In our most recent history, the British Empire was the last dominate imperial power the world had seen.  The British Empire’s days of conquest were born with the creation of the East India Trading Company which allowed the English to spread their influence, culture and goods all around the globe. From the 1600’s until the end of World War II, the empire created by the British was a beacon for all other nations of the world to follow.  They were leaders in all major aspects of nation development.  Their military was a force to be reckoned with.  Through highly sophisticated weaponry, strategy and technological innovations, the British Empire was able to impose their will and establish colonies to practically every region of the world.  The Empire was able to create colonies in North and South America, South and East Asia (including Australia in the Pacific Ocean) and ruled almost half the land mass in Africa at one point in time.  In addition to their military, the British were advanced in the field of medicine, industry, communication and had a high sense of group identity and unity.  The British Empire not only had the best of everything, but also believed in their superiority to others.  The British Empire felt obligated to lead the world by example to achieve the standards that the British believed all should achieve.  Despite the empire coming to an end after 350 years, Great Britain still remains one of the most influential nations in the world.  The numerous innovations introduced to the world by the British Empire still continue to be the foundation for further growth and development in other nations.  Although there were many important events, people and icons associated with the British Empire, I decided to pick the ten most significant people and events that I felt best portrayed the key components of this empire finding and maintaining their superiority until their decline in Mid-20th century.

Image: The British Empire during the end of their imperialist days in the 20th century were commonly referred to as “The Watch Dog of the World”, symbolized by this bull dog.

In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh of England was granted permission by Queen Elizabeth I the first to come to the newly discovered Americas and attempted to establish a colony for the English.  This would be the first attempt of colonization by the English to the new world.  Until the end of the 15th Century, no one dared cross the Atlantic Ocean for fear of the unknown, but finding the Americas opened doors for the English to create a global dominating state and spread its power and ideology to every corner of the world.  This colony established on Roanoke Island is also known as the “Lost Colony” because the colony mysteriously vanished and was a complete failure for the English.  Fortunately, this attempt fostered more attempts for colonization, which led to the English having colonies all up and down the east coast of North America until American Independence.  Even still, these early British colonies set up a long line of trust and alliance between the two countries which still exists today.

Left Image: A depiction of the “Lost colony”.

Right Image: What the colony was speculated to look like.  I think it is interesting to point out the Native Americans running right outside the colony walls. Unfortunately, to establish great global superiority, the English had to put themselves in risky, uncomfortable situations in order to eventually find success in achieving such a great global status.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/raleigh_walter.shtml

The East India Trading Company or East India Company was established in 1600 as a monopolistic trading body that sought to trade with East and South Asia and India.  The company later became involved in politics and helped elicit British imperialism in India and in South and East Asia. This company also pushed British ideology and influence through the region and up into China.  The East India Trading company was such an innovative trading company that was far ahead of its time.  During this time, trade was conducted by separate, individual trade expeditions, but now regions were linked together, and a very interconnected web of goods and trade took place at an alarming rate.  This company increased British wealth and easily contributed to the British Empire having such success in their quest for imperialism long into the future.

Image: Insignia from the East India Trading Company.

Source: http://www.britannica.com/topic/East-India-Company

The First Opium War originated when China made an attempt to halt all British opium supply from coming into their country.  The British had been illegally bringing opium up through India which would eventually make its way into China. This opium caused severe economic and social hardships because of the extreme addiction that the Chinese were being crippled by.  In March of 1839, the Chinese government destroyed more than 1,400 tons of opium and fighting broke out when tensions arose between British traders and the Chinese. In the end, the Chinese were required to pay the British a great deal of money and also opened more ports to the British to increase British trade, and consequently influence, into the country.  I find that although conflict ignited to push illegal British trade out of China, The British were still able to come out on top and turn an undesirable situation into a gain that would increase their standing economically and imperially.

Image: Depiction of a sea battle between the British and Chinese during the First Opium Wars.

Source: http://www.britannica.com/topic/Opium-Wars

In 1856, Sir Henry Bessemer developed the Bessemer Process which was a new process created to increase the mass-production of steel in the England.  Before his process, high-quality, expensive metals had to be used to make steel which made this resource such a limited and high commodity.  The Bessemer Process was able to create decent quality steel at a very fast rate which began to phase out the use of iron which had been currently used in many manufacturing companies in England.  On its own, the Bessemer Process jump-started the industrial revolution in England and was now used in all different facets of British life. Bessemer’s process helped develop greater warships, railroads, more efficient factories and much more.  This process, on a technological level, helped the British Empire remain a global power and allowed them to continue to be more than one step ahead of most of the world in almost every aspect.

Source:http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/stories/the_second_industrial_revolution/05.ST.01/?scene=3

Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor living in Great Britain who was the first to develop, demonstrate and market the first successful long-distance wireless telegraph which was able to broadcast the first transatlantic radio signal.  His invention would end up saving hundreds of lives during the sinking of the Titanic and won a Noble Peace Price for this creation in 1909.  This is significant because of how vast the empire was, the English were now able to communicate more effectively over great differences.  Being able to communicate this efficiently gave Great Britain the ability to better control their colonies and further spread English ideology and values which would aid to the British Empire continuing to have global superiority.

Image: Guglielmo Marconi with his innovative communication device.

Source: http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/guglielmo-marconi

An ABC for Baby Patriots is a great example of literature and writings that came out during Great Britain’s dominate age of imperialism.  This piece portrayed British superiority and values which was aimed at a very young demographic.  Basically, this book looked to appeal to children who would be the ones running the British Empire in decades to come.  The Empire sought out any means to keep it running til the end of time, and propaganda pieces like this helped keep country unity and solidarity strong which is a necessity for a country finding such imperial success over such a long period of time.  In addition, pieces like Rudyard Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden” were published to urge other great powers to take control of “less fortunate” regions of the world which also pushed English ideology and values on other nations, further establishing their legitimacy on a global scale.

Image: The first letter in Mary Francis Ames’ book. Every little stresses the Empire being superior in everything (in this case the army), and how all should fight for the Empire.