Do you agree with that @Rosie Sinclair. I agree with some of what @Peter Renfro is saying. Britain did exploit the peoples they colonised. India is a prime example. You have no doubt heard of the British Raj. America was Britain's dumping ground for their so called "human garbage" before the War of Independence..then it became Australia's turn.
England colonized America for one reason only .. to increase her wealth and power. England hoped to find silver and gold in America while an American settlement would furnish raw materials that could not be grown or obtained in England. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607 and was primarily an economic venture.• The stockholders of the Virginia Company of London financed the settlement of Jamestown. Reason for the site at Jamestown were: . It could be easily defended from attack by sea (Spanish). . The water along the shore was deep enough for ships to dock. .They believed they had a good supply of fresh water.
One practice Britain used to exploit nations it colonized stemmed from Africa with the insidious slave trade. Portugal and Britain were the two most ‘successful’ slave-trading countries accounting for about 70% of all Africans transported to the Americas. Britain was the most dominant between 1640 and 1807 when the British slave trade was abolished. It is estimated that Britain transported 3.1 million Africans (of whom 2.7 million arrived) to the British colonies in the Caribbean, North America (300,000) and South America.. mainly Brazil.
The other insidious act by Britain in in pre-independent America was the act of genocide against the Native American populations. Many historians and academics describe events such as the Mystic Massacre in 1637 as genocidal. The letters of British commander Jeffery Amherst indicated genocidal intent when he authorized the deliberate use of smallpox-infected blankets as a biological weapon against indigenous populations during the 1763 Pontiac's Rebellion, saying, "You will Do well to try to Inoculate the Indians by means of Blanketts, as well as to try Every other method that can serve to Extirpate this Execreble Race", and instructing his subordinates, "I need only Add, I Wish to Hear of no prisoners should any of the villains be met with arms." There are no official figures of indigenous American deaths by the British powers prior to the War of Independence.. just use your imagination..
Yep, the Brits did plenty of bad things, but the world is undoubtedly better for their influence. Many of the colonies were exploitative, but they generally ended up better for it. South Africa, Rhodesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Australia are examples, as well as India and North America. The ideals of justice under the law and innocent until proven guilty are English concepts found nowhere else. India was a thriving colony under British rule and turned to socialism as soon as it gained independence, which nearly bankrupted the country and it has been a third-world nation ever since. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are still run basically under British laws, and the U.S. has a government based somewhat upon British standards. Slavery was one of the big black marks on the British Empire, but they also were among the first to outlaw the practice. Jamestown was a very shaky commercial concept from the beginning, but Plymouth really wasn't. Of course the whole idea of colonies has to contain something to benefit the Mother Country, but when you compare what the Brits did with the Russians and the Spanish, they look pretty darn good.
Nice to have a bit of positive input for a change. It's too easy to blame the British for all the world's problems. The simple fact that so many people from different parts of the world want, not just to live in our country, but adopt our life-style and be accepted as part of British culture and society, says a great deal about their regard for us.
I'm quite sure ALL is an accurate word. However, in a generations before us, their viewpoints and understanding of things were different than ours. The world and society has changed since then. Doesn't make it right, but they were seeing it from another angle.