Is the Sun Finally Setting on the British Empire?

 

 

The United States was born of British Colonial rule. Even after the Revolutionary War, the Brits were still not finished with trying again with the failed War of 1812. The unraveling of the British Empire, which continues into this very day, has struggled (often violently) for centuries. Many believe that he old “the sun never sets on the British Empire” adage ended with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to the Peoples Republic of China. Not exactly, but almost, as David Henderson wrote for Quora.com last December 10th: “Because of its position, the Pitcairn Islands are always in the sun even when night falls over the British Mainland and all other British Overseas territories. Should the U.K. ever lose Pitcairn, the sun will set on all British territory for the first time in almost three hundred years.

“On the question of ‘Empire’, it had become clear by the early years of the 20th century that the time of massive overseas Empires had passed. They were too expensive and difficult to maintain, the British started the process of dismantling its Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century, with varying levels of independence granted to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and (almost) Ireland.

“The British Empire ‘cashed in its chips’ as a major power with the two World Wars. The Empire reached its greatest geographical peak in 1921 when it inherited the territories of the now broken German and Ottoman empires.” As Queen Elizabeth enjoys her Platinum Jubilee — 70 years on the throne — with pageantry and parties, that pomp and circumstance is producing a different response in an increasing number of Commonwealth nations. A whole lot worse than “taxation without representation.”

That opulence plus the painful (often brutal) colonial history of the British crown are nothing more than sad reminders, pushing more nations to break their official relationship with the British crown. They recall the legacy of slavery, military conquest and suppression, a fierce white-vs-native caste system and the raw extraction of natural resources and agricultural goods for what has to be called “chump change.” It made Britain rich but kept a huge number of people in a painful and humiliating subsistence existence.

There is a lot of continuing anger in the Commonwealth, particularly among the impoverished segments, even as royals make token visits with a seeming blindness to that apparent vestige of remaining noblesse oblige. So, while the U.K. is celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, some in the Commonwealth are using the occasion to push for a formal break with the monarchy and the colonial history it represents. As the Associated Press notes (June 1st): “[The Queen] is head of state in 14 other nations [beyond the UK], including Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Bahamas. Until recently it was 15 — Barbados cut ties with the monarchy in November, and several other Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, say they plan to follow suit…

“‘When I think about the queen, I think about a sweet old lady,’ said Jamaican academic Rosalea Hamilton, who campaigns for her country to become a republic. ‘It’s not about her. It’s about her family’s wealth, built on the backs of our ancestors. We’re grappling with the legacies of a past that has been very painful.’…

“A trip to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas in March by the queen’s grandson Prince William and his wife, Kate, which was intended to strengthen ties, appears to have had the opposite effect. Images of the couple shaking hands with children through a chain-link fence [pictured above] and riding in an open-topped Land Rover in a military parade stirred echoes of colonialism for many… Cynthia Barrow-Giles, professor of political science at the University of the West Indies, said the British ‘seem to be very blind to the visceral sort of reactions’ that royal visits elicit in the Caribbean.

“Protesters in Jamaica demanded Britain pay reparations for slavery, and Prime Minister Andrew Holness politely told William that the country was ‘moving on,’ a signal that it planned to become a republic. The next month, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told Prince Edward that his country too would one day remove the queen as head of state… William acknowledged the strength of feeling and said the future ‘is for the people to decide upon… We support with pride and respect your decisions about your future,’ he said in the Bahamas. ‘Relationships evolve. Friendship endures.’

“When then-Princess Elizabeth became queen on the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952, she was in Kenya. The East African country became independent in 1963 after years of violent struggle between a liberation movement and colonial troops. In 2013, the British government apologized for the torture of thousands of Kenyans during the 1950s Mau Mau uprising and paid millions in an out-of-court settlement… Memories of the empire are still raw for many Kenyans…

“U.K. officials hope countries that become republics will remain in the Commonwealth, the 54-nation organization made up largely of former British colonies, which has the queen as its ceremonial head… The queen’s strong personal commitment to the Commonwealth has played a big role in uniting a diverse group whose members range from vast India to tiny Tuvalu. But the organization, which aims to champion democracy, good governance and human rights, faces an uncertain future.

“As Commonwealth heads of government prepare to meet in Kigali, Rwanda, this month for a summit, some question whether the organization can continue once the queen’s eldest son, Prince Charles, succeeds her.” AP. In the surging tide of rising super-powers, most notably China and perhaps Russia, the clash of religions and cultures all over the globe, is there a major transition away from Western domination? Is the devolution of the British Empire just one more piece of evidence of that tectonic shift?

I’m Peter Dekom, and political and global mega-power seems to have one constant: massive change, some slow and some very fast.