What can Britain and the Commonwealth learn from history?
Posted by AlexT - 01/12/09 at 02:12 pm
In an article for The Round Table published in October 2001, Gott thinks the Commonwealth should encourage us to see imperial history through the eyes of its former subjects. He claims the current British government comments rashly on developments in other Commonwealth countries because it retains an air of empire.
He thinks the British education system should emphasise multiple imperial narratives, ranging from the dominant British narrative of imperial triumphalism to the narratives of aboriginal rebels.
He concludes that the countries of today’s Commonwealth must draw on a range of experiences in their historical teaching. The Empire will never go away, and its legacy continues to create havoc in places as diverse as Israel, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka. It is important we fully understand its impact on all.
What are your own experiences of learning about the Empire and its legacy?
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Category : Education, Historical Legacy, The Commonwealth's Relevance
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December 5th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
What does the British government have anything to do with what they have done in the past, in the context of above?
This is rubbish, people do learn of the bad things about the British Empire, but also the great things. What they don’t learn about, however, is the Commonwealth, and what great things it continues to do today.
December 7th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
It seems odd to make this type of point, considering that the overwhelming majority of commentary since WWII has been critical of the Imperial legacy.
It is ultimately self-defeating. At a time when the Commonwealth is trying to find meaning among its peoples, it must be forced to once again address its predecessor – a regime that has not effective existed for a half-century.
The vast majority of Commonwealth citizens were born after the collapse of the Empire. People in Mumbai and Chennai, I suspect, are more interested in developing markets for their goods and services, and raising their living standards, than waxing philosophical about long dead people like Curzon and Clive.
Well, my own personal ancestry is drawn largely from Yorkshire and Exeter, but my ancestors include Scottish Highlanders, starving Irish peasants, New Amsterdam Dutch, Quebecois Habitants, and Mohegan Indians. My family, therefore, has been victimized as much as it has been aided by the “Empire.”
And so, on behalf of all of my oppressed kith and kin, I would respectfully submit that another three decades of self-flagellation may assuage some guilty consciences, but it does precious little for those of us who want the legacy of that time to account for something good in the world.
Britons will not fully exorcise their demons until they commit themselves to working toward a Commonwealth of equal sovereign nations that help each other to their full potential, rather than walk off the pitch because they gave themselves the eternal yellow card.
December 12th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Have you sat in a british school recently? Ive neot heard a Briton say a positive thing aboout the Empire ever, certaintly not in an official capacity.