access to wheat was easily accessible for the british
- allows for these trade links which would expand self sufficiency and allow for a diversity and expansion of empire in terms of produce
describe the impact of empire on children and impoverishment
- charities such as Bernados would ship orphans out to white dominions
- it is the idea of treating such dominions as ‘dumping grounds’ in order to better england itself
give examples of imports from colonies and dominions into empire
- canada
- 10% of beef and 15% of wheat by 1914 - india
- took 20% of british exports, returning raw cotton - australia
- australia was providing wool and sugar
*other products include malay tin, nigerian palm oil, chinese tea etc
how did the empire bring social improvements to the lives of the regular citizen (think education)
- Education (provision of meals) Act of 1906 - liberal government introduces the state provision of meals
- Education Act 1902 - expanded education beyond primary education to offset upset from the Boer war - created 1000 new secondary schools in the next 10 years and 330 Local Education authorities established
describe music within empire
- edward elgar – conducted and wrote the music for victoria’s 1897 coronation
- henry coward – took a choir on a tour of empire in 1911
describe the crystal palace speech 1872
- key example of disraeli pivoting from condemning empire, to promoting its development, defence and expansion - attempting to generate enthusiasm
- displays how liberals (ie Gladstone) were failing to maintain empire, yet the conservatives could maintain it
- empire is a political selling point
- the empire became associated with respect, which intrigued the general public
CONSERVATIVES WIN ELECTION IN 1874
give 4 actions of disraeli which display his pro-imperial stance
- makes Victoria empress of India in 1877
- 1878, he orders the annexation of Afghanistan
- 1875 - purchased 4 million pounds of Suez Canal shares - expansive influence
- 1872 - claims that the Conservatives are the ‘party of empire’ at Crystal Palace
give examples of media works reinforcing their attitudes to empire
- frederic villiers – media portrayal and depiction in 1882 of Alexandria, displaying the heroism of the british (he would depict the ‘little wars’, contributing to this illusion of the empire being a force in driving civilisation
- fantasy and glorification of empire
