It's more complex than that. Yes, the Empire was an evil thing, but some groups felt empowered by the British and miss the passing of empire. Some Indian Parsi's are still very sentimental about the queen, for example. Ethnically chinese people in the Hong Kong protests have been seen waving union jacks. Some people of asian ancestry in the caribbean feel they were treated better under British rule. Generally speaking, Gurkha's still think Britain is superb.cvb wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:44 amOnly the British themselves think the empire was widely beloved. The rest of the empire knew they were being f.cked over.Bird on a Fire wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 1:06 amA lot of mainstream history certainly is that, including a lot of what is taught in schools. I recently read Natives by Akala, which (alongside interesting contemporary social issues about race) redresses a lot of the stories told about the British Empire as a widely-beloved, basically decent civilising force in the wider world.Boustrophedon wrote: ↑Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:29 pmHistory is all "Just So" stories that the winners of wars use to justify their naked aggression. And any history that invokes deities, doubly so.
Work Ethic - wheat vs rice
Re: Work Ethic - wheat vs rice
Re: Work Ethic - wheat vs rice
Okay not everybody thinks the empire was a bad thing. Just the vast majority who were subjugated and had their wealth stolen. They are probably just being snowflakes about it.sheldrake wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:53 pmIt's more complex than that. Yes, the Empire was an evil thing, but some groups felt empowered by the British and miss the passing of empire. Some Indian Parsi's are still very sentimental about the queen, for example. Ethnically chinese people in the Hong Kong protests have been seen waving union jacks. Some people of asian ancestry in the caribbean feel they were treated better under British rule. Generally speaking, Gurkha's still think Britain is superb.cvb wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:44 amOnly the British themselves think the empire was widely beloved. The rest of the empire knew they were being f.cked over.Bird on a Fire wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 1:06 am
A lot of mainstream history certainly is that, including a lot of what is taught in schools. I recently read Natives by Akala, which (alongside interesting contemporary social issues about race) redresses a lot of the stories told about the British Empire as a widely-beloved, basically decent civilising force in the wider world.
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Re: Work Ethic - wheat vs rice
Britain was very effective at using a 'divide and rule' strategy in order to forestall popular opposition. So, yes, some chosen groups had a higher status under colonial rule, and this often created resentment which lasted after independence. But overall, the majority were being f.cked over and knew it.sheldrake wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:53 pmIt's more complex than that. Yes, the Empire was an evil thing, but some groups felt empowered by the British and miss the passing of empire. Some Indian Parsi's are still very sentimental about the queen, for example. Ethnically chinese people in the Hong Kong protests have been seen waving union jacks. Some people of asian ancestry in the caribbean feel they were treated better under British rule. Generally speaking, Gurkha's still think Britain is superb.cvb wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:44 amOnly the British themselves think the empire was widely beloved. The rest of the empire knew they were being f.cked over.Bird on a Fire wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 1:06 am
A lot of mainstream history certainly is that, including a lot of what is taught in schools. I recently read Natives by Akala, which (alongside interesting contemporary social issues about race) redresses a lot of the stories told about the British Empire as a widely-beloved, basically decent civilising force in the wider world.
ETA Here's a contemporary Indian view on the legacy of the Empire: https://youtu.be/jaNotcGak3Y Including the quip 'India missed the bus of the industrial revolution because the British threw us under the wheels'.