Nulisch, Oakes 1

Emily Nulisch and Lindsey Oakes

Bennett-Martin
Humanities II
22 February 2016
1750-1914: Effects of the British Empire
The British Empire transitioned into a period of growth, global dominance, and
expansion, which in turn affected many other foreign societies that they were involved
with. 1750 to 1914 changed the original stances of countries because of a large British
influence on political and social life, and without this influence many of these affected
countries would have followed a completely different developmental course in history.
The British Empire economically exploited countries such as New Zealand and Australia,
and politically disrupted the rule of foreign countries like India. Through these events, the
British Empire had an enormous impact on developing countries around the world, and
demographically destroyed any other progressions that were possible.
The expansive reign of Britain across different parts of the globe resulted in
political instability and the creation of new governments as a product of disrupting ageold traditions of governing and cultural progression. An example of this type of political
unrest, caused by British imperialism, was the case of India. Prior to the rule of Britain
over India, the East India Company had mostly restricted the exploitation India through
monopolies and regulations on traders, but as British pressures on India increased, Britain

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had finally seized and maintained colonial control of the subcontinent (Marshall 167).
After years of oppressive rule, an Indian independence movement boiled up from the
suffering citizens, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The lack of rights and expensive tariffs
imposed by the British demonstrated the lack of humanity used when addressing foreign
populations and led to the collapse of oppressive government in attempt to create a
democratic system of law. Similarly, the incorporation of countries such as Canada and
Australia under the British Commonwealth highlights Britains imperial dominance over
the non-Westernized civilizations. At the consequence of preventing the independent
development of political systems within a state, Britain was able to establish an extensive
empire, inspiring and influencing colonies and less developed areas. Even though Britain
aided in the spread of new technology and ways of thinking, derived from the
Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution, it was destructive to the separate advancement
of the colonies and less progressive societies.
The industrialization of Britain did lead to many opportunities for modernization
and better living conditions, but the exportation of British goods affected the need for
other countries to invest in their own factories and manufacturing systems. People also
disagreed with changing the traditional ways of market and economy that sustained the
culture of their own region. Instead of allowing people to retain their historical values of
industry and growth, the British forced other people to survive through industry because
they were so far advanced and dominant in the global exchange of goods. For example,
the British took advantage of large landmasses that could economically sustain the
market of Europeans with a bank of raw materials (Lawrence 20). This can be seen
through the efforts of the British Empire to colonize New Zealand and Australia because

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of their abundant and efficient lumber and agricultural supply. After already being a
prominent force in the world already, the British took advantage of other countries that
were not as advanced and exploited their resources to the point of exhaustion. Even
though the noteworthy achievements of the British Empire are great, the effects of the
ever-industrializing Europeans did leave a permanent mark on foreign countries.
Modern day Britain is regarded as a highly advanced society with complex history
colonialism and culture; but this countrys history has had an enormous impact on the
political and industrial lives of world-wide regions. These damaging relations changed
the way that countries would develop, and altered their needs to be shaped around a
European way of life. Although the numerous advancements that Great Britain has made
throughout its dominance were vital to global modernization, the impacts of these
phenomenon

spread to other countries and created an unfair developmental pattern that has

lasted to this day.