British+history+of+invasions

 __**British History of Invasion**__ **

//Has Britain’s history of invasions////strengthened their position as a world leader? If so, in what way? If no, why?// **

Britain great nation and the country is one of the essential leaders of the world. How did they get where they are today? Was there a string of events simply put togheter by fate or was it quick thinking, great decisions and planning that has expanded Britain to become the great leaders they are today? And most importantly what time periods made this great nation as powerfull as they are in todays world? That is what we are going to explore in this fine chapter of British history of Invasion The Early ages and The Literature Era //__** During the Iron age in Britain, The Romans came and conquered the island. After 500 years the Roman empire fell and all the tribes that had been rivals for so long united to create Brittaine and from that day they called themselvs Britons. Many years later on 20 October 1604 King James (who had succeeded separately to the two thrones of England and Scotland) proclaimed himself as "King of Great Brittaine, Scottland and Ireland. In the midddle of this time periode between 1590-1613, William Shakespear was starting to build up his reputation for his works. Many say that Shakespear was the begining of the literature era in Britain. He influenced millions of individuals all across the world and many of his works are being preformed over and over again all across the globe. This was Britains cultural years when they're poems, they're music and they're novels that are the fundementals in todays world, were developed.
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**__//The Slave Trade and The Industrial Revelution//__** One of the most important reasons for why Britain flourished was the slave trade. The slave trade gave Britain the oppertunity to become wealthy and gain huge amounts of resources such as sugar,tobacco and cotton. This was just what Britain needed to get the high social status they wanted to earn in Europe. The economy was rising, the people were happy due to the rise in new work spaces and jobs which gave new oppertunity's for them. Englands luxurious reputation was spreading across all of Europe and all in all the island was growing to become one of Europe's most renouned leaders.Now that Britain had a very good income and they had many imports and exports they were ready to move on to industrialization.They were powerful and had grown quite noticably so now, the scientific department was put in focus. Britain was wealthy, luxurious, they had a strong culture and a great army, but now they were forced to focus on more fundemental things. If they did not industrialize they would perish due to lack of scientific progress in europe and they would soon become an average resource nation.

The Industrial Revelution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport had a profound effect on the socioeconomy and cultural conditions starting in the United Kingdom, then subsequently spreading throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world. The onset of the Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in human history. Almost every aspect of daily life was eventually influenced in some way. Macines like the steam engine and many others were developed in Britain. This gave them a huge advantage over everybody else in Europe. They had better agriculture, better factories etc

All of these time periods have helped Britain expand and grow immensely. But they're achivements were not achived through invasion or combat but quick thinking and wits. Britain has grown throught they're cultural and fundemental priciples. Of cource, there has been combat and wars between Britain and other nations. Some battles were won and some battles were lost. But yet, if one breaks down Britain to the core reasons for being the great nation that it is, one finds out that it has been they're cultural and economical decisions that have made them the profound nation they are to this day. Not to confuse or deny the facts, some battles have helped Britain grow as a powerful nation but in todays world this has ahd little or no effect to why they are the powerful nation on the coast of central Europe. In conclution, Britain's history of Invasion has __**not**__ strengthend their position as a world leader **as much** as they're cultural and economical decisions. British history of invasion has rather enchanced the way Britain is as a world leader and they're decision making.

By **Mathias Bujnicki Nyhus**

 **__What impact did colonization have on the colonies? __** - Kowsar M.Elmi

**The British Empire, Good or Bad? **  According to politics and history, a colony is defined as a territory that is under the immediate political control of a state. The British Empire had one of the largest empires the world had ever seen, this Empire affected many countries over several years. They had over 50 countries under control; this led to spreading of British culture, language, and politics. The spreading of the British language is why English is an international language today. Which brings us to the question: **What impact did colonization have on the colonies?**

First and foremost nobody likes the boss, but the British ran its Empire very badly; it was under resourced and only ran for Britain's advantage. The Empire was also legally consistent, humane and improved the infrastructure  ​ and living standard of its population, but some people hated the British rule, they wanted the freedom to have their own country. Although, old tension grew after the [|decolonization]. But ultimately, as the former Indian leader Gandhi told us: people don't want Empire – they would rather have a bad government of their own, then a good government of others.  Just to balance the argument somewhat, imperialism  brought peace and prosperity to many colonies and states that was under the British rule. These countries also made a lot of money by importing and exporting, but Britain took the most of the income and used it for mineral wealth and other resources. The Empire managed to control so many colonies that was spread all over the world, this is because the British Empire had one of the best governance's the world had ever seen. The Indian subcontinent with a population of 1.billion was governed by just 50,000 Britain's.

India is one of many counties that was a victim of the colonization by the British Empire and the Europeans. The Portuguese were the first Europeans who occupied India in 1498. Later in the 17th century the British occupied India which before included the countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Burma (today). India was called the “jewel in the crown” because the country had good resources that Europe wanted to exploit, like diamonds, cotton, wheat and other goods. The Queen of England used India to her advantage and that is how Britain rose to power.

The people of India were tired of being treated like the lower class in their own country, in 1885 they worked to get a more important role in the governance and make India an independent country. At the same time Mahatma Gandhi  who was in South-Africa came up with an idea called “satyahgraha”, the idea/philosophy was about a nonviolent resistance. When Gandhi returned back home to India with his philosophy, they saw him as a leader, and a holy man, and followed his orders. The British in India arrested Gandhi, but they released him soon after, because he refused to eat and drink and they were afraid for a roit breaking out. After the 2nd world war the British understood they no longer could control India so they had to let go. India became an independent country.

The British Empire led to many good impacts like they  revolutionized  the court system in many parts in the world, and the gangs and “thugs” (thieves) in India and many other colonies was a really big problem, many of the gangs were entirely wiped out, by the British. Colonization also united the people, because the whole population was fighting for same thing: an independent country. The British are also responsible for the introduction of the __ [|railways] __ in India. They also introduced guns and other devices for Africa; this can be a good and a bad thing. Good because they have something to protect them self with, and bad because they could misuse the weapons for many wrong reasons. Sadly, this troubles many countries in Africa today. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: NO-BOK;"> The British Empire had also a negative impact on their colonies, one of them was the major contribute to the slave trade. The result of this was that many Africans were ill-treated, and eradicated over several generations. Another big negative impact is the major debt that many colonies were left with after the decolonization. The debts that was left behind made it very hard to make a good government. Many countries in the world were a part of The British Empire; an example is India, who fought for their rights and independence. The British Empire affected their colonies both negative and positive. Some of them were so bad that they didn't end after several generations. But many of them were also very good and helped to modern the country and unite them.

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(Mahatma Gandhi(above)|The British Empire in the 1920's(bellow).)
 * By Kowsar M.Elmi **

=<span style="color: #030202; display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 200%; text-align: center;">__The Fall of the Empire__ = =__ Why did the British Empire fall? __= There are many factors that led to the downfall of the empire. These factors consist of some of the most known incidents in the history of Britain. The Empire was weakened one incident after another. In the end, there was no Empire left, but a tiny little island North-left to the European continent.

= __ **The First World War** __  = Before the outbreak of the First World War, it was acknowledged that Britain with its vast empire, were afraid of Germany. Germany who had built <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190%;"> itself up to be a great industrial nation, with a strong military force. With repeatedly increasing army, and wealth. Britain saw that Germany could be their opponents in any upcoming war, and turned to desperate measures. They respectively made an alliance with Japan (1902), France (1904) and Russia (1907). Their fear of war against Germany, were revealed.

World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers. Britain played a big role in this conflict, being one of the greatest powers. Allied with Japan, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and France, opposing the Central Powers (German Empire, Austro Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria).

After four years of war, the Entente (The British Empire, Russia, France and Japan) successfully managed to defeat the Central Powers. Germany lost its colonies, and there was no empire left. The three other forces allied with Germany, were taken down, and lost their colonies.

This event caused a lot of injury to Britain, and the empire faced that they were no longer invincible. Britain’s wealth was weakened, and so was the military. But this didn’t make that big of an impact to Britain, the following event made bigger loss.

=__ Inter-war period __= The changing world order that the war had brought about, in particular the growth of the United States and Japan as naval powers(in other words; **navy**, to engage in combat at sea), and the rise of independence movements in India and Ireland, made Britain revise their imperial policy.

As mentioned earlier, Japan and the US developed a lot as naval powers. This was a great depression to Britain, and they were forced to sign an alliance contract with either the US, or Japan. They chose to sign the Washington Naval Treaty (which happened in 1922). Leaving Japan, their ally in WW1, behind. Britain was depressed that those two countries once would be succeeding them as naval powers.

During the inter-war period exports to the colonies and Dominions increased from 32 to 39 percent. Britain’s wealth was weakened furthermore, and had problems maintaining control in the colonies. In some colonies, organized groups started going against the empire, to claim independence. They didn’t like the idea of being a colony, and wanted independence. There were even started wars against the British Empire. India and Ireland were the colonies, which demanded independence foremost.

Ireland, as mentioned above, weren’t satisfied being a colony, and wanted to be an independent state. The Irish party, Sinn Fein, won a majority of the seats at Westminster in the 1918 British general election. And Irish independence was declared. Even though, there was still a British administration. The Republican Armies simultaneously started a war against the British administration in Ireland; they did not wish to be controlled by Britain at all. This war was called “The Anglo-Irish War”, and ended in 1921. The outcome of this war was that Ireland was now a free state. Britain no longer had anything to do anything with how they run the country. Although, Ireland was still linked to Britain somehow, and was a part of the Dominions within the British Empire. Even though Ireland was now independent, there were other countries that also wished for it, but didn’t get it. India was one of them.

In India, the government failed to satisfy demand for independence. There were still doubts if India could manage to be able to handle being independent. There were different views on this issue, and independence was turned down. Some people looked at India as a revolutionary country, while others still thought they needed to develop further.

=  __ **The Second World War** __   = The Second World War was a global military conflict, lasting from 1939 to 1945. This conflict involved most of the world’s nation, including the greatest powers. Where two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis, fought against each other, in an all-out war. The major participants placed their entire economic, industrial and scientific capabilities put into the war.

Britain declared war against Nazi-Germany in September 1939. This included the Crown colonies and India, but not the Dominions. Soon after, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand war on Germany (the Dominions). The only state, which chose not to interfere, was the Irish Free State. Instead, they remained neutral, throughout the war.

In 1940, Germany successfully managed to occupy France, and Britain and the Empire were standing alone against Germany. In 1941, the Soviet Union chose to enter the war, against Germany. But, the turns of tides changed when the US chose to join the war.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 190%;">

In August 1941, Churchill and Roosevelt met and signed the Atlantic, which included the statement that “the rights of all peoples to choose the form of government they live in should be respected”. Soon after, US joined the war on the side of the Alliance. Germany was still so strong, that even now, the countries had a hard time fighting against it. Britain had to give up their eastern colonies, and struggled to protect the whole Empire. Australia and New Zealand faced this, and turned to the US for assistance. This later on resulted in the “Anzas Pact”, between Australia, New Zealand and the US.

In 1945, the remaining forces of Germany were taken down. And Germany had to give up. The country was divided into 3 states, which the US, Britain and the Soviet Union controlled. Soviet was against helping the Germany out of crisis, while Britain and the US tried to rebuild the country. In the end, the US and Britain melt their parts together, and the remaining parts were now called West-Germany and East-Germany. Japan gave up soon after. Because of the bombs that hit Japan (Hiroshima/Nagasaki), Japan now faced that they couldn’t handle more, and had to give up. Britain yet again, remained victorious.

=__Decolonization__= Even though Britain and the Empire emerged victorious from the Second World War, it still made a great impact on the Empire. Big parts of Europe were now in ruins. The remaining Global Powers were now the United States and the Soviet Union. Britain was left bankrupt. They had to borrow money of the United States, and got 3.5$ billion dollars, which was fully paid back in 2006.

Anti-colonials movements were on the rise. Britain could not do anything with the issue. They weren’t able to support the colonies anymore, and had to give up on most of them. The “Wind of change”, meant that it was only a matter of time, till the Empire would fall. Britain made a policy of peaceful disengagement from its colonies. Only non-communist governments were able to inherit the power.

__The following colonies retrieved their independency:__ <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;">- India (Pakistan) 15 August 1947. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;">- Sudan, 1995. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;">- Britain's remaining colonies in Africa, except for Southern Rhodesia, were all granted independence by 1968. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;">- The Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo were amicably granted independence from the UK in 1964. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;">- The rest of the colonies were granted independence within 1980.

End: The Conclusion
As you can see, the Empire was gradually weakened, because of the conflicts and wars. All things have to come to an end, eventually. It was said that “The sun never sets on the British Empire”, and somehow it may be true, the Empire was so vast and great. The British Empire was undoubtedly the strongest empire, at its golden days.

By: Usman Hussain, 1STE. Sources: - [] - [] - [] - [] - []

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