Is the British Empire something to be proud of?

Poll

Is the British Empire something to be proud of?

A YouGov poll shows that 59% of Britons think that the British Empire is something to be proud of. 19% see it as something to be ashamed of. 22% of those who were surveyed don't know.

What is your opinion?

Link to YouGov article

(edited 6 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

_Fergo

It should be "partially yes, partially not". You can't seriously just answer yes/no to this question.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 2

3121

To an extent, but there’s also lessons to be learned. Overall I think it did much more good than bad especially considering it’s impact on how today’s world is. The EU and America are both products of evolved British values

Reply 3

username1292215

In my opinion I dont think we can be proud nor ashamed. Society/the world has changed so much since the British empire. So can we really give a valid opinion?

Reply 4

Reality Check

Original post by _Fergo

Partially yes, partially not. You can't seriously just answer yes/no to this questions.

Exactly. It's as simplistic a question as 'Should we remain in the EU or leave the EU'. There's so much nuance required to answer a question like this.

Reply 5

username1292215

Original post by zayn008

Out of curiosity how is America a by product of evolved British values?

Reply 6

_Fergo

Original post by Reality Check

Exactly. It's as simplistic a question as 'Should we remain in the EU or leave the EU'. There's so much nuance required to answer a question like this.

PRSOM

[Is it a coincidence that I always make a grammatical/typographical mistake when you're quoting me? :colondollar:

]

Reply 7

Dobby's Phoenix

I'd say that The British were somewhat 'imperially forced' into empire and expansion, through rivalry etc. But if you look at the huge advancements from trading with countries like india, to controlling vast swathes, the British Empire could be described as 'impressive', and for that impressive expansion to go from what essentially was piracy, to political emporment overseas, it would be hard not to be 'proud' of that feat. This however does not take into account the negative sides of empire, however if the question is merely one of ' Is the British empire something to be proud of', then in this sense, it would be hard not to be. Overall? Well it's not a clear cut bag, but I'm my opinion the quick thinking of the British, outmanoeuvring rivals and expanding from a small island to controlling a third of the world, is too impressive to deny.

Reply 8

Reality Check

Original post by _Fergo

PRSOM

[Is it a coincidence that I always make a grammatical/typographical mistake when you're quoting me? :colondollar:

]

OMG - seriously, I do the same with you! I always seem to have to go back and re-edit. Is it because we both did Law, and those old strictures of making sure your writing is perfect (and never mis-spelling words like 'commission', 'omission' etc)..

Reply 9

username3456172

I am personally extremely proud of the British Empire.

Reply 10

AryaStarkk

[video="youtube;6k1iv4obNrw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k1iv4obNrw[/video]

Reply 11

TheBBQ

If you want to be proud of something that resulted in many wars, famines, abuse of natives, millions of deaths, seizure of other countries' resources and assets, dividing populations and pitting them against each other, etc. Then I don't see why not :smile:

Reply 12

Boss_Rhythm

Even as a non-brit it is something that should make the brits proud...

I somewhat support colonialism but there are many arguments I could make against it

Reply 13

_Fergo

Original post by Reality Check

I am certain law makes everyone obsessive on this!! (not that I complain though :wink:

)

It's a shame TSR doesn't edit through quoted texts!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 14

AperfectBalance

Original post by TheBBQ

Yes I am proud of humans

Reply 15

Spratty

Original post by Piña colada

I am personally extremely proud of the British Empire.

And why is that you feel extremely proud of an empire, which is literally built upon exploiting those who have a different skin colour/religion?

If you're personally proud of the British empire, I hope you are proud of the estimated 2,100,000 Indians who died from no food, as a result of British exploitation of crops.

You must love how the British built railways around India! No, not for the Indian people. It was so that transport links could be established so that grain and spices could be exported more easily.

You must surely be proud of the Amritsar Massacre, in which 300+ peaceful protesters were murdered for absolutely no reason.

You must love how the British Empire acted as a parasite upon India, in which India's share of the world's income went from 24% to just 4%.

The British did more harm than good. 300+ years of the British empire has done an incredible deal of damage.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 16

AperfectBalance

100% We the British did what was natural, to expand and to rule but we just did it the best, if given the chance pretty much all countries would have done the same. Sure we can recognize the atrocities but we need to recognize the advancements and sheer power of the Empire, think of all of the technological advancements that happened thanks to the British Empire and everything it caused.

Reply 17

Boss_Rhythm

Original post by Spratty

Ever googled what the positives of the british empire to all nations were?

Reply 18

AperfectBalance

Original post by Spratty

No one is saying "I am really glad we killed millions of indians"

Reply 19

Spratty

Original post by Boss_Rhythm

Ever googled what the positives of the british empire to all nations were?

Yes.The British have done more harm than good to the nations that they occupied. The British empire was a parasite, and it's only function was to benefit Britain and Britain only.

On the other hand, you could argue that the British empire introduced things like the railway system in some of the countries it had occupied, such as India. These systems are only put in place to benefit Britain and not the people of the country that had been occupied.

For example, India could have been as technologically advanced as Japan or South Korea, however this will take decades due to the British. Remember that it has only been a mere 70 years. This is nothing when it comes to advancement of a country. Also remember that Britain occupied India for 300+ years.