Matt+and+Aayush+British+Empire+Project

= The Second British Empire (1815-1945)=

Location:
During its peak in 1924, the British empire controlled 57 colonies, ranging all the way from modern day Canada to New Zealand. It was said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire."



//Current// Great Britain, or the United Kingdom, is a large island located in the North Atlantic Ocean. The island is divided into three countries: England, Scotland and Wales. Feel free to explore Britain and its surroundings in the map below!

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Origins:
The period of the British Empire is divided into two parts: The First British Empire (1583-1783) and the Second British Empire (1815-1945). The First Empire ended with many colonies under Britain's rule, so the Second Empire didn't start off from scratch. Queen Victoria was at the helm of the Second British Empire for almost half its duration. She further expanded the kingdom, and made it the powerhouse that it was. Her reign was a period of peace and prosperity, interrupted only by the Crimean War and the Boer War.



Economic Systems
The British Empire had one of the strongest economies in the world, and this was necessary to maintain their large empire.
 * The **Victorian textile and cotton industry** was very important in its time, and many consider it to be the backbone of Queen Victoria's Empire. The cotton factories are also a long-lasting legacy of the British Empire. In the 19th century, cotton was produced and traded in humongous quantities, making it the driving force of the British economy.
 * A lot of the British Empire was based on **cheap labor.** Especially during the Industrial Revolution, most factory owners would employ children to work, because they didn't complain or ask for a high salary. Although this wasn't the "ethic" thing to do, these child laborers were essential to the British economy.
 * Britain was one of the first countries in the world to use **factories.** The factories had machines that would do jobs usually done by people, such as cloth spinning. Although the employment rate decreased, the productivity and efficiency of Britain's economy skyrocketed. This enabled the British to dominate world trade at the time.
 * **Trade** was essential to the British economy. As the Empire expanded, they also opened themselves up to new trade markets and were also able to acquire much more natural resources. This shows one of the positives of the British conquests.

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Social Systems

 * **Poverty** was a huge problem in Victorian England, and more often than not money was the main focus of families. With the low wages that the middle class earned and the high price of basic necessities such as corn, the middle class wasn't able to advance. Furthermore, with the bad living conditions, chances of disease were very high in the middle and lower classes.
 * **Both boys and girls received education, but what they learned was different**. Both learn basics such as math, reading and writing; however, boys would also learn architectural drawing, further arithmetic, and woodwork, while girls would usually learn sewing and cooking to help them with housework.
 * In Victorian England, there was a large difference between the sexes, **with men having far more rights than women**. For example, women were expected to stay at home, undergoing "female" tasks like cleaning and cooking. On the other hand, men were usually expected to earn the money for the family. Nevertheless, **women's life started improving during the British Empire**, a perfect example being the Women's Suffrage Movement, which started in 1872.
 * Throughout the history of Britain, religion was the center of family life. Queen Victoria continued this tradition - during her reign **Britain was a deeply religious nation**. The majority of people practiced Christianity. In fact, most people would go to church twice a week, and the Bible was often read in schools to children. Interestingly, **the British also tried to spread Christianity throughout the rest of their Empire.** Historians say that one of the main reasons Christianity is such a large religion in today's world is because of the Second British Empire.



Rise to Power:
The Second British Empire is, without a doubt, the largest and most powerful empire in history. At one point, more than a quarter of the world's people were under British rule. There are many reasons that the British empire was so successful in its expansion:
 * Many **n****ew weapons** that non-European nations didn't have, most of which resulted from the Industrial Revolution. This allowed the British to easily take over colonies.
 * **A strong army**. Many historians considered the British navy to be the strongest ever, partly because of the weapons that they possessed and partly because of their tactics. In fact, the British navy was so strong that they were not only able to defeat non-European nations, but European nations like Spain and France also. As a result, the British eliminated any "competition."
 * **Advances in medicine**. This was very important in the British's rise to power, because soldiers could then travel far and wide without being susceptible to tropical diseases that often resulted in death.
 * The strong **British economy** was essential to the Empire's functioning. Without it, then the Empire would have gone into disarray, especially because they had control over so many colonies. As it turns out, one of the main reasons the Empire collapsed is because their economy fell.

Some technological advances under Victorian rule are:

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Did you know: Queen Victoria said the only reason that she expanded the British Empire was so that her European neighbors (Spain, Portugal, France) don't get too powerful. Is this a good reason to take over the world?

Downfall:
Queen Victoria died in 1901, but the British Empire lasted for another few decades. But like most other empires, the British Empire eventually fell due to many factors:
 * The British public grew uneasy after a while, because the government was giving more attention to the people OUTSIDE of Britain. The public was denied many basic rights and many suffered from extreme poverty, resulting in **protests and strikes**.
 * After the end of **World War I**, the British economy declined sharply, and they were basically driven into bankruptcy. There were also many revolts in countries like India, Ireland and Egypt that weakened the Empire. However, the British still somehow managed to control their various colonies.
 * The **Great Depression of 1930** further worsened the economy. It was the largest economic crisis for Britain in the 20th Century. At the time, Britain was still recovering from World War I, so the Depression was a major pitfall in a potential resurrection.
 * **World War II** was the final nail in the coffin of the British Empire. Even though Britain emerged the war as victors, their financial base was utterly destroyed. There was simply no more money to maintain efficient rule over 40+ colonies. Moreover, the army and navy were considerably weakened, and so ruling their colonies became extremely troublesome. Most countries gained independence from Britain during the 1940s, the time of World War II.



Legacy:
The Second British Empire fell in 1945, but even after this, traces of the Empire remained throughout the world.
 * One of the biggest legacies left behind by the British Empire was their **architecture.** In many of their colonies, the British built monuments that still stand today. We can see some brilliant examples here in Delhi, such as Parliament House and Connaught Place.
 * During their prime, the British **spread the railway and steam engine** to many parts of the world. Initially, the trains were used to facilitate trade within a colony. However, even today, countries like South Africa, India and Kenya use the railway infrastructure set up by the British for public transport.
 * **Religion and language** is another long lasting British legacy. Today, approximately 35% of the world's people follow Christianity, and historians say that a lot of this has to do with the British's efforts to spread the religion. The British also brought the English language with them wherever they went, leading to the language's proliferation in modern day society.



**So...**
The British showed us that a strong economy and army is essential to the growth of an empire. However, it's difficult to maintain a kingdom, because things like war and financial depressions are inevitable. Along with their numerous conquests, the British brought along several technological advances that are used in our everyday lives, like the light bulb.

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====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">"Victorian Britain." //BBC Primary//. British Broadcasting Company. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. <[] >. ====

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Victorian England." //Welcome — Department of English//. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. <[]>. =====