UK empire. A Brief History of the British Empire
BRITISH EMPIRE(British Empire) - the largest empire in the history of mankind, in the period between the First and Second World Wars, it occupied up to a quarter of the entire earth's land.
The composition of the empire, ruled from the mother country - Great Britain - was complex. It included dominions, colonies, protectorates and mandated (after the First World War) territories.
Dominions are countries with a large number of immigrants from Europe, which have achieved relatively broad rights of self-government. North America, and later Australia and New Zealand, were the main destinations for emigration from Britain. A number of North American possessions in the second half. 18th century declared independence and formed the United States, and in the 19th century. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have been progressively pushing for more self-rule. At the imperial conference of 1926, it was decided to call them not colonies, but dominions with the status of self-government, although in fact Canada received these rights in 1867, the Australian Union in 1901, New Zealand in 1907, the Union of South Africa in 1919, Newfoundland in 1917 (in 1949 it entered part of Canada), Ireland (without the northern part - Ulster, which remained part of the UK) achieved similar rights in 1921.
In the colonies - there were approx. 50 - lived the vast majority of the population of the British Empire. Among them, along with relatively small ones (such as the islands of the West Indies), there were also such large ones as the island of Ceylon. Each colony was governed by a governor-general, who was appointed by the Ministry of Colonial Affairs. The governor appointed a legislative council of senior officials and representatives of the local population. The largest colonial possession - India - officially became part of the British Empire in 1858 (before that, it had been controlled by the British East India Company for a century and a half). Since 1876, the British monarch (then Queen Victoria) was also called the Emperor of India, and the Governor-General of India - the Viceroy. Viceroy's salary at the beginning of the 20th century. several times the salary of the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
The nature of the administration of the protectorates and their degree of dependence on London varied. The degree of independence of the local feudal or tribal elite allowed by London is also different. The system in which this elite was given a significant role was called indirect control - as opposed to direct control, carried out by appointed officials.
The mandated territories - the former parts of the German and Ottoman empires - after the First World War were transferred by the League of Nations under the control of Great Britain on the basis of the so-called. mandate.
The English conquests began in the 13th century. from the invasion of Ireland, and the creation of overseas possessions - from 1583, the capture of Newfoundland, which became Britain's first stronghold for conquest in the New World. The path to the British colonization of America was opened by the defeat of the huge Spanish fleet - the Invincible Armada in 1588, the weakening of the maritime power of Spain, and then Portugal, and the transformation of England into a powerful maritime power. In 1607, the first English colony in North America (Virginia) was founded and the first English settlement on the American continent, Jamestown, was founded. In the 17th century English colonies arose in a number of areas east. coast of the North. America; New Amsterdam, recaptured from the Dutch, was renamed New York.
Almost simultaneously, the penetration into India began. In 1600 a group of London merchants founded the East India Company. By 1640, she had created a network of her trading posts not only in India, but also in Southeast Asia and the Far East. In 1690 the company began building the city of Calcutta. One of the results of the importation of English manufactured goods was the ruin of a number of local cultural industries.
The British Empire experienced its first crisis when it lost 13 of its colonies as a result of the British Settlers' War of Independence in North America (1775–1783). However, after the recognition of US independence (1783), tens of thousands of colonists moved to Canada, and the British presence strengthened there.
Soon, English penetration into the coastal regions of New Zealand and Australia and the Pacific Islands intensified. In 1788, the first English appeared in Australia. settlement - Port Jackson (future Sydney). The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815, summing up the Napoleonic wars, assigned to Great Britain the Cape Colony (South Africa), Malta, Ceylon and other territories captured in the con. 18 - beg. 19th centuries By mid. 19th century the conquest of India was basically completed, the colonization of Australia was carried out, in 1840 the English. colonialists appeared in New Zealand. The Port of Singapore was founded in 1819. In the middle 19th century Unequal treaties were imposed on China, and a number of Chinese ports were opened to the English. trade, Great Britain seized o.Syangan (Hong Kong).
During the period of the "colonial division of the world" (the last quarter of the 19th century), Great Britain seized Cyprus, established control over Egypt and the Suez Canal, completed the conquest of Burma, and established the actual. protectorate over Afghanistan, conquered vast territories in Tropical and South Africa: Nigeria, the Gold Coast (now Ghana), Sierra Leone, South. and Sev. Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia), Bechuanaland (Botswana), Basutoland (Lesotho), Swaziland, Uganda, Kenya. After the bloody Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), she captured the Boer republics of the Transvaal (official name - the Republic of South Africa) and the Orange Free State and united them with her colonies - Cape and Natal, created the Union of South Africa (1910).
More and more conquests and gigantic expansion of the empire were made possible not only by military and naval power and not only by skillful diplomacy, but also because of the widespread confidence in Great Britain in the beneficial effect of British influence on the peoples of other countries. The idea of British messianism has taken deep roots - and not only in the minds of the ruling strata of the population. The names of those who spread British influence, from "pioneers" - missionaries, travelers, migrant workers, traders - to such "empire builders" as Cecil Rhodes, were surrounded by a halo of reverence and romance. Those who, such as Rudyard Kipling, poetized colonial politics, also gained immense popularity.
As a result of mass emigration in the 19th century. from Great Britain to Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the Union of South Africa, these countries created a multi-million "white", mostly English-speaking population, and the role of these countries in the world economy and politics became increasingly significant. Their independence in domestic and foreign policy was strengthened by the decisions of the Imperial Conference (1926) and the Statute of Westminster (1931), according to which the union of the metropolis and dominions was called the "British Commonwealth of Nations". Their economic ties were consolidated by the creation of sterling blocs in 1931 and the Ottawa agreements (1932) on imperial preferences.
As a result of the First World War, which was also fought because of the desire of European powers to redistribute colonial possessions, Great Britain received a mandate from the League of Nations to manage parts of the collapsed German and Ottoman empires (Palestine, Iran, Transjordan, Tanganyika, part of Cameroon and part of Togo). The Union of South Africa received a mandate to govern Southwest Africa (now Namibia), Australia - to part of New Guinea and the adjacent islands of Oceania, New Zealand - to the West Islands. Samoa.
The anti-colonial war, which intensified in various parts of the British Empire during the First World War and especially after its end, forced Great Britain in 1919 to recognize the independence of Afghanistan. In 1922, the independence of Egypt was recognized, in 1930 the English was terminated. mandate to govern Iraq, although both countries remained under British dominance.
The apparent collapse of the British Empire came after the Second World War. And although Churchill proclaimed that he did not become Prime Minister of the British Empire in order to preside over its liquidation, he nevertheless, at least during his second premiership, had to find himself in this role. In the early post-war years, many attempts were made to preserve the British Empire both through maneuvering and through colonial wars (in Malaya, Kenya and other countries), but they all failed. In 1947 Britain was forced to grant independence to its largest colonial possession: India. At the same time, the country was divided on a regional basis into two parts: India and Pakistan. Independence was proclaimed by Transjordan (1946), Burma and Ceylon (1948). In 1947 Gen. The UN Assembly decided to end the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of two states on its territory: Jewish and Arab. The independence of Sudan was proclaimed in 1956, and Malaya in 1957. The first of the British possessions in Tropical Africa became (1957) the independent state of the Gold Coast, taking the name Ghana. In 1960, British Prime Minister G. Macmillan, in a speech in Cape Town, essentially recognized the inevitability of further anti-colonial achievements, calling it "the wind of change."
1960 went down in history as the "Year of Africa": 17 African countries declared their independence, among them the largest British possessions - Nigeria - and British Somaliland, which, united with part of Somalia, which was under the control of Italy, created the Republic of Somalia. Then, listing only the most important milestones: 1961 - Sierra Leone, Kuwait, Tanganyika, 1962 - Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda; 1963 - Zanzibar (in 1964, united with Tanganyika, formed the Republic of Tanzania), Kenya, 1964 - Nyasaland (became the Republic of Malawi), Northern Rhodesia (became the Republic of Zambia), Malta; 1965 - Gambia, Maldives; 1966 - Brit. Guiana (became the Republic of Guyana), Basutoland (Lesotho), Barbados; 1967 - Aden (Yemen); 1968 - Mauritius, Swaziland; 1970 - Tonga, 1970 - Fiji; 1980 - Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe); 1990 - Namibia; 1997 - Hong Kong becomes part of China. In 1960, the Union of South Africa proclaimed itself the Republic of South Africa and then left the Commonwealth, but after the liquidation of the apartheid (apartheid) regime and the transfer of power to the black majority (1994), it was again accepted into its composition.
By the end of the last century, the Commonwealth itself had also undergone fundamental changes. After the declaration of independence by India, Pakistan and Ceylon (since 1972 - Sri Lanka) and their entry into the Commonwealth (1948), it became an association not only of the mother country and the "old" dominions, but of all the states that arose within the British Empire. From the name of the British Commonwealth of Nations, "British" was withdrawn, and later it became customary to call it simply: "The Commonwealth". Relations between members of the Commonwealth also underwent many changes, up to military clashes (the largest between India and Pakistan). However, economic, cultural (and linguistic) ties that developed over the generations of the British Empire kept the vast majority of these countries from leaving the Commonwealth. In the beginning. 21st century it had 54 members: 3 in Europe, 13 in America, 8 in Asia, 19 in Africa. Mozambique, which had never been part of the British Empire, was admitted to the Commonwealth.
The population of the Commonwealth countries exceeds 2 billion people. An important legacy of the British Empire is the spread of the English language both in the countries that were part of this empire and beyond.
Relations between the British and Russian empires have always been difficult, often very unfriendly. Contradictions between the two largest empires led in the middle of the 19th century. to the Crimean War, then to a sharp escalation in the struggle for influence in Central Asia. Great Britain did not allow Russia to enjoy the fruits of its victory over the Ottoman Empire in the war of 1877–1878. Great Britain supported Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. In turn, Russia strongly sympathized with the South African Boer republics in their war against Great Britain in 1899–1902.
The end of open rivalry came in 1907, when, in the face of the growing military power of Germany, Russia joined the Cordially Accord (Entente) of Great Britain and France. In World War I, the Russian and British empires fought together against the Triple Alliance of the German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires.
After the October Revolution in Russia, her relations with the British Empire escalated again ((1917)). For the Bolshevik Party, Great Britain was the main initiator in the history of the capitalist system, the bearer of the ideas of "rotten bourgeois liberalism" and the strangler of the peoples of the colonial and dependent countries. For the ruling circles and a significant part of public opinion in Great Britain, the Soviet Union, asserting its ambitions, was a hotbed of ideas to overthrow the power of the colonial metropolises around the world by a variety of methods, including terrorism.
Even during the Second World War, when the USSR and the British Empire were allies, members of the anti-Hitler coalition, mutual distrust and suspicion did not disappear at all. Since the beginning of the Cold War, recriminations have become an integral feature of relationships. During the collapse of the British Empire, Soviet policy was aimed at supporting the forces that contributed to its collapse.
The Russian pre-revolutionary literature (including historical) about the British Empire for a long time reflected the rivalry and contradictions of the two largest empires - the Russian and the British. In Soviet literature, attention was focused on British anti-Soviet actions, on anti-colonial movements, crisis phenomena in the British Empire and evidence of its collapse.
The imperial syndrome in the minds of many Britons (as well as residents of other former metropolises) can hardly be considered completely weathered. However, it should be recognized that in British historical science during the years of the collapse of the British Empire there was a gradual departure from traditional colonialist views and a search for mutual understanding and cooperation with the emerging historical science of countries that proclaimed their independence. Turn of the 20th and 21st centuries was marked by the preparation and publication of a number of fundamental studies on the history of the British Empire, including on the problems of interaction between the cultures of the peoples of the empire, on various aspects of decolonization and on the transformation of the empire into the Commonwealth. In 1998–1999, a five-volume Oxford History of the British Empire. M., 1991
Trukhanovsky V.G. Benjamin Disraeli or the story of one incredible career. M., 1993
Ostapenko G.S. British Conservatives and Decolonization. M., 1995
Porter b. The Lions Share. A Short History of British Imperialism 1850–1995. Harlow, Essex, 1996
Davidson A.B. Cecil Rhodes - Empire Builder. M.– Smolensk, 1998
Oxford History of the British Empire. Vols. 1–5. Oxford, New York, 1998–1999
Hobsbaum E. Age of Empire. M., 1999
Empire and others: British Encounters with Indigenous people. Ed. by M.Daunton and R.Halpern. London, 1999
Boyce D.G. Decolonization and the British Empire 1775–1997. London, 1999
The Commonwealth in the 21st Century. Ed. by G. Mills and J Stremlau. Pretoria, 1999
cultures of empire. Colonizers in Britain and the Empire in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century. A Reader. Ed. by C. Hall. New York, 2000
Lloyd T. Empire. The History of the British Empire. London and New York, 2001
Royal Historical Society. Bibliography of Imperial, Colonial and Commonwealth History since 1600. Ed. by A. Porter. London, 2002
Heinlein F. British Government Policy and Decolonisation 1945–1963. Scrutinizing the Official Mind. London, 2002
Butler L.J. Britain and Empire. Adjusting to a Post-Imperial World. London, New York, 2002
Churchill W. World crisis. Autobiography. Speeches. M., 2003
Bedarida F. Churchill. M., 2003
James L. The Rise and Fall of the British Empire. London, 2004
England. Once conquered by the Romans, this tiny country and nation became one of the most vast and powerful empires in history. Its influence extended to all corners of the globe. Technologies, innovations, ambitions - these tools created great empire.
They gave birth distinguished british navy who held the entire world's oceans in his hands. The Royal Navy of the 18th and 19th centuries was everywhere.
The British Empire created massive symbols of dominance that inspire awe to this day. But at the heart of this empire lay vanity, bloodshed and irresistible thirst for conquest.
Wilgelm the conqueror
410 year. The most powerful empire known to the world is under attack. In the distant British Isles, once indestructible Roman legions retreat to the coast. They leave behind a military and political void. For the first time in over 400 years, the vulnerable island nation of Britain found itself on its own. It was the end of one empire and the beginning of another.
"The sun never sets on the British Empire" - many have heard these words, although the empire is long gone. During its heyday, the British Empire occupied a quarter of the land - 36 million square kilometers.
But how could an island in the middle of the North Atlantic become a huge empire? In the early 400s, when the Romans fled under pressure, and some of these marauding peoples decided to stay. Perhaps they liked the mild climate. After a few centuries, they self-organized, and the English people were born.
But with the death of the last true Saxon king, the way was opened for another people - who were descendants of the Vikings who inhabited Northern France.
. He will become the most cruel and insatiable ruler in the history of England. His name was .
About Heinrich's appetite legends were told: he craved food, women, power and a son to whom he would one day hand over the reins of power.
The best way to fulfill your royal duty is to produce an heir. And if you look at the portraits of Tudor men, they stand with their legs wide apart, their hands on their hips, and this is not an accident: they seem to say "I am a man, I can produce an heir." The son was proof of manhood.
He has no memory falls in love with Anne Boleyn, he desires her because Anna was a very attractive woman and she knew it. The only problem is how to get rid of your wife? Without killing, of course. And the answer: divorce.
When the Pope refused to give Henry permission to divorce, the king became angry: if he cannot control this religion, he will simply replace it. He is cocky severed all ties with Rome and proclaimed himself head.
Now Henry had absolute power over his country. He divorced Catherine and made queen anne. But when she did not bear him a son, she suddenly turned out to be accused of treason.
Everything was presented in such a way that you can’t imagine worse: she allegedly twisted more than one novel, but several at once. Some orgies were held in the palace, and Heinrich readily believed in it. Henry ordered the arrest of Anna and send to the overgrown London.
The whole complex occupied an area of 7 hectares and was surrounded by an impregnable wall. The wooden elements were replaced by stone blocks, the wall was reinforced with several towers, second wall for greater reliability. Outside, deep ditches were dug and filled with water. With these additional fortifications, the complex became practically impregnable.
During the reign of Henry, the fortress became personification of vice and cruelty, an infamous prison, dungeon and execution site for many of his enemies.
Here Anna waited for her fate - executions by beheading. Decapitation with an ax was a terrible procedure, because usually a terrible weapon did not reach the target on the first blow.
Heinrich said to Anne Boleyn: "For you, dear, only the best." Instead of cutting off her head with an ax, he will order it to be done quickly and accurately. sword.
On May 19, 1536, Anna was taken to a small courtyard on the territory of the Tower. One quick hit and Heinrich's problem was solved.
But the desire to produce an heir was only one of the ambitious plans of the king: from the very beginning of his reign, he wanted to be famous, turn England into a mighty empire.
The idea of creating an empire that would span all of Europe and extend beyond its borders never left Henry VIII. The reality in his imagination bordered on the dream of.
But two European superpowers also stood in the way of Henry to create an empire. His plan is to send floating weapons of mass destruction to distant seas.
Summer 1510. An army of workers combs the forests of England in search of material to build what will help England create an empire. Before conquering land, Henry VIII had to conquer the sea. He decided to radically change the strategy of warfare, turning his ships into deadly weapons.
He was the first to start install heavy weapons on ships: those weapons that were previously used only during the siege, some of them weighed almost a ton and were able to damage the enemy ship and convince him to surrender.
Massive guns required large ships. Henry ordered his engineers to build a new fleet. Its pearl was the flagship, one of the first warships in the world. They named him.
The ship became the epitome of engineering thought of that era. Install as many guns as possible on board, aimed in different directions - this was the Mary Rose, gun platform.
Something fundamentally new appeared on the Mary Rose - loopholes for cannons. Holes were cut into the sides of the ship and covered with hatches. He was allowed to fire cannons from the sides. Shipbuilders set aside entire decks for guns. Additional guns turned the Mary Rose into death machine. started revolution in shipbuilding, and "Mary Rose" became her first sign.
By the middle of the 16th century, England stood on way to conquer the seas. But soon Heinrich ran into a problem: the expensive bronze cannons that the ships were equipped with quickly depleted the royal treasury. He had to come up with another way to produce heavy artillery that would make his army and navy invincible at a lower cost. The ideal solution was cast iron cannon: it was 50 times cheaper than bronze.
A workable cast-iron cannon had not yet been created, but Heinrich knew how to speed up the process: he remembered a large iron-bearing region of the country Wilde, and gave orders to the engineers.
The difficulty of casting such an element as a cannon was that the iron had to be first melted at a very high temperature. There was only one way to get the required temperature - an engineering marvel of the time. forced draft oven.
First, workers placed wood and iron ore on top of a 6-meter stone oven. The waterwheel propelled huge bellows that fanned the fire until the temperature reached 2200 degrees, enough to melt iron. Then the workers opened the tap at the base of the furnace. A stream of red-hot iron poured into a mold buried deep in the earth.
It was a serious business, it required different resources: there were furnaces for the production of coal, people who harvested wood, workers extracting iron ore from the earth, teams that brought and loaded ore and coal into the furnace.
Over the next few centuries, the cast-iron cannons from the Weald became the object of envy of all European rulers.
This completely changed the balance of power: guns were given to England power and technological advantage which no other country had.
In some 30 years, Henry built new fleet. But he was not destined to fulfill his old dream - to win: an exorbitant appetite did this obese person a disservice. He died January 1547, leaving to posterity the memory of cruelty and inventions ahead of the era. He sowed the seeds from which a mighty empire would grow.
Heinrich laid the foundation, having built a fleet, make it clear that Britain will become an empire, declaring itself to the world.
George III - Mad King of the British Empire
For the next 150 years, Britain will expand through colonies and conquest using the growing power of your fleet. By the middle of the 18th century, Britain controlled part of India, Africa, and North America.
But two serious threats loomed on the horizon, and the king who has to fight them will also fight his demons.
Everyone was talking about him madness, the physical ailment took its toll on his brain. The first attack of insanity happened to George in 1788, 7 years after a serious blow. A small territory in another part of the world defeated the mighty British. This country was called
When the British troops left the city of York, when they surrendered, the world seemed to be turned upside down. And so it was: a world in which the rebels are victorious is a crazy world.
The following decades, George's world slowly but surely changed. In 1804, a new calamity would threaten the king and his empire: the French emperor.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the conquering tyrant quickly took possession of Europe. England was the only obstacle to continental domination. He was as much of a threat as the Nazis were in World War II, and he was preparing troops for the invasion of the British Isles.
The British Royal Navy became the main naval force and in 1805 he met the aggressor Napoleon in the famous. Using fearless tactics and the most technically advanced ships of the era, England defeated the combined forces of the French and Spanish fleets.
The Battle of Trafalgar strengthened the position of England, making it the main naval power. The British have become unsurpassed masters of shipbuilding.
But by the time of the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, King George III completely engulfed in madness: he completely lost his mind and almost lost his sight. The king wandered the corridors, could not eat on his own, grew a long beard, did not know what day it was.
Great Western Railway
By this time England had become superpower, whose superiority was based on shipbuilding. But there will be another technology that will bring the British Empire closer to world domination. The 19th century was about to bring an invention comparable in importance to the achievements of the Romans.
By the 19th century, Britain had become the richest industrial giant. She owed her colossal success to the amazing inventions in the field of technology, which first swept the empire, and then the whole world.
It is difficult to recall another period of history associated with such rise in technology, with such a desire to experiment with machines, introduce new construction methods, bring something new to architecture.
In the past, empires were built by hand, while the British conquered their territories with machines. Innovations such as metal casting and the transformation of a warship into a single controllable machine with guns transformed the English fleet, and this the navy turned England into an empire. And this military-economic empire stretched from Europe to Asia, from America to Africa, dominating in. But what about sushi?
At the beginning of the 19th century, Britain experienced a productivity leap, but it lack of means of ground transportation. In 1782, a certain person improved steam engine, but only 40 years later, his sons took this engine and with the help of a furnace, a boiler, a piston and an amazing invention called a pipe, they put it on rails, which developed an unimaginable speed of 47 km / h.
The Rocket was not the first steam locomotive, but its unique features meant that the steam engine was the power of the future. The key to speed lies in the engine..
Several copper pipes transferred the hot gas from the coal furnace to a tank of water, bringing it to a boil. Steam appeared, which rose through the valve into the cylinder. The strongest steam pressure moved the piston rod connected to the wheels of the locomotive, pushing it forward. By releasing steam through a pipe rather than through a cylinder, fresh air was allowed to enter the furnace to keep the fire going. With this innovation, the "Rocket" could fly at great speed.
Of all the locomotives that could be imagined at that time, this one is most similar to the one we are used to seeing. Of course, it will continue to be improved, but this the basis of the steam locomotive for the next 100 years.
Now it was necessary to encircle Britain with a network of railways, and in 1833 a daring brilliant engineer entered this race and became famous. His name was .
Brunel was a real showman: he dressed well, he was a beautiful wife, he was a celebrity and knew how to use it. He was also a workaholic, he was constantly short of time.
Brunel had grandiose plans: his railway would be the most ambitious project in history, this network would connect all corners of England. Brunel named it and intended to make it the fastest in the world.
He wanted the road to have a minimum angle of inclination, so that trains could travel much faster on it. Need for speed demanded passing through the mountains, and not according to them, and in this regard, his greatest technical achievement appeared - railway tunnel.
Obviously it was necessary carve a tunnel in stone the entire length of the mountain, and it was 1 km 200 m. At that time it was simply unthinkable! Even by today's standards, this is a serious tunnel.
Brunel collected hundreds of Irish diggers to dig this tunnel. He began by making several shafts from the surface of the mountain to the base. Used to remove hard rock powder. Then the workers descended into the mines in baskets and pulled out the debris with almost their bare hands. With the help of horses, these fragments were lifted to the surface with the help of a winch.
It was a long, complicated and sometimes quite dangerous process, and of course, during the construction of the tunnel there were some casualties: a lot of dust, soot, and during explosions, the workers risked being covered with stones.
After 4 years, the tunnel, which took a hundred lives, was completed. The Great Western Railway finally opened in 1841. Trains still pass through this tunnel.
Railway Mania, which Brunel helped to ignite, eventually swept the entire empire, further strengthening the influence of England on the whole world. Railways, which appeared from the beginning of the 19th century, from the beginning in England, and then throughout the world, were the subject of admiration: they are long, loud, dirty, they personify power and speed, the conquest of space and time is an incredible achievement!
The advantage received by England from the construction of railways allowed her to be several decades ahead of other countries. The empire has reached its peak.
But the strongest blow inflicted on its center will make the empire shudder to its very foundations.
October 1834. On a dark night in London in the heart of the British Empire at the Palace of Westminster began the strongest fire. For several centuries, this complex was the command center of Britain and a symbol of its power and invincibility. Now the flames had turned the palace into fiery hell, and thousands of people thought with horror about what would now become of their powerful government.
The fire of 1834 inflicted the strongest strike at the political center of the British Empire. The Palace of Westminster had stood in one form or another since the end of the 11th century, and now only ruins remained of it, and the British wondered: would parliament ever meet in this place? Will its members be able to vote within the walls where the modern political system was born?
This was to be decided by a special royal commission, and the answer was "yes": the parliament building would be reconstructed. But a more difficult question arose: what would that building look like? Build it in French or English style? And if so, in style Elizabeth Tudor or English?
For two years this question did not let anyone sleep peacefully, until in 1836 a royal commission chose a plan from 97 projects, an admirer Italian Renaissance. He combined its features with the neo-gothic, and the result was a modern parliament building, a hodgepodge of styles, but impressive.
From the ruins of the old parliament, British architects will erect a truly gigantic building: it is twice the size of the American one. Built of yellowish sandstone, the palace covers an area of 32,000 square meters. Its towers rise to 98 meters.
Big Ben or Elizabeth Tower
It was decided that on one of them they would install huge clock. This tower, which has long been called Big Ben, in 2012 was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in honor of ElizabethII.
In the 19th century, time could be measured fairly accurately, and it was a very valuable resource: time is money. And in the 19th century there is a real revolution in this regard. If such a grandiose construction was planned, it was impossible to do without a clock.
When the Astronomer Royal announced the requirements for the clock, everyone was amazed: it will be the largest and most accurate clock in the world.
Airey's requirements were very strict. For example, one of them said that the clock must be accurate with maximum error 1 second per day, and reports on their accuracy had to be sent twice a day. It was not the 21st century of informatization, for watchmakers of the 19th century, setting up a giant mechanism, and even in a tower, given the severity of the mechanism and hands, with such accuracy that they show the correct time second by second, hour by hour, week by week, year by year , despite the fact that they will be exposed to rain, snow, wind - all this was real miracle as unheard of as flying to the moon.
And Parliament asked Airey if he could come up with a more realistic and less costly plan. But Airy was adamant, so the Elizabeth Tower, called the Bells, became the epitome of precision for the whole world.
Surprisingly, the famous project belonged to an amateur watchmaker named Edmund Beckett Denison. He managed to achieve the necessary accuracy, while the experts failed to cope with the task.
Like all clocks of this type, it will be driven by weights, gears and a pendulum. But Big Ben will have fundamentally new element, which will protect the pendulum from external forces. Two metal levers control a wheel with three spokes. With each swing of the pendulum, one of the arms moves, allowing the wheel to turn one unit. This regulates the movement of the clock. When snow or rain presses down on the hands of the clock, the levers insulate the pendulum and it continues to swing unchanged.
To set the clock, timekeepers only had to reach into their pockets. Coins were used to set the clock.: reporting or removing old-style pendulums from the pendulum, it was possible to add or subtract 2/5 of a second per day. Thanks to this ingenious yet simple method, the clock has become the world's benchmark for precision.
The clock tower above the Houses of Parliament in the center of the empire has a symbolic meaning, as if the British controlled time itself.
In addition to clocks, bells were needed to mark the passage of time. Called every hour giant central bell. bell caster, George Meas, created this giant in accordance with Denison's instructions. Thus was born Run Ben weighing in 13 tons.
In 1858, thousands of people took to the streets to watch Beg Ben being hoisted onto the clock tower. Since then, its ringing has been regularly carried over London.
London has grown significantly. It was the first suburban city in the world, and it was to have symbols, the main one being "father of all parliaments"- the parliament building with Big Ben, symbol of the strength and power of the British Empire.
Victoria is a teenage girl at the head of the British Empire
By the middle of the 19th century, Britain had set high standards for new technology. But in the reign of a young and naive queen, London will amaze a crisis, which almost causes a real disaster.
In 1837, the reins of the most powerful empire on earth passed to a teenage girl. Her ascension to the throne gave rise to wave of discontent: both subjects and the government looked at her like a spoiled child, unprepared to rule the country. Her name was the queen.
She was only 18 when she ascended the throne, and the first two years proved extremely difficult for her: she was not well received. Then it was difficult to imagine that this girl would turn into a revered symbol of the power of the empire.
She began to change when she married a cousin in 1840. Victoria fell in love almost at first sight. All her life she wanted to have someone to lean on, including literally. And Albert fulfilled this role: he came and helped her grow up.
By this time, the empire stretched all over the world from North America to Australia. Albert and Victoria supported the development of technology and construction, they knew how important it was to their growing empire. And one of the priorities was the creation.
The empire stretched over almost the entire globe. There was talk of overcoming space and time with the help of an electric telegraph. At the behest of the British such an innovation as the telegraph captured the whole world. In the middle of the 19th century, more than 155 thousand kilometers of steel telegraph wires were stretched. It was possible to send a message from England and receive it in India in just a few hours.
It was the first in the world information superhighway. With its help, the empire could manage its territories much more efficiently than before.
Without a doubt, this is the greatest achievement, no one dared to think about it before.
The epic sewer system of London
Advances in technology not only united the empire, they provoked an unprecedented manufacturing boom. People left the villages and converged in the cities in search of better jobs. Labor productivity has risen rapidly, as has population of the capital- London.
If at the beginning of the 19th century the population was one million inhabitants, then by 1850 there were 2 million, and London was not intended for such a large number of people: it was overcrowded, people lived like in a huge chicken coop.
Thames. The situation did not portend anything but disaster.
Do you think the Thames is a huge river, a great way to get rid of London's waste? But unfortunately, London was supplied with water from it. Just imagine: the waste of two million inhabitants was dumped into the Thames, and then Londoners drank this water.
1848 London was struck by disaster: the overpopulated city swept cholera epidemic, 14 thousand people died. Three years later the epidemic recurred, claiming the lives of another 10,000 victims. The cemeteries were full. One of the most advanced cities in the world found itself in conditions not seen since the medieval epidemic.
In 30 years, 30,000 Londoners have died. The reason for this was the cholera epidemic, which spread through contaminated water.
Something had to be done. England addressed the engineer by name. His project will revolution in urban planning. With the help of thousands of workers, he will build the most perfect sewerage system of that era.
Bazalgette's innovative approach involved the installation of collectors with pipes, which were to become a parallel channel of the Thames within the boundaries of London. These pipes will be connected to two thousand kilometers of old city sewer pipes, collecting waste and preventing it from entering the river.
The genius of the system lies in the fact that, whenever possible, they used gravity: the pipes were located at a slope.
Where gravity was not enough, Bazalgett built large pumping stations. There, huge steam engines lifted the waste to the point where gravity began to act again.
The tubes brought waste from giant tanks, where they were kept until high tide, when nature could gently dispose of them.
This sewer system was one of the wonders of the 19th century. It took to build 300 million bricks. Great project! They have accomplished something colossal. Brilliant and simple!
The implementation of such a large-scale project has turned London into the first shining clean capital. European cities studied city systems with awe.
Tower Bridge
However, the crises of the Victorian era were not limited to epidemics. If you have read Hard times, so much so that the city began to choke on its own success.
A second crossing was needed, but the traditional bridge would block the way for large merchant ships. London needed drawbridge.
This drawbridge will be the largest and most complex of its kind. He will be called. The frame is made of steel and lined with stone so as not to contrast with the Tower of London.
When the bridge was built, the 1200-ton wings, or farms, climbed with steam engines. The steam turned huge gears along a steel beam. The hard metal pin rotated as the gear lifted part of the bridge. The wings stopped at an angle of 83 degrees, passing the ships. The bridge was raised in just a minute, an incredible achievement in the field of construction.
Tower Bridge was built by 400 workers over 8 years. Today it is one of the most famous and recognizable bridges in the world.
She spent almost 10 years in seclusion. But when she finally returned to public life, she was stronger and more powerful than ever. The stupid girl has turned into a modern ruler and has rightfully taken her rightful place as a queen.
Around the world, monuments were erected in honor of Victoria, there were noisy celebrations and often colonized peoples took part in them. She was everyone's favorite.
Queen Victoria became a symbol of the greatness and power of the empire. Victorian rule will climax in its development. Now the British Empire had possessions on all continents, its population was 400 million people. No other country could challenge her power, it was largest empire in history.
Queen Victoria died in 1901, at the dawn of the 20th century. She led a huge state, guiding it along the path of progress with a confident hand.
The British Empire dragged humanity into a new age: the age of mass production, speed and information. The world will never be the same again. British ideas and achievements were used by everyone.
The sun may have set over the British Empire after all, but considering the miracles it marked the beginning of the new age, it has never shone brighter.
Historically, capitalist relations in England originated earlier than in other countries. Industry expanded and needed sources of raw materials, money and marketing. The English bourgeoisie began an active struggle to seize spheres of influence, to seize colonies.
English colonial policy in the 17th and 18th centuries. did not yet have such a scope as it acquired in the next century. Its goal was to secure profit for the relatively few sections of the merchant bourgeoisie and the aristocratic elite of English society. Profit was achieved through an unequal exchange of goods between European businessmen and local residents of the colonies, the export of spices and precious woods from Asia and Africa and selling them in Europe at high prices, as well as through direct robbery.
In England, special associations of the largest merchants and industrialists were created. Their activities paved the way for the military-political establishment of England in various parts of the globe.
With the help of such monopoly private enterprises, the British state penetrated into Asia, America, and Africa.
England took possession of numerous islands in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, secured for itself important strongholds on the sea coast.
Thus, a huge chain of military and naval bases and strongholds was created, with which the British Empire subsequently encircled almost the entire world. Thus, springboards were prepared for a wide economic and military-political penetration into the depths of the Afro-Asian and American countries and the enslavement of the inhabitants of the peoples. The Industrial Revolution and the sharp expansion of the output of factory products associated with it caused a change in the views of the British ruling circles on the goals of colonial policy. The countries of the East began to acquire ever greater importance not only as sources of money in the form of booty and taxes, but mainly as profitable markets for British goods. "The colonies began to serve as a source of cheap raw materials ..."
In the second quarter of the 19th century, colonial expansion began to acquire special significance for England.
The military and political activity of the British Empire in the south of the mainland was manifested in parallel with the expansionist activities of the British in other areas.
As a result of the aggressive actions of the colonialists, mainly the British, already in the first half of the 19th century the prerequisites were laid for the division of African lands among the capitalist powers and the enslavement of almost all the peoples living there.
By the end of the 19th century England had become a major colonial power. “From 1884-1900. England acquired 3,700,000 square miles of new colonial territory. Her possessions were on all continents. The British ruling circles subjugated a number of countries and peoples of Asia and Africa, primarily India, imposed enslaving treaties and agreements on China, Iran and other states, created a system of military-strategic bases and communication lines on the islands and coasts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as Mediterranean Sea.
In the last third of the 19th century, in the advanced countries of Europe and in the USA, capitalism entered its last stage, the imperialist stage. During this period, the colonial policy of the British bourgeoisie became especially active. Colonial possessions at this stage in the development of capitalism were of interest to the metropolises not only as sources of raw materials and markets for goods, but also as areas for capital investment and the exploitation of cheap labor. "The era of industrial capital has given way to an era of finance capital".
Along with the ever-increasing significance of the economic exploitation of colonial and semi-colonial possessions, dependent territories scattered in different parts of the globe continued to play the role of important military-political bridgeheads, as well as a source of replenishment for the so-called colored troops.
At the end of the 19th century, the British bourgeoisie developed a storm of activity to expand its colonial empire, to spread and strengthen its influence in the East.
In the 1970s and 1980s, England's colonial expansion assumed especially large proportions in Africa and the Middle East.
The colonial policy of England during the period of imperialism
The British Empire entered the First World War in its entirety. This war also served as the beginning of the crisis of the British Empire. The previously growing centrifugal forces broke out. During the First World War, there were uprisings in the Union of South Africa and Ireland, contradictions in Canada and Australia, and a national liberation movement developed widely in India. Britain's position in the capitalist world was weakening, and at the same time the balance of power between England and the dominions changed in favor of the latter. Thus, the foundations of a unified foreign and military policy were undermined.
The new balance of power within the British Empire, which had developed after the First World War, was reflected in the new statute of the dominions. The question of drafting such a statute arose already at the first post-war conferences. The Balfour report confirmed the right of each dominion established in 1923 to independent foreign relations, to participate in international conferences, and stipulated that the dominions, concluding agreements with foreign states, should take into account the possible consequences for other parts of the empire.
The term "British Commonwealth of Nations" was first used in 1926 in relation to England and the self-governing dominions. The term "empire" itself was abolished and replaced by the word "commonwealth". The use of the term "commonwealth" made the political situation less difficult.
Before the Second World War, the British Empire meant the union of England with the dominions and colonies, and the Commonwealth meant England with the dominions. According to the Statute of Westminster, the dominions became almost full-fledged subjects of international relations with the rights of independent diplomatic representation, the conclusion of agreements with foreign states, with their own armed forces, with the right to declare or not declare war. The colonies still remained disenfranchised objects of English politics. The dominions took part in the redivision of the German colonies after the First World War. Thus, "the first world war of 1914-1918 led to the acquisition of another one and a half million square miles"
At the same time, the contradictions between Britain and the dominions manifested themselves with increasing force on the basis of the development of independent local-imperialist aspirations of the dominions, on the basis of the general crisis of the policy of imperialism in the period between the two wars. England took steps to strengthen the unity of the empire.
In economic terms, this goal was served by the system of imperial preferences established at the Ottawa Conference in 1932, and the creation of the sterling zone in the 1930s, which contributed to the development of intra-imperial ties, the growth of trade and investment.
At the first stage of the general crisis of capitalism in the empire, centrifugal forces were already making themselves felt. Ireland was freed from British domination and abandoned the military obligations imposed on it. The Indian subcontinent was shaking under the powerful blows of the national liberation movement. “Mass political actions of industrial workers and the peasant population were noted in many parts of India in 1918-22. The Anglo-Indian government responded to these speeches with cruel repressions. The “British Middle Eastern Empire” created as a result of the First World War began to crack. “In 1919, as a result of the Anglo-Afghan war, Afghanistan achieved the elimination of the unequal treaties imposed by England, becoming a sovereign state. Turkey's political independence was secured by the abolition of all legal and economic privileges granted by a foreign Turkish sultan. England had to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran.”
These revolutionary, destructive processes for the British Empire were fully developed during and as a result of the Second World War, at a new stage in the general crisis of capitalism. At the first stage of the general crisis of capitalism, the British Empire greatly expanded due to the German colonies and parts of the collapsed Ottoman Empire. “By the end of the First World War, the British Empire was at the height of its power. A dangerous enemy - Germany - was defeated, and its colonial possessions were divided among the powers of the Entente. Under this section, England received South-West Africa, part of Cameroon and Togo, Tanganyika and a number of islands in Oceania under the guise of a League of Nations mandate. Thus, "on the eve of the Second World War, the British Empire with protectorates and dependent territories occupied an area equal to a quarter of the entire surface of the globe, with a population of ¼ of the world's population."
The British colonial empire began to take shape in the 17th-18th centuries. In the struggle with Spain, Holland, France, England sought commercial and maritime hegemony. As a result of the capture and plunder of the colonies, huge capitals ended up in the hands of the English bourgeoisie, which contributed to the rapid development of English industrial production. The Whigs, who defended the interests of financiers, merchants and industrialists, insisted especially energetically on the conduct of an aggressive foreign policy. The Tories took a more moderate position on the question of the colonial conquests of England.
In the XVIII century. England conquered vast territories in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and India. By the middle of the XIX century. England became the largest colonial and commercial and industrial power.
Ireland occupies a special place in the British colonial empire. This is the first English colony, which the English feudal lords tried to conquer back in the 12th century, and then in the 16th-17th centuries. In 1800, Ireland was united with Great Britain in an alliance that destroyed the remnants of Irish autonomy. Ireland had its representation in the English Parliament. However, the people of Ireland fought for complete independence, and its deputies in parliament defended the idea of home rule (autonomy). This idea in the 80s of the XIX century. was also perceived by the liberals, who needed the support of the Irish in the fight against the conservatives. In 1886, the Liberal government introduced a bill to Parliament to grant limited self-government to Ireland. However, this law was rejected by the House of Commons. A new law giving Ireland autonomy passed in the House of Commons in 1893, but was rejected by the House of Lords. It was only in 1914 that Parliament was forced to pass a law on home rule, according to which the autonomy of Ireland acquired the usual status of a dominion. The introduction of this act was delayed until the end of the war.
All other British colonies were governed according to their legal status. Back in the 18th century the division of the colonies into conquered and migrant colonies was established. The conquered colonies, which were dominated by the native population, did not have political autonomy and were governed by a governor-general appointed by the mother country. Representative bodies from local residents played the role of an advisory body under the governor.
In those colonies dominated by white settlers, the British government made concessions. The ruling classes of England feared a repetition of the events that led to the end of the 18th century. to the loss of a large part of their North American possessions. Meeting the demands of white settlers, mostly from England, they were forced to grant self-government to some colonies of the settler type.
Relations with Canada have especially changed. In the 50-60s of the XIX century. economic ties between England and this North American colony were already so strong that the British government met the demands of its inhabitants for the expansion of self-government. In 1867 the government of Canada was reorganized on new grounds. The four provinces of Canada formed a confederation called the Dominion of Canada. From now on, the governors appointed by the English king ruled Canada only through the federal council of ministers responsible to the legislative bodies - the Senate and the House of Representatives of the dominion.
Not only in Canada, but also in other colonies inhabited by immigrants from the metropolis, in the 50-60s of the XIX century. representative institutions were formed. In 1854, the Cape Land received self-government from the South African possessions, and in 1856 - Natal.
In Australia, the first representative institutions were introduced in the 40s of the XIX century. In 1855, the constitutions of individual colonies were developed here, and then approved, providing for the introduction of a bicameral parliament and the limitation of governor's power. In 1900, separate self-governing colonies of Great Britain on the Australian continent were united into the Commonwealth of Australia. The 1900 constitution declared Australia to be a federal state. Legislative power was exercised by Parliament, which consisted of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Executive power was vested in the governor-general.
New Zealand received a constitution in 1852.
India was the largest English colony. conquered in the 18th century. East India Trading Company, this country was subjected to ruthless robbery. In 1813, the English Parliament abolished the East India Company's monopoly on trade with India, and many English companies gained access to its markets. The colonization of India was accompanied by high taxation, the seizure of communal lands and natural resources of the country by English landlords and capitalists. Indian industry and agriculture went into decline.
In 1857-1859. in India there was a powerful liberation uprising. It began among the Indian soldiers (sepoys) recruited into the troops of the East India Company. The main driving force of the uprising was the peasants and artisans, but the princes were at the head, dissatisfied with the loss of their possessions. The uprising was brutally suppressed.
The national industry of India, although slowly, developed, and with it the national bourgeoisie also strengthened. In 1885, a political bourgeois party, the Indian National Congress, was created. The main requirement of the Congress program was the admission of Indians to the government of the country. In 1892, by the Indian Councils Act, representatives of the Indian bourgeoisie were admitted to legislative advisory councils under the Governor-General of India and provincial governors. Access to the executive bodies was opened to Indians in 1906. Two Indians were introduced to the Council of Indian Affairs (in London), one Indian was appointed to the executive council under the Governor General, and Indians were given access to the executive councils of the provinces. In 1909, the Indian Legislative Councils Act was passed, according to which the number of members of the legislative council under the governor-general and the councils under the governors of the provinces was significantly increased, so that wider circles of the Indian bourgeoisie could take part in them. So, by the end of the XIX century. a number of English colonies turned into dominions, self-governing colonies. As they developed, the dominions more and more claimed the role of an equal partner in relations with the mother country. To regulate these relations, since 1887 "colonial conferences" began to be held regularly, in 1907 they were called imperial.
Chapter 16. UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA
Great Britain was the most powerful colonial empire, occupying vast territories - from Australia to North America. The sun never set on Britain. How did the British manage to conquer half the world?
economic power
England was one of the first European countries to embark on the path of industrialization. The system of protectionism protecting the domestic market from foreign competition by the middle of the 18th century provided the country with rapid economic growth.
At the end of the 19th century, when the world was actually divided among the major metropolises, England had already become the main industrial monopoly: in the "workshop of the world", as Britain was called, a third of the world's industrial output was produced. Such sectors of the British economy as metallurgy, engineering and shipbuilding were the leaders in terms of production volume.
With high rates of economic growth, the domestic market was oversaturated and was looking for a profitable application outside not only the Kingdom, but also Europe. Production and capital from the British Isles flowed actively into the colonies.
An important role in the success of England as a colonial empire was played by the high level of technology that the English economy has always tried to follow. Innovations ranging from the invention of the spinning machine (1769) to the installation of the transatlantic telegraph (1858) kept Britain one step ahead of the competition.
Invincible Fleet
England was constantly in anticipation of an invasion from the continent, which forced her to develop shipbuilding and create a combat-ready fleet. Having defeated the "Invincible Armada" in 1588, Francis Drake seriously shook the Spanish-Portuguese dominance in the ocean. Since then, England, albeit with varying success, has strengthened its status as a maritime power.
In addition to Spain and Portugal, Holland was a serious competitor of England at sea. The rivalry between the two countries resulted in three Anglo-Dutch wars (1651-1674), which, having revealed the relative equality of forces, led to a truce.
By the end of the 18th century, Britain had only one serious competitor at sea - France. The struggle for maritime hegemony began during the period of revolutionary wars - from 1792. Then Admiral Nelson won a series of brilliant victories over the French fleet, effectively securing England's control over the Mediterranean.
In October 1805, Great Britain was given the opportunity to assert the right to be called "mistress of the seas." During the legendary battle of Trafalgar, the British fleet won a crushing victory over the combined French-Spanish squadron, convincingly demonstrating its tactical and strategic superiority. Britain became the absolute maritime hegemon.
Combat-ready army
To maintain order and maintain stability in the colonies, the British were forced to keep a combat-ready army there. Using its military superiority, by the end of the 1840s, Great Britain conquered almost all of India, whose population was almost 200 million people.
Moreover, the British military constantly had to sort things out with competitors - Germany, France, Holland. Indicative in this regard was the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), during which the British troops, inferior in number to the forces of the Orange Republic, were able to turn the tide of confrontation in their favor. However, this war is remembered for the unheard-of cruelty of the British soldiers, who used the "scorched earth tactics".
Colonial wars between England and France were especially fierce. During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), England won almost all of her possessions in the East Indies and Canada from France. The French could only console themselves with the fact that Britain was soon forced to capitulate to the United States during the war of independence.
The Art of Diplomacy
The British have always been skilled diplomats. Masters of political intrigue and behind-the-scenes games in the international arena, they often got their way. So, having failed to defeat Holland in naval battles, they waited until the war between France and Holland reached its climax, and then made peace with the latter on favorable terms for themselves.
By diplomatic means, the British prevented France and Russia from retaking India. At the very beginning of the Russian-French campaign, the British officer John Malcolm concluded two strategic alliances - with the Afghans and with the Persian Shah, who confused all the cards for Napoleon and Paul I. The first consul then abandoned the campaign, and the Russian army never reached India.
Often, British diplomacy acted not only cunningly, but also menacingly persistent. During the Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878), she failed to acquire a "soldier on the continent" in the face of the Turks, and then she imposed an agreement on Turkey under which Great Britain acquired Cyprus. The island was immediately occupied and Britain set about establishing a naval base in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Managerial Talents
The area of British overseas possessions by the end of the 19th century was 33 million square meters. km. To manage such a huge empire, a very competent and efficient administrative apparatus was needed. The British created it.
The well-thought-out system of colonial government included three structures - the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Colonies and the Office of Dominions. The key link here was the Ministry of the Colonies, which managed finances and recruited personnel for the colonial administration.
The effectiveness of the British system of government demonstrated itself in the construction of the Suez Canal. Vitally interested in a sea canal that shortened the route to India and East Africa by 10,000 kilometers, the British spared no expense, investing them in the Egyptian economy. However, the huge interest that investors received soon turned Egypt into a debtor. Ultimately, the Egyptian authorities were forced to sell their shares in the Suez Canal Company to the UK.
Often, British methods of government in the colonies brought great trouble. So, in 1769 - 1770. colonial authorities created a famine in India by purchasing all the rice and then selling it at exorbitant prices. The famine claimed the lives of about 10 million people. The British also practically destroyed the industry of India, importing cotton fabrics of their own production to Hindustan.
The colonial hegemony of Great Britain ended only after the Second World War, when a new leader, the United States of America, entered the political arena.
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