Opinion: The British Empire: A legacy of violence?
Why, and under what circumstances, did the British Empire and its military forces take part in wars and conflicts that continue to have a profound and lasting effect on the world?
How did the military actions of the British Empire and its allies affect the course of world events? And, most importantly, how did these actions affect our modern-day sense of ourselves as citizens of a sovereign state and our sense of our own country’s place in the world?
For a very long time, the British Empire and its military forces were considered by the vast majority of people in the Western world to be the greatest and most powerful force that had ever existed on the planet. In some countries, the British Empire was even considered to be superior to the United States. The image of the British Empire as a benevolent empire was largely constructed by non-stop propaganda and the actions of the British military.
The British Empire
As recently as 1878, the British empire, which is now the British Commonwealth, was said to be a “giant octopus.” The “giant octopus” represented by British policy makers and politicians was the economic, political, and cultural power center of the British Empire, which was the strongest, richest, and most powerful nation on the planet. This empire’s strength and power made it hard to imagine that it could be invaded and overthrown. In fact, the British Empire was very rich and powerful.
As recently as 1878, the British Empire was said to be a “giant octopus.” The “giant octopus” represented by British policy makers and politicians was the economic, political, and cultural power center of the British Empire, which was the strongest, richest, and most powerful nation on the planet. This empire’s strength and power made it hard to imagine that it could be invaded and overthrown. In fact, the British Empire was very rich and powerful.
At the beginning of World War I, the British Empire possessed military forces that were roughly comparable to the combined strengths of the U.S. military in all its major parts at the time, the U.S. military in the Pacific during the war, and the U.S. military in the European war. In the end, the
