Thesis Statement
Undoubtedly, the British Empire exerted its power over the world for some time, after multiple failures to maintain its colonies the British Empire came to an end.
Proposal
Fundamentally, the British Empire was the composition of protectorates, colonies, dominions, territories and mandates that were under the powerful administration of the United Kingdom or otherwise the states that preceded its reign. The origin of the British Empire can be traced back to the period towards the end of 16 th century and the beginning of 18 th century. At this time, there had been establishment of trading posts as well as overseas possessions by England that made it the foremost global force and most powerful and extensive empire in the world’s history. Arguably, for about a century and beyond, the British Empire covered about 24% of the total landmass of the earth and about 23% of the global population. As such, the British Empire was in a position to steer its cultural, linguistic, political, and legal agenda across its colonies and protectorates with ease.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
However, the British Empire being a shining star in the dominance of global power came under a tough time in its history that compromised its global reign. Certainly, the attainment of independent status by some thirteen (13) colonies in the Northern America territory in the year 1783 was detrimental to the grip of global conquest by Britain. Indeed, the War of Independence in America (1783) was a major drawback to the British Empire since it had to operate without the support of some of its populous and oldest colonies in the globe.
Again, the growing economic and military tensions between Britain and Germany led to the causation of the World War I: at this time Britain relied extensively on the support of its empire. Therefore, at the end of the war, Britain had caused a strain on its powerful military, financial, and economic resources; thus, the British Empire lost control of its military as well as industrial pre-eminence in the world. In addition, the occurrence of the World War II adversely affected the territorial control of Britain in the Asian region since its colonies in Southeast and East Asia were taken over by Japan. Agreeably, the attainment of Independence by India and Hong Kong’s transfer to China are critical factors that contributed to the uneventful decline of the British Empire. From the backdrop, the proposal seeks to evaluate the validity of these factors through an in-depth examination of the relevant historical and scholarly records.
Annotated Bibliography
Brown, J., & Louis, W. R. (Eds.). (1999). The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV: The Twentieth Century . OUP, Oxford.
Understandably, Brown and Louis’ book (1999) gives a firm background of the relevant history of the British Empire. The two authors are renowned scholars in the area of British history, and their submissions in this book present a vivid picture of the history of the British Empire. Since the proposal seeks to outline the causes of the decline of the British Empire, the book by Brown and Louis. Therefore, it is relevant based on the idea that it is a comprehensive source of research information that is useful for the study. At the same time, the book compares well with that by Lloyd (2006): Empire: A History of the British Empire that addresses the matter of the historical background of the British Empire.
Darwin, J. (2009). The empire project: the rise and fall of the British world-system, 1830– 1970 . Cambridge University Press.
Darwin’s (2009) analysis of the events that led to the decline of the British Empire is relevant and comprehensive in the manner of addressing the concerns of the research study. Evidently, Darwin has been one of the key scholars to tackle the factors that adversely affected the strategic position of the British Empire as a global powerhouse in the 16 th , 17 th , 18 th , and 19 th centuries. The relevance of Darwin’s book to the research study lays in the approach that he adopts while analyzing the world system established by Britain in the conquest of its territories. Clearly, Darwin’s research is congruent to the study by Hyam (2007): both studies summarize the fundamental issues that led to the ultimate fall of British Empire.
Gallagher, J. (2004). The Decline, Revival and Fall of the British Empire: The Ford Lectures and Other Essays . Cambridge University Press.
Gallagher (2004) presents a concise and comprehensive analysis of the uneventful fall of the empire by Britain. The author points out to some of the critical challenges that dismantled the powerful system of the British Empire in the world; thus, Gallagher’s research builds on the thematic issue in the topic under review in the study. Gallagher has been a scholar of international repute based on the in-depth analysis and keenness to detail in the writings under his authorship. The book by Gallagher (2004) compares well to the analysis by Darwin (2009).
Hall, C. (Ed.). (2000). Cultures of Empire: Colonizers in Britain and the Empire in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: A Reader . Taylor & Francis.
Hall (2000) offers a relevant and succinct acclaim that supports the validity of the research study in the sense that the contributory factors that resulted to the collapse of the British Empire are well illustrated in the culture of colonization adopted by Britain in its dominance in the global political and economic platforms. Hall’s review of the historical and cultural heritage of the British people highlights the theme of the research study and gives credibility to his scholarly prowess in the area of British history. The research by Hall (2000) is comparable to the analysis drawn by Brown and Louis (1999).
Hyam, R. (2007). Britain's declining empire: the road to decolonisation, 1918–1968 . Cambridge University Press.
Hyam (2007) presents a clear picture of the situation that contributed to the decline of the British Rule in the world. The author posits that Britain had immense financial, economic, and political resources that were able to drive the global agenda of colonization and administration of territories. The research and analysis drawn by the author helps to affirm the claim made bybthe research study on the factors that caused the fall of the empire by the command of Britain. The research is comprehensive and compares effectively with that by Gallagher (2004).
Lloyd, T. (2006). Empire: A History of the British Empire . A&C Black.
Distinctly, the research by Lloyd (2006) is relevant and concise in regards to addressing the fundamental elements in the research study. The author has made a lasting impression in the scholarly world by preparing in-depth analysis of the history of the British Empire. The book by Lloyd (2006) is informative and forms an excellent source of research information. Hall’s (2000) submissions are congruent to the analysis drawn by Lloyd (2006).
Mawby, S. (2015). The Transformation and Decline of the British Empire: Decolonisation After the First World War . Macmillan International Higher Education.
Mawby’s (2015) research study offers an excellent support for the propositions drawn in the research study. The relevance of Mawby’s ’s analysis to the research study lays in the approach that he adopts while analyzing the world system established by Britain in the conquest of its territories. The study compares to that of Darwin (2009) and gives the author a sense of credibility in documenting historical information for use by future scholars interested in exploring British history.
References
Brown, J., & Louis, W. R. (Eds.). (1999). The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV: The Twentieth Century . OUP, Oxford.
Darwin, J. (2009). The empire project: the rise and fall of the British world-system, 1830– 1970 . Cambridge University Press.
Gallagher, J. (2004). The Decline, Revival and Fall of the British Empire: The Ford Lectures and Other Essays . Cambridge University Press.
Hall, C. (Ed.). (2000). Cultures of Empire: Colonizers in Britain and the Empire in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: A Reader . Taylor & Francis.
Lloyd, T. (2006). Empire: A History of the British Empire . A&C Black.
Mawby, S. (2015). The Transformation and Decline of the British Empire: Decolonisation After the First World War . Macmillan International Higher Education.
