M’sila University

Faculty of letters and Languages

Major: Civilization and Literature

Level:Master 01

The rise and the fall of

Britain Empire

Written by: supervised by:

 Azizi elsheyma Mr.Bennaa
 Saadi Omar
 Amel berroubi
Abstruct:
Britain Empire stretching from the 15th to the 20th century, it kept on displaying a
state of economic and political might ,building a strong international platform
resulted in creating unbeatable as well as uncompetable pioneer to the world.The
britain empire lived during the first beginning of the 20 th century its wealthiest and
most prospered days hiting its climax of development ,yet; this high jump was soon
followed by a sharp economic collapse : the entire empire went literally banckrupt
; waves of independence movements had increasingly invaded its colonies
worldwide accompanied with crucial crisis there, let alone the impact of the two
world wars and the cold war on the Empire’s image internationally , all of this
had pulled BE to its last days which came ultimately to an end after HongKong
handoverin1977 .
 Contents
Abstract
Introduction
The rise of the British empire
The major causes of the fall of the empire
Towards the commonwealth
Conclusion
References

Introduction
Britain nowadays srtong position -internationally- is no coincidence ,instead it is the result
of a rich historical background that could substancially build its reality of today, Britain Empire was
one of the the strongest far-reaching and long-lasting empires ever exsisted and even if we can say
that its glorious days had come already to an end ;yet it is nondeniable that it could creat for itself a
-lasting- heavy name that still be respected among countries in the 21th century, the long run and
historical journey over centeries of the the empire was and still a delicious topic about which
thousands of books and articles had been written. Two main aspects of the empire’s journey were
repeatedly tackled and assumed historically to be the most important points that painted the sharp
transitions in its history : the peak and prosperity encycling every contributing field (industry
economy and agricultur) ,the fall of the empire and the causes behind it.
The prosperity britian empire was experiencing during the 19th and the20th century was
primarly the fruit of historical events and changes that it managed successfully to take great use of to
serve its interests on the long term, and enabled it later on to snatch the leading position of the
world ; having had no equivalent competitor.The empire at its peak succeeded to impose its control
over one whole fourth of the whole world ,and this came consequently after the processes of the age of
discovery ,the scramble for Africa and the colonization movements in Asia; seizing a quarter of earth
land granted the empire wide access to various natural resources : water, forests and lands , giving
the chance to cultivate large plantations overseas which in turn helped greatly in increasing the
agricultiral production to cover the needs of the empire as well as to trade With other countries , raw
materials like iron, gold, silver and oil were also profitable resources in the new colonies that boosted
the industry of the empire to be one of the pioneering industrial giants in the world, during the early
begining of the 20th century the empire enjoyed a state of political leadership as well as an economic
industrial strength that qualified it worthily to be the first power in the world .
At the top of its power ,the empire economy started to collapse step by step, especially after
its involvement in WW1 as a result to a military and an economic tension between Britain and
Germany. The empire went out of war victorious ;However, it was literally banckrupt and faced the
prospect of unbridgeable balance–of-payments deficits and debts to USA, the new unstable situation of
the empire feed the rise of new powers on the stage of the world : USA and USSR who held now the
balance of global affair , the economic crisis left the empire powerless ;and it  –then- played no more
than a contributing member concerning WW2 and the cold war which were both basically operated by
the two new leaders of the world United states of America and the the Soviet Union .In its colonies -in
the four continents- an auto-colonial movements were taking place and waves of voices went up and
up demanding their independance right ,Thus the British empire had to give up many of its overseas
colonies their freedom off the crown ,such as : India,Malaya and Ghana. Another crisis that crucially
ended the empire’s power is the suez canal crisis that exposed Britain’s limitations to the world and
confirmed its decline on the world stage and its end as a superpower. In 1977 Hong kong returned to
chinese administartion ; the handover marked the definite end of the British Empire.
The Britain Empire expired ,yet its legacy was inherited by the commonwealth :an international
organization that includes most of its ex-colonies, the commonwealth community though appealing to
persue common political, economical and cultural aims with the members for the common rich
history that relates them to the crown, it is still clinging to the same old controling goals in a more
modern peacefull way. in a world where guns are no more the tool to rule and conquer but rather
ideologies are ; commonwealth represents a perfect channel to pass through its ideologies and
intellectual and cultural heritage to various peoples of the world , ideologies that could brainwash
and shape thoughts and mentalities of nations to serve Britain constant aspiration for present and
future control and power .

The rise of the empire

British Empire is historically a conceptual and - to a great extent- political term; which
depicts the status of prosperity, flourishement and expansion that Britain hit during the historical
period started from 1490s to the years after the world war Ⅱ reaching its highest development
from1890 to1922. Definitely, its name mirrors the state of extensive power and control all over the
world that the country back then had gained. It's non-negotiable fact that Britain Empire was once
one of the most far reaching powers of all times having had its own deep impact on the whole world.
The Journey of development and progress towards the peak was along accompanied by many
contributing events and factors ,these latters had painted the final picture of the Empire and gave it
the key to conquer deservably its golden age. Geographical expansion, political power and
economic control were evident features -dually- considered as strong factors a well as fruits and
results of the Empire‘strength.
What started as Journey to seek new and shorter routes -mostly for economic reasons- had
turned to be exploration trips to expand new lands in the Undiscovered side of the world as well as
to claim and colonize areas in the old world: Africa, Asia. European countries - leading this process-
had spread their control over more than third of the world.Britain Empire had the lion part among
the European empires likewise:Spanish and Portagese. In fact, Britain Empire crawelling in the
world from one continent to the other was in tern of 2 dimensions: Age of discovery and colonization
of Africa and Asia. During the age of discovery in 15 th and 16th centries Britain succeded to establish
a large overseas empire especially in the new world, it became eventually the dominant colonial
power of North America After years of failing atempts to prevade the area; James town-established
on May 4,1607 by the virginia company of London- was the first English settelment to survive the
harsh conditions and obstucles in North America,this first achievment in America represented a
glimmer of hope for Britain future overseas expansion and opened the door for it to spead its control
over all North America which became the 13 states of America later.
In the other side of the world, Britain, holding the slogan of civilizing the world,had entitled
itself to colonize, claim and conquest counteries in Africa and Asia , this movement Coincided with
the rise of the new imperialism between 1881 and 1914, looking up for more wealth and resources,
conflicts and waged competition guided Europe to set Berlin confrence in 1884,upon which the
“Scramble for Africa”started by deviding and invading Africa as a consequence of the economic,
social and military evolution Europ was going through.Thus, Britain acquired the land of South
Africa and started making their way East Coast which allowed them to have an even bigger area
for trade routes to India and the rest of Mediterranean since India at the time was under the British
Empire rule. Later ,after the Britons controled the Eastern coast line of Africa they started moving
north, they did this because they were informed that there had been gold and silver found in these
regions .Therefore, Britain made their way North and took over the lands of Egypt and Sudan. In
Asia , the British East India company, a powerful organization of merchants which controlled
roughly half of the global trade,was the hand through which Britain tightly grabbed direct and full
control over various regions of the whole area of India using military force and political
manipulation. Its limitless aspirations to expand led Britain to break the sea and enter Australia
and New Zealand seizing full control over them. By 1913 the British empire was the largest to have
ever existed, it covered around 25% of the world's land surface, including large swathes of North
America, Australia, Africa and Asia while other area , especially in South America were closely
linked to the empire by trade, as a result of its size, it became known as "the empire on which the
sun never sets"
The geografical spread of control had gone “parallelly” hand in hand with the economic
progress. And had seized for the empire the leading seat in world’s economy including trade and
industry among the European powers, Britain had emerged as a standing agricultural, industrial and
a trading pioneer in the world. Controling more than a quarter of earth gave Britain a wide access
to various natural resurces in America, Asia and Africa (gold, silver, iron…),besides , the chance to
control strategic trade routes in the world, Britain had invested its overseas colonies vast lands to
cultivate plantations of sugar, cotton and tabaco …ect ,which provided the empire with a free source
of raw materials to cover its needs, the amount of food being produced increased even more after
implementing new industrial techniques in the agricultural field.Furthrmore, an industrial shift had
played a crucial role in shaping the empire's economy, since Britain was the birth place of the
industrial revolution, it had been the first European country to industrialize in the 18th century
shifting its focus to new manufacturing process, moving from hand production methods to machines
and chemical manufacturing, of the dominant industries in Britain back then: textile industry, iron
industry ...etc. The industrial revolution built a strong platform for Britain to reinforce trade
overseas, particularly with its claimed colonies and settlements. By sending out ships to trade goods
for its colonies, in 1686 alone, these colonies shipped goods worth 1£ million to London, exports to
colonies consisted mainly of woolen textiles, imports included sugar tabacco and other tropical
groceries, the colonies had successfully served as an important market for Britain goods. By the mid
18th century Britain was the world's leading commercial nation, controlling a global network of
trade mainly focused on the west Indies (all of Americans) and the east Indies (India and adjacent
regions). Moreover, trade had posteriorly given rise to famous ports like: Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff
and Glasgow to grow wealthier and properier. The economy strength it gained, had qualified the
British Empire to become the financial center of the world as well as the leading political power
during its glorious era during the first beginning of the 20th century.
Britain Empire was occupied building as well as enjoying a life of luxury and richness.
However; major changes in the new 20 th century had brought about its inevitable end. Historically,
the empire collapse has many chief reasons which are rooted in the first place to an economic fall
out that led gradually to its role at the international level to decline giving the rise of new wild
outstanding rivals .

Major causes of the British Empire decline

The empire changed throughout its history. In the 19th century, some parts of the empire became
Dominions. These were states that were still part of the empire, but ruled themselves. In most cases
this happened peacefully, although there was serious violence in Ireland
Here are some major causes that led to the rapid fall of the empire that lasted for more than four
centuries
1)The First and Second World Wars left Britain weakened and less interested in its empire. Also
many parts of the  empire contributed troops and resources to the war effort and took an increasingly
independent view. This led to a steady decline of the empire after 1945.

Asia and Middle East Independences :

In 1947 India, having contributed enormously to Britain's war effort, became independent. Less than
a year later, communist guerrillas launched a violent campaign aimed at forcing Britain from
Malaya. Thousands were killed, but an effective political and military response prevented a
Communist take-over. Malaya became an independent democracy on 31 August 1957. In the Middle
East, Britain hurriedly abandoned Palestine in 1948. Ghana became Britain's first African colony to
reach independence in 1957. By 1967 more than 20 British territories were independent
Decolonization was a complex process. Each colony's unique societies presented different political
pressures which could sometimes lead to violence ranging from riots to massacres.to push Britain to
give those colonies and dominions their own independence once and for good .
And in about a decade Britain has lost most of its colonies and territories all over the world after the
wave of deliberation in the so called the third world .major parts in Asia , Africa , and Caribbean sea
took their independence and freedom even though some of them chose to keep amiable relations with
the old colonizer .
Suez canal and next …
Just five years later the Suez Crisis cruelly demonstrated Britain’s fall from great power status. The
plot to invade Egypt with France and to take back the newly nationalized Suez Canal from the
control of Colonel Nasser’s revolutionary regime in Cairo by military force was a lamentable
failure.
The USA refused to support the invasion; Commonwealth countries like India disapproved; there
was a near catastrophic run on the pound; and mass demonstrations in Britain showed how much
opposition there was to the attempted coup.
Whereas only a few years before Britain would have been able to cow a country like Egypt with ease,
it now had to slink out of the Suez Canal zone, humiliated and widely reviled.

THE COLD WAR  added further complexities, as Britain attempted to insulate former colonies
from the influence of the Soviet Union. Unluckily; that’s was far beyond reaching because many
former British colonies became floating into the soviet orbit. In addition ,the increasing influence of
the two of international affairs giants after the second world war ,ie,the united states and the soviet
union ,that directly led to the drastic decrease of the
In 1997 Hong Kong returned to Chinese administration. Though Britain still maintains overseas
territories, the handover marked the final end of Britain's empire.
The First and Second World Wars left Britain weakened due to the vast resources drained by the war
effort, fighting all over the world, ironically protecting some of the countries who became
independent shortly afterwards, and Britain became less interested in maintaining its empire. Also
many parts of the empire contributed troops and resources to the war effort and took an increasingly
independent view. This led to a steady decline of the empire after 1945. In the Asian and African
colonies, nationalist movements used a range of methods to end British rule. By the late 1960s, most
of Britain's territories had become independent countries.
TOWARDS the commonwealth

Britain , recently , has witnessed a period of uncertainty about its future after the dramatic brexit
out of the EU . British High Commissioner to Singapore Scott Wightman said the Commonwealth
has always been a priority for successive British governments. 
Advertisement
"It’s something Her Majesty The Queen feels very, very deeply about as head of the Commonwealth,"
he stated. 
Mr. Wightman added: “With its leadership position in the Commonwealth over the next couple of
years, the UK government wants to try to reinvigorate the organization and help give it greater
relevance and ambition.
“For the UK, nationally, as we leave the European Union, there are opportunities for us to
strengthen the relationships with individual Commonwealth countries”.  i

Leaving the European Union means the UK needs to forge new relationships with other trading
partners. For pro-Brexiters, the Commonwealth is a viable alternative. This is how the leaders of
UK see the future of their country. However, this view is rather a fantasy and lacking the complete
reading of the whole picture .in fact , Britain's trade with the EU makes up about half of the
country’s total trade, while the Commonwealth makes up only about a tenth. The organization is not
a trading bloc, and does not offer any trade privileges. Intra-Commonwealth trade has been growing
at at average of 10 per cent annually since 1995, believed to be because of factors like historical
ties, similar regulatory systems and a widespread use of the English language. This is expected to
exceed US$1 trillion by 2020. 
In addition to the economic factors , political and cultural factors like the isolation policy of UK
towards the Europeans major problems of immigration ,terrorism and currency , the spread of the
English language in so many different parts of the globe which is set as a key for the commonwealth
engagement and closing the ties of friendship and cooperation between great Britain and the other
commonwealth members .
References:
Srinivasan, K.. (2005). The rise, decline and future of the British Commonwealth.
10.1057/9780230248434.
Essays, UK. (November 2018). The Rise And Fall Of The British Empire.
Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/rise-and-fall-of-the-
british-empire-history-essay.php?vref=1
Professor Denis Judd’s book Empire: The British Imperial Experience from
1765 to the Present (IB Tauris, 2011) will be issued in a revised edition later this
year.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/the-future-of-the-commonwealth-
more-than-a-talking-shop-10146218

www.bl.uk
www.history.tamu.edu
www.bbc.co.uk
www.britannica.com
www.teara.govt.nz
www.thoughtco.com
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/the-future-of-the-
commonwealth-more-than-a-talking-shop-10146218
i