the British empire was the largest empire in human history. What if it still existed?
WI: The British empire still existed
- Thread starter Karlmarx900
- Start date
Lady's nitpick aside, the intent of the question is clear enough. I think one might want a pre-1900 point of departure for this, though; surely the most plausible version of this is some kind of Imperial Federation idea, and the forces opposed to that seem like they would be more difficult to overcome the later the POD. Still, if I had to try to make this happen after 1900, let's start the speculation with somebody more charismatic and politically skillful than Lyttelton succeeding Joseph Chamberlain and continuing Chamberlain's push for an Imperial Federation (I have no idea who; perhaps the POD is creating such a person, or making Lyttelton such a person). Subsequently, if something could drive them away from France and Russia, a UK that stayed out of WWI and avoided entanglements on the continent might be much more enthusiastic about tightening bonds with the colonies, to increase its ability to call on them if efforts to avoid war failed (British involvement in WWI seems to have strengthened and solidified colonial opposition to the Imperial Federation idea). But I don't really know that much about the Imperial Federation movement; this could very well be ASB.
To what extent does this WI have the Empire continuing to exist? I can see the above Imperial Federation maybe being pulled off with the White Dominions, for example, but I can't see the likes of India either being welcomed into it as equals (their population would dominate) or being willing to stay in it as non-equals (their votes counting for less to balance out the sheer size).
The Empire still existed in much of its long established form right up to the 60s. Suez and the 1967 devaluation of the pound finally killed it.
If the Empire had morphed from Sterling currency area to free trade area and from imperial protectorate etc into alliances like CENTO then the Empire would still exist in modern form.
If the Empire had morphed from Sterling currency area to free trade area and from imperial protectorate etc into alliances like CENTO then the Empire would still exist in modern form.
Would places like Nigeria and India even want to be in a military alliance with Britain post Decolonization? I can't imagine why they would want to. Like, for the White Dominions, I can see an alliance taking place due to the majority of the people, and at least much of the government leadership, having ancestral ties to Britain, but in places like India and Nigeria,what would cause people there to form an alliance with Britain, there old oppressor? Especially when they have other options to look towards, assuming they want protection from anyone else besides themselves.
One of the most fascinating possibilities I've read about was that in 1910 a former British prime minister (Arthur Balfour I think it was) came to the realization that the British Empire was probably doomed because there just weren't enough Englishmen to control the thing. His solution was to create a grand Anglo-American alliance. Not exactly a re-union of England and the United States, but a sort of federation and to make the thing palatable to the Americans, he wanted Teddy Roosevelt to be the man in charge of it! Roosevelt was no longer president, but he had just completed his big African safari and was touring Europe and it was no exaggeration to say he was the most famous (and possibly most admired) man in the world. When Roosevelt came to England Balfour planned to meet with him and King Edward and formally propose the idea. But then Edward died suddenly and apparently Balfour didn't think George V would go for it and the idea died aborning. The whole thing was probably a pipe dream, but it makes a fascinating what-if.
This is fundamentally the reason why the British Empire could not exist today. Britain is too small and too bereft of resources to be the center of a world empire beyond the mid-1900s. It's not just that Britain doesn't have the strength to pacify its colonies and the White dominions, but that Britain simply cannot compete economically with the regional powers that would come to dominate the world. Australia, for example, shares no economic or strategic interests with Britain, while it shares many with the US and China. On what basis would Australia remain a part of the British Empire, when it doesn't look to Britain for defense or trade?
The evolution Empire likely won't have all former members, Israel will likey not be in ongoing arrangements either. However the likes of CENTO and SEATO included countries that weren't in the Empire and i believe that the Sterling Area did as well.
Nor do I imagine the evolution Empire will not be centralised , some counties will have some but not other arrangements and alliances would likely be regional not global: Australia isn't going to war in the Middle East because Britain has spearheaded CENTO.
Avoid WW1 and WW2. Have the UK set free one of it's most troublesome colonies, then mess up the newly independent country's trade and say to the other countries of the Empire "You can be free, but then you'll end up poor." Co-opt the would be revolutionary leaders by giving them high posts in the Empire.
If in the context of a slightly larger OTL British Empire, it could be possible for them to keep some colonies.
The easiest:
-British Belize
-British Leeward Islands (everything north of Guadeloupe)
-British Windward Islands (excluding Dominica, Barbados and Trinidad)
-Mauritius
-Seychelles
-Maldives
-Singapore
-Solomon Islands
- New Hebreides (Vanuatu, in conjunction with France)
-Gilbert Islands (Tuvalu)
-Ellice Islands (Kirbati)
If UK is willing to face some level of insurgency and international pressure:
-Guyana
-Gambia
-Malta
-Bahrain
-Fiji
Otherwise, Britain is unlikely to want to hold on to much else, for it would waste too much money, international status and lives.
The easiest:
-British Belize
-British Leeward Islands (everything north of Guadeloupe)
-British Windward Islands (excluding Dominica, Barbados and Trinidad)
-Mauritius
-Seychelles
-Maldives
-Singapore
-Solomon Islands
- New Hebreides (Vanuatu, in conjunction with France)
-Gilbert Islands (Tuvalu)
-Ellice Islands (Kirbati)
If UK is willing to face some level of insurgency and international pressure:
-Guyana
-Gambia
-Malta
-Bahrain
-Fiji
Otherwise, Britain is unlikely to want to hold on to much else, for it would waste too much money, international status and lives.
Balfour was a Scot and so I hardly think he would hold such an opinion. And whoever did hold this opinion overlooked the Scots, Welsh and Irish , all of whom were involved in running the British ( not English) Empire.