The British Empire

It's really amazing to know that, for a long time, a small chain of islands off the coast of north western Europe ruled over more than a quarter of the planet. The British Empire had a massive influence on the history of the world and we are still feeling the effects of it, sometimes for the best and sometimes for the worst, to this day. They spread their influence in the form of their governing style, their language, and their military might across the planet to create the empire on which "the sun never sets". It's absolutely mind blowing to know that slogan was actually true in the most literal sense. We can argue until the cows come home on whether the British Empire was a positive or a negative influence, but one thing that can't be denied is that they were a force worth reckoning and shaped most of the world that we live in today. If you do a little research on what made them so effective, you'll know that it was largely their navy that allowed them to spread as far as they did. For centuries the English ruled the high seas and pretty much no one could come close to them. Like the Romans with their roads, the British used their power on the dominion of Poseidon to write many chapters in history. Now I feel it's only fair to talk about both the negative and the positive effects that the British Empire had. On the positive side, they acted as a civilizing force in the world. They spread law and order throughout many of the lands that they conquered and they shaped many of the world governments into what they are today. The British spread their unique culture and influence, and it's hard to imagine what the world would be like without them. Unfortunately, that brings us to the negative effects they had. The British were a prominently oppressive force in the world, that more often than not spread their ways by force. They exploited, robbed, pillaged, and at many times outright murdered the inhabitants of the lands that they conquered. Obviously the British weren't unique in this. Many other European empires took part in similar atrocious practices, but few took it to the scale that the British did. With the spread of their empire also came the spread of diseases that indigenous peoples rarely were able to fight off. They also did a pretty good job of suppressing local cultures. One particular instance of this that really hits home for me is the suppression of the Irish language and culture. I still remember my mother teaching me about how the English discouraged, and at many times outright banned many Irish cultural practices and that is a source of huge conflict for me. I'm mostly Irish on my moms side, with a little bit of Welsh and Scottish, but then I've got a fair amount of English ancestry on my fathers side, so it's difficult for me to figure out if I should be proud of the accomplishments of my ancestors, or disgusted at the oppressive nature of their rule. However, I try not dwell on that too much and try to focus on the present fairly good relationships held among the nations of the British isles. In my own personal opinion, the British Empire was a necessary evil that made the world into what it is today. Despite the fact that many of the worlds geopolitical issues can be traced back some British man drawing a line on a map, it should also be said that they were, and still are, a fantastic culture that created much of what we know and are today. From Canada to India, to Australia, throughout the middle east, and even to my home of the United States, the British Empire was the foundation upon which the Anglophone world was built. I'll never forget walking the streets of London and seeing all of the monuments to the British Empire scattered throughout the city. It's not hard to imagine why so many people look upon those monuments and are filled with pride for what their ancestors were able to accomplish. While it was both a positive and a negative aspect of history, no one can deny that it was one of the institutions that shaped it, which is what makes the British Empire so relevant to talk about even to this day.