Promoting Empire interwar period Flashcards
What were messages conveyed to British Citizens like in this period?
-Promoted imperial imagery and keen to encourage trade with Empire (buying foreign goods)
-Explicit jingoism lost it’s appeal though, as ww1 caused horrors such as earlier Boer War
What was set up in 1926?
Empire Marketing Board - promoted consumption of goods produced around the Empire through posters and adverts, became even more active in the 1930s when Great Depression, Empire became even more important
How did the government promote empire?
-Advertisements
-Propaganda
-Exhibitions
-Empire Day
What exhibitions happened in the interwar period?
-Wembley exhibition of 1924, British gov contributed half the 2.2m coast
-Huge fun fair and sports stadium, exhibition intended to give visitors experience of British Empire in miniature. 17 million visitors in 1924 and 9 million in 1925
-Another Empire exhibition in Glasgow in 1938 attracted 12 million
How was Empire Day treated in interwar period?
-Celebrations sought to create sense of belonging to family of nations
-Empire day not just celebrated in Britain but across Empire, participants wear costume representing colonies
How was Empire promoted in Popular Culture?
-BBC
-Education
-Films
-Literature
-Compositions
-Commercial advertising
What was the role of the BBC?
-Established in 1923, under John Reith - took a pro-imperial stance, covered as many major imperial events, exhibitions, and public celebrations as possible
-Christmas broadcasts 1932 covered King’s speech and items about the Empire
What was the role of Empire in education?
Focal point for teachings of Geography, History and Literature in schools. History study of Empire became established in unviersities, professorships created such as the “Vere Harmsworth Chair” at Cambridge from 1919
-London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies, founded in 1917
What was the role of literature and films in this time?
Children’s literature celebrated Empire and books of G.A Henty remain popular
-Films becoming increasingly popular, such as: Sanders of the River and the Four Feathers (these used empire as backdrop for adventure)
What compositions happened?
Composers exploited imperial theme: 1924, Empire Exhibition, Edward Elgar conducted mass choirs in the cinging of “Land of Hope and Glory”. He died however in 1934, signifying the passing of grand imperial era.
-Noel Coward’s “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” may have been deemed imperial but was gently self-mocking British ideas about themselves and Empire
What was commercial advertising like at this time?
-Long used imperial motifs to promote products, did so in years between 1914 and 1947
What was the extent of Imperialist ideas?
-There was a great deal of pro-imperial propaganda though this alone isn’t proof of influence
-Not all classes shared values at this time, not all had same degree of contact with Empire
-So middle class with families involved in trade with Empire were more naturally supporters but working-class without relatives serving overseas or any personal interest didn’t feel it was relevant to their lives
