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That's my birthday! I shall try and get that book for summer reading. This is great, "Freedom by midnight" and R.A Salvatore's "Homeland". You know, I suspected Gandhi would have something to do with it all.
-------------------- "I'm nigh-invulnerable when I'm blasting!" Mel Gibson, X-Men
Registered: Aug 1999
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Yeah, Gandhi is often meddeling in Drow affairs.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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"One BBC website aimed at schoolchildren came up with this analysis: 'The Empire came into greatness by killing lots of people... and stealing their countries.' The reality, of course, is that the British Empire was special largely because it was based on commerce, not conquest."
So the killing people and stealing their countries was secondary, is what they're saying...?
[ July 15, 2004, 11:05 PM: Message edited by: TSN ]
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote: So the killing people and stealing their countries was secondary, is what they're saying...?
Basically, yes. The empire did (initially at least) expand due to economic necessity (or what was then percieved as economic necessity). India came under British control due to the actions of the East India Company and other areas were initially controlled by other companies as in Western Canada.
For much of the 19th century the British government was extremely unwilling to take on new colonies. Natal was begging us for years to be annexed and we only took over the Sudan with extreme reluctance. And we didn't steal their countries per se. They were legitimate spoils of war. Like the half of Mexico annexed by the US. Don't forget either that it wasn't exactly a case of the natives being dressed in grass skirts and armed with sharpened mangos, as per the standard view. Several (notably the Sikhs, Zulus, Afghans and Mahdists (Fuzzy-Wuzzies)) put up a pretty good fight.
quote: Read Freedom at Midnight, by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. It tells the whole story of how Independence came about, and it's a very moving story of human tragedy and frailty and stupidity. I lived in India for three years in the 1970's, it's an amazing country
I'll have to get that. I've always been interested in Idia; hopefully I'll get a chance to go there soon. But now I'm off to Spain for two weeks!
Registered: Feb 2002
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