Pax Britannica: Climax of an Empire

Rating:
Summary: Empires Compared
Review: This book is an exemplar of historical writing, about the British Empire at its peak, that should serve to tell Americans of today some of the advantages and hazards of an accumulating hegemony. The central event, around which the book is organized, is the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, celebrated throughout the Empire in 1897. Full of pomp and circumstance of a proud nation, showing the world its power and glory, the celebration marks the pinnacle of its reach, though few sensed it at the time.

The Empire then included something like one quarter of the landmass of the earth, with a navy and merchant marine that dominated all of the oceans, and was without peer. Its control of communication through its vast network of telegraph lines and underwater cables was unchallenged. Britain was the main source of the industrial revolution of the 18th century, and its technology was an essential element to its domination of the less developed world.

In that Empire, 50 million British whites dominated 372 million people of all nationalities spread over an area some 90 times as great as the British Isles. Morris concentrates his attention on the atmospherics of the time, and happily does not get bogged down in a pedantic recital of meaningless names and forgotten events. This was quite a different sort of empire from the present day American effort and was probably more moral to boot.

The Brits had no notion of spreading democracy as our present satraps pretend, but rather were more interested in opening up markets for the factories at home, encouraging emigration of the less fortunate citizens, and spreading the gospel among the heathens provided an important moral impetus. The American neo-cons, on the other hand, have no interest in spreading Christianity, and are more interested in attacking the "fundamentalists" of other faiths. And they are content to see our factories shuttered and the jobs shipped overseas, and favor open borders at home.

Morris does an excellent job in his lively writing style describing the times. The book is rather lavishly illustrated, and it is certainly thought-provoking for anyone contemplating the imbecilities of the current scene.

Rating:
Summary: Empires Compared
Review: This book is an exemplar of historical writing, about the British Empire at its peak, that should serve to tell Americans of today some of the advantages and hazards of an accumulating hegemony. The central event, around which the book is organized, is the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, celebrated throughout the Empire in 1897. Full of pomp and circumstance of a proud nation, showing the world its power and glory, the celebration marks the pinnacle of its reach, though few sensed it at the time.

The Empire then included something like one quarter of the landmass of the earth, with a navy and merchant marine that dominated all of the oceans, and was without peer. Its control of communication through its vast network of telegraph lines and underwater cables was unchallenged. Britain was the main source of the industrial revolution of the 18th century, and its technology was an essential element to its domination of the less developed world.

In that Empire, 50 million British whites dominated 372 million people of all nationalities spread over an area some 90 times as great as the British Isles. Morris concentrates his attention on the atmospherics of the time, and happily does not get bogged down in a pedantic recital of meaningless names and forgotten events. This was quite a different sort of empire from the present day American effort and was probably more moral to boot.

The Brits had no notion of spreading democracy as our present satraps pretend, but rather were more interested in opening up markets for the factories at home, encouraging emigration of the less fortunate citizens, and spreading the gospel among the heathens provided an important moral impetus. The American neo-cons, on the other hand, have no interest in spreading Christianity, and are more interested in attacking the "fundamentalists" of other faiths. And they are content to see our factories shuttered and the jobs shipped overseas, and favor open borders at home.

Morris does an excellent job in his lively writing style describing the times. The book is rather lavishly illustrated, and it is certainly thought-provoking for anyone contemplating the imbecilities of the current scene.