A Brief History of Humanity: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century

Chapter 33 Reforms in the British Empire
It has been pointed out towards the end of Chapter 29 that when Britain lost its North American colonies, it gained considerable territory and power in India and some parts of the Far East.Since then, Britain has gradually become the largest colonial empire in the world.It also gradually learned to be smarter, granting some colonies self-government powers.

In the last chapter we talked about some of the liberal reforms that took place in Great Britain and Ireland in the 19th century.In this chapter we will see how the same reforms and others were carried out together in many parts of the British Empire at the same time.

[-]. The Magna Carta of the British Empire
The main symbol of Britain's reformed colonial policy was Lord Durham's report to Parliament in 1839, which was called the Magna Carta of the colonies.Several of its provisions were reformed and became the basis for self-government in Canada, Newfoundland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.It was formed and inspired in England during the Reformation, and some were the result of the Reformation.

We all know the uprising in Canada, and the reforms in Britain in the 19th century were achieved without revolution.But part of Canada's reforms came about because of the revolution.The reason for the Canadian uprising was language and religious differences, as well as people's dissatisfaction with the government.

Language Differences In Lower Canada, the region along the lower St. Lawrence River, the majority of residents are French.The French immigrated there in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Until 1763, Canada belonged to the United Kingdom, and they did not relocate thereafter.In Upper Canada, that is, along the upper reaches of the St. Lawrence River and north of the Great Lakes, the majority of the population is British.Many of these people immigrated from the United States to Canada between 1776 and 1784 as a result of the American Revolution.

Religious differences Most of the residents of Lower Canada are French and Catholics, while most of the residents of Upper Canada are British and Protestants.In 1791, Upper Canada was formed as a separate province of Ontario; in the same year, Lower Canada was also formed as a separate province, retaining the old name Quebec.Political division helped the situation somewhat, but it did not solve all problems.

Dissatisfaction with the government The main reason for the uprising in Canada was the narrowness and stubbornness of the government.For this reason, the British government is very disturbed.British governors have a lot of power.Several Tory families in Canada hold all the important public offices in Ontario and Quebec.Not only that, but they also used friends and party members to fill the legislature.

Revolution On November 1837, 11, a mutiny broke out in Lower Canada. Four weeks later, an uprising broke out in Upper Canada.These "rebels" fought with the Governor's troops, and there were casualties on both sides.But these two uprisings were soon suppressed.

Lord Durham in Canada Lord Durham was sent to Canada to carry out investigative work.He was a Whig, that is, a Liberal.He helped draft the English Reform Act of 1832.He spent several months conducting serious research in Canada, returned to England, and delivered his report to Parliament in 1839.

Durham's investigation report Lord Durham not only denounced the fraud of those oligarchy political groups in his investigation report, he also pointed out on what basis each province should establish self-government in order to be safe.He advocated that those British colonies which had shown themselves capable of self-government should be granted self-government; that the governors and prime ministers of these colonies should be responsible to the elected legislature;

What is interesting about the United States is that Lord Durham, in his famous Inquiry Report, generously acknowledged the influence of the United States in terms of fair and reasonable representative government.He didn't mean that the Washington government interfered with the Canadian government, but he also deeply felt that Canada's narrow and rigid policies would disappoint the American people.

[-]. From Colonies to Dominions

Confederation and Liberty Following Lord Durham's proposal, in 1840 Upper and Lower Canada were united into a Commonwealth. Seven years later, the Canadian cabinet was elected from the majority party in the Congress, and this was done to make the government accountable to the people through their representatives.The election came just a year after Britain demanded that the free traders overturn the Corn Laws and deal a heavy blow to the old mercantilist business and colonial theories.

Soon, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island also gained "self-government".

Dominion of Canada So, of all the British colonies, Canada was the first country to achieve responsible government (equal to self-government), and the first country to organize each self-governing colony into a federation. 1867 is a famous year in Confederate history.This year, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia merged with Quebec and Ontario to form the Dominion of Canada.The Dominion was formally established in 1867 with the passage of the British North America Act by the British Parliament in London.However, as early as 1864, a conference held in Quebec formulated the dominion plan.

The Dominions of Canada are organized roughly on the model of the British government, with a Governor-General representing the King, a Senate equivalent to the House of Lords, and a House of Commons to which the Cabinet is responsible, and the House of Commons is elected.

Growth in Canada Growth in the Dominion of Canada was rapid and widespread.Canada bought most of the land west of Ontario from a powerful Hudson's Bay Company of trappers and fur traders.Manitoba and the rest of the provinces were drawn from these places. British Columbia joined the Commonwealth of Dominions in 1871, followed by Prince Edward Island in 1873. In 1878 the government decreed that all of British North America, with the exception of Newfoundland, belonged to the Commonwealth Dominion of Canada.Despite Newfoundland's stubborn refusal to join the Commonwealth, it has been self-governing since 1855. The expanded railway after 1886 accelerated the pace of settlement and development in western Canada.

Australia and New Zealand The important democratic dominions of the British Empire included Australia and New Zealand. Both were visited by Captain James Cook of the Royal Navy in the 18th century. In 1769 he spent six months sailing and mapping the coast of New Zealand.The island has not been visited by Europeans for more than 6 years.He also used the same method to examine the east coast of Australia and named it New South Wales.Cook returned to England in June 100 after completing this voyage.One of the great builders of the British Empire, this voyage earned him the title "Columbus of the Pacific."

Not long after 1771, the British began migrating to Australia and sending missionaries to New Zealand.The natives of New Zealand are very belligerent, but the natives of Australia have not had any trouble.

Australia For many years, Britain regarded Australia as an open-air prison for exiled prisoners, so the first batch of British immigrants were actually exiled criminals.The introduction of sheep herding and the discovery of gold mines made the island an attractive place for colonists, and it has grown even faster since then.Today Australia has an area of ​​about 300 million square miles, and nearly 700 million people speak English. Compared with the thirteen American colonies that the British did not want to give up in 1783, it is about twice as large in terms of population and twice as large in terms of area. 1 times bigger republic.

In 1900, the six colonies (states) of Australia formed a federation according to their own plans and the Australian Commonwealth Act enacted by the British Parliament.In fact, these states had enjoyed true self-government for many years before 6.

New Zealand In 1839, the British government publicly declared that it had sovereignty over New Zealand.The following year, most of the native chiefs agreed to British rule, and the first settlers followed.This was followed by several violent uprisings by the indigenous Maori between 1860 and 1866.The Maori are tall, handsome, brown-skinned people who arrived in New Zealand centuries ago in large canoes.Many of them are now civilized and well educated.There are also several Māori representatives in government.

In 1852, New Zealand obtained the right of self-government, and until 1856, a responsible cabinet system was established.After 1890, the country began to attract the world's attention because it promoted a fairly democratic experiment in government, almost as much as socialism.It was one of the first countries in the world to grant the right to vote to all men and women.

South Africa In British South Africa, self-government and the creation of a Commonwealth were long delayed by hostility between the Boers and the British, but both were achieved in the early 20th century.

The Boers and the British Cape Colony, the oldest European settlement in South Africa, was looted by the British from the Dutch in 1814.Dutch peasants, the Boers, who believed that the English treated blacks better than they did, migrated north (“traveling in ox-carts”) to the Orange Free State, across the Vaal River, and into the Transvaal.The inhabitants of the Cape Colony mainly speak English, and a responsible government was established in 1872.A neighboring British colony, Natal, also accepted a responsible government in 1893.In the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, the conflict between the Boers and the British intensified, culminating in a fierce battle from 1899 to 1902, when the Boers were outnumbered and finally conquered.Under the terms of the peace, the British annexed the two states of the Boers, but also granted the Boers autonomy.This promise was fulfilled in the Transvaal in 1906, and self-government was also granted in the Orange Free State in 1907.

The union of each of the states of South Africa in the Federation is now very clear. In 1909, the Cape Colony, Natal, the Transvaal, and the Orange Free State all became provinces of the Union of South Africa, a federation that was more than strongly centralized than Canada.In the Commonwealth, the Boers had the same power as the British.Among the leaders of the federal government (such as the Prime Minister) were two prominent Boer officers who had fought against the British.

[-]. The Expansion of the Empire
From 1874 to 1880, Disraeli served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and did a lot of work to consolidate the empire.He used the method of buying a large number of stocks to let Britain control the Suez Canal.He also had Parliament dedicate the new title of "Empress of India" to Queen Victoria, and he also got the island of Cyprus from the Turks.

In the twenty-five years since, the British empire has expanded in strides, led by prime ministers with similar ambitions.The dominion of the Indian Empire expanded to Burma, Siam and Afghanistan.Some important ports were also made in China.Devoured many islands in the Pacific Ocean.In the process of partitioning Africa, Britain got the most land. (Details of these events are described in Chapters 25 and 42)

Rhodes in Africa A young Englishman, Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902), first came to South Africa in 1871, where he spent most of his life as a miner and a politician. The dream is to connect North Africa and South Africa with a bright imperial road.He intended to make a solid chain of English territories from Egypt to the Cape Colony, and across them a railway from the Cape to Cairo.He devoted his life to acquiring wealth in gold and diamond mines, hoping to expand British power in Africa.He died at the age of 49 with great dreams unrealized, but 17 years after his death, the railway from Cairo to Cape was finally realized.

One of the things that makes Cecil Rhodes best known today is that he donated most of his fortune to Oxford University as a scholarship (more on his African endeavors in Chapter 43)
Democracy and imperialism now make it clear that while Britain expands outward, it also leaves room for liberty.Although not all parts of the entire empire have gained autonomy, there have been several places that have risen from colonies in the pure sense to the height of autonomous dominions.In addition, one must also note its reform movement against serfdom.

The abolition of serfdom Britain passed the bill abolishing the slave trade in 1806, and Parliament publicly declared in 1833 that it was illegal to keep black slaves throughout the empire.At the same time, a sum equivalent to 1 million U.S. dollars was passed to redeem the freedom of all slaves in the empire at that time from the slave owners.

The British Empire in 1914 By 1914, the British Empire had roughly a quarter of the Earth's habitable area and a quarter of its population.However, in the population of the empire, only a small group is of British descent, the ratio is that each British colonist has more than 30 people of other races. Most of these people are dark-skinned "natives" under British rule.In total, there are 3.15 million Indians, 4 million black Africans, 600 million Arabs and Malays each, 100 million Chinese and Polynesian, and 10 Canadian Indians.

(End of this chapter)