NIALL FERGUSON TEXT PLUS VOCAB

Most modern British schoolchildren are taught that imperialism was pure evil, and slavery was the clearest manifestation of this. Niall Ferguson is not blind to the shortcomings of the British Empire, but he argues that it brought trade and uncorrupt institutions to vast tracts of the globe.

In 1955 British per capita GDP was just seven times greater than that of Zambia. Today it is roughly 28 times. Most Africans are less well-off than under British rule, even if they have a vote and are no longer excluded from white clubs.

In 1946 there were 74 independent countries in the world. In 1995 there were 192. Such fragmentation has created a host of nation states too small to be economically effective. Almost the only advantage many former imperial possessions enjoy is a grasp of the English language. “No organisation in history has done more to promote the free movement of goods, capital and labour than the British Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries…to impose Western norms of law, order and governance around the world,” says the author.

Ferguson’s book also shows the dark side of imperialism and causes for shame, but it finally offers rich sources of pride. The British people did not merely exploit overseas investment, but themselves migrated in large numbers to build new lives on the other side of the world. In the 17th and 18th centuries, some 700,000 people left the mother country. At its peak in the 1640s, emigration was above two per 1,000. By the late 19th century, the colonies had become the destination for anyone looking for an exciting new life, searching fame and fortune.

Ferguson reserves his harshest criticism for some aspects of British rule in India. It is difficult for any reasonable person today not to acknowledge the Amritsar massacre as one of the darkest moments in British history. Ferguson likens the behaviour of some of the British officers in India to that of Nazi SS men. He cites the example of a young Indian boy supporting a tottering old man, pleading for mercy from a British officer at the gates of Lucknow. The soldier simply cocked his revolver against the boy’s head and pressed the trigger. Once, twice, three times, it misfired. At the fourth attempt, the officer killed the Indian. At least, says the author, British soldiers who saw it happen loudly reproached the killer.

Their biggest mistake in the 20th century was to focus their attention on the native rulers, a doomed caste, and to ignore the rising educated Indian middle class. Upmarket Indians were as indifferent to the welfare of their own masses as the British, but they would not tolerate insults to themselves: “Indian nationalism was fuelled not by the impoverishment of the many, but by the rejection of the privileged few,” says Ferguson.

Britain lost its empire due to the exhaustion of will and resources that followed two world wars. The United States was extremely hostile to the idea of empire, and only moderated its view when it saw that communism presented a vastly graver peril to civilisation. In the 19th century, British imperial defence costs had been amazingly low, and were easily financed by income from the nation’s huge overseas investments. These were sold, with remarkable selflessness, to save the world from the Kaiser and later Hitler, while America made a healthy profit from its participation in both world wars.

After 1945, the Empire ceased to be a source of wealth to Britain, and became a cash drain. More than that, a new generation of Englishmen simply did not believe any longer in their divine right to rule brown and black peoples.

Ferguson suggests that the United States is today attempting to create a pax Americana with many of the objectives of its British predecessor, but lacks the confidence or coherence to adopt long-term policies. In Somalia, Haiti, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Americans have intervened in the interests of local and international stability, but refuse to acknowledge the requirement to stick with a society once they have involved themselves in its destinies.

Perhaps if the United States learned to enjoy its power more, it might exercise it more effectively and sensitively. Winning a war in, for instance, Iraq, is the easy part of modern imperialism. Americans must also learn to master the harder part – making the conquered society work afterwards. That is, if they want to do half as well as the British did in preserving global peace.

Find the defintion of the following words:

1.Shortcomings – 

2.Tracts – 

3.GDP –

4.well-off – 

5.grasp of English

6.Reproach –

7.Famine – 

8.Welfare –

9.Peril – 

10. Pax Americana –