The British empire

Question 1

By 1913 how many people were within the empire?

Answer 1

400 million

Question 2

Why Britain wanted an empire

Answer 2

To gain money from importing and exporting good from around the empire
To gain power as more people would support the British army and colonies acted as refuelling and restocking ports
To spread Christianity and the British way of life around the globe as they believed they were superior

Question 3

Negatives

Answer 3

Loss of native language - in New Zealand Māori has declined dramatically
Exploitation of native resources - in India the British made the farmers grow tea as it had huge profit however it meant that when the seasonal droughts occurred the consequences were much worse as much less food was available as farmers were growing tea not food

Question 4

Positives

Answer 4

As Britain industrialised earlier than mot countries between 1760 and 1840 these technological advance were brought to countries which had not yet industrialised making production and transport more efficient with machines and railways
Abolition of slavery the empires navy made it very hard for the slave trade to continue after its abolition. The west African squadron caught ships transporting slaves to the Americas this squadron alone helped to free around 150,000 slaves

Question 5

When was the international slave trade abolished

Answer 5

1807

Question 6

When was slavery abolished in colonies

Answer 6

1833