The whole process of forming an empire on which the sun never sets

The Rise and Fall of the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets Liu Jun

The British Empire emerged with the British overseas colonial expansion. The history of British overseas immigration can be traced back to the late 15th century. In 1607, the British established the first permanent colony in North America. But Britain's large-scale overseas immigration appeared after the 18th century. Immigrants leave their homeland for various reasons: to escape political and religious persecution, to acquire their own land, to find jobs and better life opportunities. Due to the Industrial Revolution, Britain was the first to have a surplus of working population under capitalism. In the 100 years from the end of the Napoleonic War in 1814 to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, about 20 million people emigrated from the United Kingdom, of which 13 million immigrated to the United States, 4 million immigrated to Canada, and 1.5 million people moved to Canada. Australia and the rest flow to other parts of the world. Britain is the largest immigrant country in the world in modern times. Colonies are of great historical significance not only to Britain but also to the world. Many scholars believe that colonies are one of the prerequisites for the origin of British capitalism. For example, the author of "The Great Divergence" regarded the colonies as relieving population pressure on land and coal mining as two major reasons for the development of British capitalism.

When the world was basically divided among the great powers at the beginning of the 20th century, Britain received the largest share. In 1914, before the outbreak of World War I, the British colonial area had reached 3,350 square kilometers and governed a population of 394 million, accounting for 1/4 of the world's population; this was equivalent to 137 times that of the British mainland and more than 8 times its own population. It was known as "The Empire on which the Sun Never Sets". During the formation of the British Empire, there was both suppression of local indigenous people and competition with other colonial powers. This process has had a significant impact on the development of British society, the history of modern international relations, and the development and evolution of political geography. The British Empire was built on a strong economic foundation. In the 19th century, Britain's coal production accounted for 60% of the world's coal production and its iron production accounted for 50% of the world's. It was a veritable "world factory". At that time, there were many merchant ships sailing in the oceans. More than 1/3 of the world is flying the Union Jack, and the entire 19th century can be called the "British Century" to some extent. However, the 20th century saw the decline of the British Empire, despite being the victor in two world wars. British Prime Minister Churchill described his mood at the Yalta Conference in his memoirs: "On one side of me sat a huge Russian bear, on the other side sat a huge bison, and in the middle sat a poor little British donkey." Then. With the rise of the United States and the Soviet Union, and the influence of the trend of national independence after World War II, the British Empire gradually collapsed. By the 1960s, the British Empire as a colonial system had become a relic of history. However, the Commonwealth, which mainly consists of former British colonial countries, also has considerable international influence.

How to understand and evaluate the historical role of the British Empire is an important issue in modern world history. This topic involves many aspects, one of which is the role of the British Empire in the development of the colonies. Whether it caused poverty or promoted development, many scholars, including Marx, devoted a lot of effort to this issue. However, history is complex, and the historical role of the British Empire is diverse. Existing research results show that it is impossible to make a comprehensive evaluation of the historical role of the British Empire, and it is unrealistic to expect to find a clear answer in a book. "Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire" does not attempt to make such an attempt, but strives to present this history comprehensively and holistically, providing a platform for readers to think and judge. The 11 main authors of the book are all historians from Britain, the United States and Australia, which makes the book full of vivid and detailed descriptions. What is even more rare is that these authors have fully absorbed the concepts and research results of new history in the West since World War II, and are unique in the content and form arrangement of the book.

First of all, the history of the British Empire here has no trace of previous political history, especially the Western central concepts that have been obviously constrained. As the author believes, "The history of the British Empire is the study of the interaction between the British and other peoples, rather than the 'influence' of the British on these people." Interaction theory recognizes that local peoples had a rich culture and history before Western colonial rule, and that after British influence participated in their historical development, they continued to write their own history, including a history of resistance to oppression and the development of indigenous culture. This is the author's respect for history. In fact, there is no unified management organization or unified colonial governance model within the British Empire. Except for a few former colonies where British immigrants are the main residents, such as the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries and regions, they have maintained more British cultural characteristics. The situation in the remaining colonies varied widely, and local cultural characteristics are still evident today. This characteristic is most vividly reflected in the architectural art that combines Western and local traditional styles in various places.

Secondly, because it breaks through the narrow limitations of pure political history, the book contains extremely rich content. The history of the British Empire is not simply a history of the spread of civilization, or a history of oppression and exploitation by colonialism and imperialism. The contact between Western culture and former colonial culture is all-round, and the author also tries to look at this phenomenon from various angles, including various forms of colonial rule, trade exchanges, cultural conflicts, population mobility, urban architecture, painting art, sports and entertainment, race ism, national integration, women's life, to the spread of English and other Western cultures and imperial belonging, and so on.

As the author carefully noted, competitive sports are also a hotbed for cultivating national consciousness, "Australia expresses its national consciousness not on the battlefield of the battle for independence, but in the cricket match of fighting for self-esteem. For New Zealanders Said, the sense of independence is expressed through the game of rugby."

The most commendable thing is that almost every page of the book has an illustration, painting, map or photo, which is like an open historical window, making the originally popular text narrative more vivid, and through Enhance readers' visual perception and more fully stimulate their thinking activities. The British Empire left a profound mark on British national consciousness and artistic life. When you walk around the streets of London, you will see many sculptures of figures, most of which are generals who opened up territories for the empire overseas. The tall images of these imperial heroes also remain in British historical paintings. The book includes a painting that depicts General Gordon's awe-inspiring face of death in Khartoum, Sudan. The author writes in the commentary that it is almost certain that the scene when Gordon was killed was far from such a heroic scene. The artist created a purely mythical depiction of this event. The General Gordon in the painting is the same Gordon who was recorded in our country's history textbooks and led the "Victorious Army" to suppress the Taiping Rebellion in China.

This book can be regarded as a model of contemporary Western new history. In fact, it is a collection of political and social history, women’s history, cultural history, international relations history, economic history, immigration history, etc. Organic integration of fields.