How much did changing attitudes play a role in the expansion and the decline of the British Em?

Question

Sorry the full title couldnt fit it is...
"How much did changing attitudes play a role in the expansion and the decline of the British Empire?"
Thanks

Answer 1

Spain and Portugal pioneered European exploration of the globe and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires bestowed, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (following the 1707 Act of Union, Britain) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. However, the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence was a blow to Britain, depriving it of its most populous colonies. Despite this setback, British attention soon turned towards Africa, Asia and Oceania. Following the defeat of Napoleonic France in 1815, Britain enjoyed a century of effectively unchallenged dominance, and expanded its imperial holdings across the globe. Increasing degrees of autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies, which were reclassified as dominions.



the biggest attitude change is that when we came out of the world wars saying that we were fighting for freedom around the world we couldnt keep our empire as this would be a conflict of terms. we had also lost so much money and people that it would be hard to keep a quarter of the world financial stable and secure



hoe this helps i didn't study all of the british reign but have pretty good knowledge about parts of it

Answer 2

It's a moot point. Sure, British humanists put an end to slavery and other excesses of empire but the Brits also ran out of resources. Sending troops to quell restless "natives" in all corners of the world just wasn't feasible. For example, in New Zealand they were fought to a standstill by the indigenous people and didn't have the troops to win a decisive victory. Maintaining the empire was just too expensive in the end & the will to be as brutal as necessary to win wasn't there any more.

Answer 3

I always thought it had more to do with thefact that a million sons of the empire were wiped out in ww1, followed by agreements to stop telling the world how to live in order to get America in on ww2. But then I'm a cynical old sod.