British_Empire

In India – India represented the most prized colony in the British Empire. By 1750 the British East India Company controlled the very profitable trade among Britain, India and many lands in the Far East.

In Africa – Between 1870-1913 the British Empire expanded farther to take land in Africa and South East Asia. At its height the British Empire included a quarter of the world’s land and people.

My dearest Jane,
After I left you to join the army, many interesting things have occurred. My light foot brigade has been transferred to South Africa to fight the Boers of Transvaal[1]. They are determined to hold their lands from us. We need the resources of South Africa, like the gold and diamonds. The Dutchmen have no honor, as they strike civilian trains, and mutilate prisoners. This is a new form of warfare, not the gentlemen’s wars of the past. Our enemy does not fight like gentlemen, so we must not, if we can hope to return victorious. They are commandos[2], who hit us hard and then run into the countryside before we can fight back in a fair fight, where they wouldn’t stand a chance. We have many more men than they, yet they make sure to strike us when we are stranded and outnumbered, and we are faced with impossible odds[3]. Nonetheless, we are forcing them back, though our regiment has sustained heavy losses. The Boers are accustomed to the surrounding areas, and can ambush us from anywhere along the hilly terrain. How different it is now from the day when I said goodbye to you, feeling bold and proud in my deep scarlet jacket with the gleaming brass buttons and stiff, but noble neck stock. Now we have but our khaki field dress, torn and patched with the rigors of war and bivouac life. How I wish I was with you once again, and how I could use your uplifting smile and keenness with needle and thread. The war shan’t last much longer, I pray. I remember the loud politicians, in Sunday dress standing upon the soapboxes and shouting to us. The old gentlemen in the top hats told us of the glories and riches of imperialism, the gold of Africa and the spices, tea, and silk of India[4]. Aye, but if that old gent should feel the relentless sun on his back, the meager rations of life in camp, the constant tyrannical military discipline, he would differ. Yes, with the sting of powder on one’s cheek, smoke as thick as the fog back home, and Boer bullets whizzing around one’s head like a maddened storm of wasps, they would change their mind. Well I shan’t be too harsh on them; they’re just doing their job as we do ours. Leave the politics of empire building to them, let them decide who to conquer and why. I will just follow my orders, and trust my officers. We go where the crown tells us, and that’s the way it has always been. My only want is to survive this war and come home to you a whole but honorable man. Tell the children I love and miss them. Tell them to be good for their mother, and to behave at the schoolhouse. I hope you and our little ones are as proud of me as I am of you. With love,

Ryan, J. Corporal First Class,
The King’s 71^st Light Foot Regiment
Somewhere in Africa

[1] Boers were Dutchmen who have started a colony in Cape Town, South Africa. There were two main Boer republics, the state of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The president of Transvaal was Paul Kruger.

[2] The Boers had a system of hit and run attacks, in the form of partisan warfare, thus hampering the British army and causing havoc where they could.

[3] The British had 500,000 men in South Africa, while the Boers had only 88,000.

[4] India was considered the “greatest jewel in the English crown.”

The Jewel in the Crown of the British Empire--a Servant's view (Holly M.)

Since the time of Vasco da Gama[ii], Europe has consistently been in contact India. Spain and Portugal only had a tenuous grasp on the wealth of the land. Around the time of the Great Exhibition, Britain was expanding farther into the land ruled by the Muslims. India had become the jewel of the British Empire[iii].

In 1600, under the rule of the great Elizabeth I, the East India Company got its charter to start trading with traders in India. From its beginning, the company was destined to be more than just a British business. In the eyes of the native Muslims, Hindus, and other Indians, the British were cruel and unjust. After several attacks on English merchants, the Queen sent an army to protect her people. The conflict grew, and soon the British government took direct control from the actual ‘president’ of the company. Then, all dealings in the business went directly through the Queen. With a monopoly in the trading business, and a powerful army, the East India Company began to take over mainland India.

With Her Majesty in control of most of mainland India, her empire was prospering. After India, the Queen gained rule of Australia. Later, she acquired Canada. Then, Her Majesty sent troops to South Africa as well. For the smallness of her country, the queen held an abundance of land. India had cheap raw materials, such as cotton, but especially tea. Even the Queen drinks Indian tea at 4:00pm. The English drink a lot of tea. (I would know, I serve it all the time.) India also had a good supply of gold, ivory and pearls. Cheap labor was another aspect that the British benefited from. In fact, many Indians worked on models for the Great Exhibition4 in London. But with this monopoly, injustices such as low wages, beatings, and extra taxes were performed on the innocent Indians. Even though the Empire was flourishing with the new trade markets, the Indians deserved their rights.

Great Britain had many chance for vast empires- The Americas, India, and Australia were a few. The British were unjust to the Americans, who are now free, and now they are being cruel to the Indians. So, it is quite possible for the Indians to free themselves from the vindictive British.

All of the ties between Great Britain and India were apparent at the Crystal Palace, all of those things were on display in the Indian Exhibit. Most prominent in the exhibit was the stuffed elephant with the elaborate howdah.5 Tea was also featured in the Indian Exhibit. Pearls and ivory were on display as well. Many of the novelty items were small gold trinkets. Other than the elephant and the howdah, real Indians were ”on display” for the English to gawk at. Although the British shrugged off the injustices they did as their right to treat the Indians, they were still holding a separate land and peoples under the Queen’s thumb.

As a servant in the midst of all of this, I originally thought India was a place meant to be taken over. It was meant for the British. But now, with some thinking, I see that the way we have been treating the Indians is utterly cruel. We have given them no right, no privileges, and overall, we are imposing our rule and beliefs in a land that is capable of governing themselves. India needs to be freed from our rule.

[i] As a servant in London, I am in contact with many things that I would not be if I were not in London, the Crystal Palace, for example. I hear all the scuttlebutt from the other servants in the house and in the city. Sometimes we are sent out into the town to gather gossip for our mistress. My day, starting at 6:00am, has various tasks, ending as late as 11:00pm. As the housemaid for the family, I am in charge of dressing the lady, washing the clothes, cleaning the house, and my favorite, attending to the paying visitors.

[ii] Vasco da Gama was Portuguese. He was not the first to attempt the journey. B. Diaz was the first to round Africa, but because of the threat of mutiny, he was unable to continue to India. In 1498 da Gama reached India.

[iii]In 1858 Queen Victoria was named Empress of India.

4 The whole fair lasted 6 months. During this period, there were “1 shilling days” and ‘5 shilling days” the working class could come for 1 shilling, while the ‘dignified’ upper and middle class could come on the “5 shilling days”.

The members of the working class, poor though they were, were still able to go to Crystal Palace. There they learned about all sorts of things from the exhibits on display. There were displays on the newest textile equipment, household items, such as chairs, beds, and lamps. There were displays of cloth, for the women and farm equipment for the men. They even had displays of raw materials from their colonies such as India.

5 The howdah is somewhat like a saddle. The riders of the elephant would sit in the howdah. It also had a canopy to protect the riders from the extreme Indian sun. For the special guests, the howdahs would be made of gold, with delicate beads hanging down the elephant. This is what the one at the Great Exhibition looked like.