Ever thought about what the UK would have looked like if it was the one that faced the detrimental consequences of colonization? Read on as Dev Ishaan Agarwal, a second-year undergraduate pursuing B.A. Economics Honours from Shri Ram College of Commerce, writes an interesting piece where the roles are reversed for the UK and its used-to-be colonies.
WHAT GAVE BRITAIN THE POWER IN THE FIRST PLACE?
The above map clearly depicts the hegemony of the then-British Empire in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. The colonization by the British Empire, particularly in the areas of the Atlantic, Africa, South Asia, and Australia is said to be the largest as well as the longest-ever to be ruled by any nation in entire human history. Thus, this leads to a very important question: “How could a small country surrounded by water on all four sides and less powerful than all other European countries seize control over such a vast area and rule for such a long time, which was almost impractical without the aid of tools like technology?”
There were primarily many reasons, which were crucially significant. Firstly, the political stability that became prevalent with the unification of Scotland, England, and Wales in the seventeenth century. The economic reason, which I feel is the most important for this perspective, was that Great Britain was the first country in the entire European Continent to
experience industrialization in the modern sense, which gave rise to common laws, the use of money(single currency) as a medium of exchange and a single market where the buyers and the sellers can come in contact with each other and settle the sale and purchase of the commodities. Moreover, the “Agricultural revolution” also quite played a pivotal role in the food production sector, giving a boost in employment opportunities to the forced landless farmers.
But, let me ask you one question: “What would have happened if powerful Great Britain was colonized by any other country?” Sounds a bit indigestible, right? For an avid learner, deeply interested in historical studies, it will be a rather wild imagination to discuss such a scenario
that had never ever happened. But the real taste of enjoyment lies in visualizing and analyzing the unknown. So, this article will take you all into the world of unwonted imagination, which will be a mixture of enjoyment and practicality. I will be taking into consideration the four
countries-The United States of America(USA), followed by Australia, South Africa, and then finally, the much-awaited our own India, where the colonial rule of Great Britain was so prevalent that it finds a significant place when we turn the pages of world history.
WHEN THE COLONISER IS COLONISED
United Colonies Ruling United Kingdom
Firstly, let us imagine what the USA would have done if Old Blighty (nickname for Great Britain) was under its colonial rule. The first change which I could visualize is that the industrial revolution could have been taken up much better and systematically planned as compared to how
the actual revolution took place. The reason is that under the actual industrialization, the rivers (especially River Thames) became so polluted that it paved the way for severe forms of pollution like Air Pollution, Water Pollution, etc. But, the USA's administration and policymaking were so systematic and fool-proof that it became a major industrial power, giving way to entrepreneurship and employment to millions of migrant workers. Another change that I could imagine is in the nature of the form of the colonial government, where the Presidential form of government would have prevailed in the United Kingdom and if it actually happened, then we would have seen no such constitutional monarchy at present with the name- “ British Crown”.
Down Under Heading the Crown
After analyzing the USA’s style of ruling the Old Blighty, purely speculative in nature, let’s jump into another speculation of Australia colonizing the island country. Britain colonized Australia for almost 110 years until Australia achieved independence on 1st January 1901. If Australia ruled Britain, then I could clearly visualize the influx of youth brigade controlling the administration and ruling on behalf of the Australian government. Australia has always been a favorite destination for so many international students across the globe as it provides a bliss of opportunities and scope that every young aspirant wants in his/her life. Another detectable change could be in the field of environment, where marine diversity could have been given importance by Australia, keeping in mind the geographical limitations, but then the management
would have been better as compared to what Great Britain had done over the course of time.
We need to keep in mind that here I am discussing the changes which are positive in nature as to what positive changes Great Britain had done to some extent to these countries at their time. Whenever one is colonized by another country, the devastation of that country in all spheres is bound to happen to fulfill the hunger of colonial rule, spiced with selfish motives. But, in the course of rule, there are certain positive changes brought by that country which leave a long-lasting impression on that colonized country such that those changes continue forever and
become a helping hand in the growth of that country after achieving independence.
Cape Colony in Authority of UK
Now, let’s visualize what South Africa could have done if their so-called “Colonial Rule” was imposed on Great Britain. Without many surprises, the very first change that anyone could make out is to ensure that no one is discriminated against, especially on the grounds of skin colour and
race. One may argue that even though South Africa colonized Great Britain, then too the rule was controlled by “Whites” because the “Blacks” will not be a part of that administration. But, here we need to understand that South Africa is assumed to be a powerful nation, capable of
bringing different countries under its colonial rule, so we presume that equality is religiously followed and thus, racism is one area where South Africa would have brought certain changes in their colonial rule. Also, women’s reservations can be another arena of interest in colonial rule
for South Africa. Despite the fact that Great Britain too portrays significant representation of women in the Parliament as well as the British Crown, but they have not been given due respect due to horrendous incidents in their tenure, whereas in South Africa, we have seen that the primary engine of growth for South Africa has been the involvement and the respect given to women in various fields.
UK as an Indian Colony
And now, finally, the much-awaited country which the avid readers are waiting for, i.e., our motherland India. The most obvious change which one would say is that democracy would have been given strong weightage in their colonial rule, but again we must remember that Democracy and Colonialism are difficult to sail in one boat. So, the positive change which I could visualize is “Universal Adult Suffrage”, whereby everyone above the age of maturity(for simplicity,18)
is entitled to vote, irrespective of caste,creed, sex, religion, race etc. This is very crucial because the history of the United Kingdom is evident of the fact that there had been struggles and protests, especially by women, to obtain the right to vote. The second major change which could have been brought by India is the strong and neutral foreign and trade relations with other nations. This too is very much significant from the fact that Britain has always been guided by the ideology of Capitalism (even before the dominance of the USA) and thus there has been a one-way approach from Britain in their governance and relations with other nations.
CONCLUSION
To sum up, the visualization of Great Britain being under the colonial rule of these above-mentioned countries may seem to be irrelevant in present times but it can be a guiding factor for many nations for developing strong ties with it by impersonating itself as if they were Great Britain and trying to make such policies which will be beneficial for the growth of the nations in future in this integrated world. Last but not the least, it is important to remember- “Be it colonialism, imperialism or politics, all have the same source- The Human Brain, thereby causing identity crisis. Thus, the human brain needs to be moulded to protect the identity because if identity does not exist, the existence of human beings is impossible".
This piece has been authored by Dev Ishaan Agarwal of Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi. The author is a second-year undergraduate pursuing his major in Economics and his areas of interest are Economics, Politics, International Relations, and History. The article has been edited for brevity and clarity. The views and opinions expressed in this article are entirely those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of The Civil Services Forum.