Skip to content

Ask an Academic

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us
Empty room for politicians

Positive and negative impacts of the British Empire

September 25, 2019 by AskanAcademic.com

A summary of positive and negative effects originating from British imperial rule throughout the world

Question

What were the positive and negative impacts of the British empire?

Answer

Among what may be viewed as the positive effects of the British empire are the same phenomena which comprise the benefits of globalisation in the contemporary world, which British imperial rule helped to create and accelerate. Its collective control of many areas around the world allowed for ease of trade between them, and spurred international trade in general, both from the colonists’ ability to harvest the valued raw materials from each area, and from the Empire’s role in constructing railways or other transport links. For much of its imperial lifetime, Britain operated under a democratic parliamentary system of government, which was transmitted to (and is largely retained in now independent) countries under its control – likewise for common law, and the usage of the English language. English’s position as a lingua franca enables ease of communication between diverse groups of people across the world, to an extent never before possible. Sports such as football were also carried across by British culture and laid the basis for the international popularity of these in the contemporary world.

Yet negative features of the world and its recent history can also be traced back to British imperialism. Throughout the 18th century, the Empire was the largest facilitator in the transportation of African slaves to the Western hemisphere: their descendants typically inhabit the worst socio-economic conditions in countries like the USA, partly as a result of this (it must also be noted, however, that in the following century Britain abolished slavery and gradually used its influence to ban the practice even in areas outside its control, e.g. Zanzibar). In Africa itself, its establishment of controlled areas as nation states was largely done without respect for cultural differences among inhabitants – tensions between groups in these nations have led to devastating conflicts like the Biafran War. Tensions and socio-economic disparities also exist between descendants of the original settlers and natives, such as in South Africa and Zimbabwe, while the indigenous populations of the Americas were greatly decimated during colonisation and remain marginalised today. Indeed many cultural and religious practices have been marginalised in the wake of the Western Christian worldview that the British Empire largely bore across.

References

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Balanced scorecard

Next Post:

Citizenship education Post-Brexit

Search Q&As

Categories

  • Art Media and Literature (74)
  • Business and Management (256)
  • Computing and ICT (14)
  • Construction and Engineering (35)
  • Education (90)
  • Environmental Sciences (2)
  • Finance and Economics (91)
  • Health (64)
  • Languages (12)
  • Law (88)
  • Mathematics and Statistics (2)
  • Medical Sciences (19)
  • Politics and International Relations (83)
  • Research Methodology (1)
  • Science (49)
  • Social Sciences (101)

Archives

Who We Are

Askanacademic.com is owned and operated by All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 4964706. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Data Controller No: Z1821391.

Registered office:
Venture House
Cross Street
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 7PJ

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us

Legals

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Categories

  • Business and Management
  • Law
  • Finance and Economics
  • Health
An an Academic Logo
© 2023 Ask an Academic | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT