To what extend do you agree with Rhodes view that the British Empire was beneficial to both Britain and the colonies?

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Kar-ho cheung 9pm

To what extend do you agree with Rhode’s view that the British empire was beneficial to both Britain and the colonies?

This term in history we have been learning about the British Empire and what impacts the British Empire had on the countries they conquered and on the world itself. The British Empire was the largest Empire in history and for a period of time it was the world’s globally strongest countries. By 1921 the British Empire was in command of a population of about 458 million people roughly one quarter of the world’s population. The land that Britain had conquered covered about a quarter of the earth’s surface area (14.2 million squares miles. The legacy that is the British Empire is well known throughout the world; at the peak of its power, people often said” The sun never sets on the British Empire, “As the sun will always be shining on one of Britain’s colonies all over the world.” However people had many different interpretations on the empire some say they were positive some say negative. There is evidence to support Cecil’s Rhodes view the empire was beneficial for both sides. However there is more persuasive evidence that the empire had negative effects. Furthermore if considering why each gave the interpretations that they did , it is obvious that   Cecil’s Rhodes interpretation is particularly unreliable .In this essay I will be examine different interpretations on the British Empire to answer the following question “To what extend do you agree with Rhode’s view that the British Empire was beneficial to both Britain and the colonies?”

In 1819 Cecil’s Rhodes gave a positive view of the empire he believed that the British Empire had a positive influence on Britain and its colonies. There is evidence to support his view as the British Empire had beneficial effects on Britain. For example Britain economical strength grew rapidly as the British industries were able to acquire cheap raw materials from the colonies; Gold from South Africa, tea, spices and herbs from India etc. This made Britain a lot richer, the excess income could have then been used to further advance there technology during the industrial revolution which was a period of time of great change in which new inventions and machinery were created to aid mankind; to get an edge over the other countries such as Germany and American from future attacks. Not only did the Empire aid Britain with financial matters it also helped Britain politically and its strength and importance’s in the world. Due to the empire Britain gained more land, more soldiers and more allies to help vend itself off against invading countries, for example Gibraltar was a perfect site for a navel base because from the bottle neck it formed with the tip of Africa to create a unique guarding spot to defend the entrance of the Mediterranean. The empire aided Britain in wars also as during the first and Second World War the colonies helped Britain to fight as well as supplied useful materials.

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Likewise there is also evidence to support Rhodes view that the British Empire had beneficial effects on the colonies. The empire revolutionized the judicial system for example in India the notorious gangs were opposed strongly by British rule, and were almost completely wiped out. The empire also abolished savage rituals and traditions that would have been frowned upon by the modern world, such as binding feet & infanticide ( in china ) in India the practice of suttee when a wives threw themselves on their husbands funeral pyre to die with them; Ended the salve trade in western Africa. ...

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This is a thorough response which demonstrates strong understanding of the historiography and engages well with it. Good use has been made of examples, although it would have been beneficial to include these in the conclusion. 5 out of 5 stars.