British Attitudes Towards Imperialism 1890-1914

Question 1

When was Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee?

Answer 1

June 1897.

Question 2

What was the significance of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee?

Answer 2

It encapsulated the imperialist fervour of the 1890s, with a huge military display of over 50,000 soldiers. It is seen as the zenith of imperialism.

Question 3

What was the Khaki election in 1900?

Answer 3

The British became known as the ‘khakis’ during the Second Anglo-Boer War due to the colour of their uniform. During the war in 1900, the Conservative Party government of Lord Salisbury remained in office, using the sentiment of the war to gain support.

Question 4

How did the British public justify Empire (2)?

Answer 4

1) The Empire was a ‘burden’ or ‘responsibility’ that God had placed on the British to bring stability and order to the world.
2) The Empire was a force for ‘civilisation’, freeing colonial peoples from supposed law oppression, and providing welfare and law.

Question 5

What were the Liberal Party’s imperial ideals?

Answer 5

The Liberals aimed at the ‘education’ and improvement of the colonies and their people, with the ultimate objective of self-rule. Despite this, they were reluctant to bring an end to Empire, instead advocating in freedom through Empire, rather than from it.

Question 6

Who was Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Lord Salisbury)?

Answer 6

3x Conservative Prime Minister (1885-86), (1886-92), and (1895-1902). He was an imperialist, and believed British rule crucial for colonial development.

Question 7

What did imperialists in Britain argue for in the late 1890s?

Answer 7

Most wanted a closer and stronger Empire, meaning territorial expansion and support for schemes that would bind Empire together in trade and in government - imperial preference.

Question 8

Name 3 ‘high imperialists’.

Answer 8

1) Alfred Milner.
2) Joseph Chamberlain.
3) Viceroy Curzon.

Question 9

What is a pooling of sovereignty?

Answer 9

Shared authority, so that Britain no longer had supreme power over the Empire.

Question 10

What did Joseph Chamberlain advocate in the early 1890s, and why?

Answer 10

Fearing a national crisis due to the military and industrial development of other nations, Chamberlain advocated imperial preference, aiming to enable industrial recovery and raise employment.

Question 11

What was the Royal Colonial Institute?

Answer 11

A society founded in 1870, to provide a meeting place for those involved in colonial and Indian affairs.

Question 12

What was the Victoria League?

Answer 12

A non-political organisation, founded in 1901 by women, to promote a closer union between different parts of the Empire through ‘hospitality, fundraising, friendship, and education.’

Question 13

What was the Round Table movement?

Answer 13

A movement founded in 1909 on an idea of Milner, to promote a closer union between Britain and its self-governing colonies. In 1910-11, Round table groups were formed in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Question 14

Who was Leo Amery?

Answer 14

Conservative Colonial Secretary (1924-29), Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (1925-29), Secretary of State for India and Burma (1940-45). He was originally a correspondent for ‘The Times’, and was a strong advocate for imperial unity, and later the transition to the Commonwealth.

Question 15

What was the purpose of the Empire Day movement (early 1900s)?

Answer 15

Aimed to reinforce imperial identity and celebrate Queen Victoria as a motherly figure in order to promote Empire to the public. Empire Day was first celebrated in 1902, but not officially recognised by Parliament until 1916.

Question 16

What is rhetoric?

Answer 16

Effective or persuasive writing or speaking.

Question 17

How did John A. Hobson criticise Empire in the early 1900s (3)?

Answer 17

In his book ‘Imperialism’ in 1902, Hobson argued:
1) Imperial expansion was driven by a search for new markets/opportunities for the rich British capitalists to make profits. Imperial expansion was a capitalist plot.
2) Believed a small group of Jewish financiers made use of political influence, connections, and ‘press conspiracy’ to shape imperial policy to benefit men ‘whom are foreigners by origin, their trade is finance, and whose trade interests are chiefly British.’
3) Believed the Second Anglo-Boer War was fought to secure the gold resources of South Africa for the ‘Jew-Imperialist’ entrepreneurs and mining interests.

Question 18

Who was Emily Hobhouse?

Answer 18

A British welfare campaigner and activist, most known for her ‘Report of a Visit to the camps of Women and Children in the Cape and Orange River Colonies’ of 1901.

Question 19

What was Emily Hobhouse’s ‘Report of a Visit to the camps of Women and Children in the Cape and Orange River Colonies’ of 1901 (2)?

Answer 19

1) A detailed report, by Emily Hobhouse in 1901, of conditions in the Second Anglo-Boer War caused by Kitchener’s scorched earth policy, where crops, homes and livestock of Boer farmers were destroyed, and inhabitants moved to concentration camps.
2) Hobhouse visited the camps, finding many dying of starvation, accusing the government of a ‘policy of extermination’.

Question 20

What was the Fawcett Commission 1901, and what was the significance for the British government?

Answer 20

1) The 1901 Fawcett Commission corroborated Hobhouse’s report, and concluded 27,927 Boer men, women and children had died in the British camps.
2) This caused great criticism of the Conservative government from the Liberals, Irish MPs, Church figures, and Europe.

Question 21

What were the black concentration camps (4)?

Answer 21

1) In December 1900, Kitchener ordered black workers on Boer farms should be separated from the whites in concentration camps.
2) White camps at least had tents and water rations, whilst black camps were expected to build their own shelters on arid land, work for their food and drink and had no medical care. They became known as ‘forced labour camps’.
3) The black camps did not receive any humanitarian concern received from campaigners such as Hobhouse.
4) Of the 130,000 black civilians placed in these camps, around 20,000 died.

Question 22

Name some critics of Empire in the early 1900s (6 possible).

Answer 22

1) John A. Hobson, an economist and author, criticised imperial expansion, believing it a capitalist-Jew conspiracy.
2) Wilfred Scawen Blunt, a diplomat and poet.
3) Herbert Spencer, a philosopher who coined the term ‘survival of the fittest’, criticised Victorian enthusiasm for territorial acquisition.
4) Frederic Harrison, a radical left wing lawyer and historian, criticised the ethics of Empire.
5) William Digby, a writer and propagandist, criticised the British government in India.
6) Walter Crane, an arts and crafts designer, children’s author and socialist, criticised war.

Question 23

What was national efficiency?

Answer 23

Concerns, raised by the Second Anglo-Boer War where 30,000 Boers held out for 2.5 years against the British army, over Britain’s economy, industry, army, etc. The British feared a British decline, relative to the rise of USA and Germany, and without national efficiency, Britain would fall behind these powers.

Question 24

What measures did Britain take to improve national efficiency in the early 1900s (4)?

Answer 24

1) The 1902 Education Act aimed to raise school standards, and opened 1000 secondary schools over the following decade.
2) The modernisation of the Royal Navy, committing to a new battleship, the Dreadnought, first launched in 1906. This was in the wake of German naval laws, and the expansion of the German fleet.
3) The establishment of Imperial College London in 1907, a centre of technology, medicine and science.
4) A number of Liberal social reforms, including free school meals (1906), school medical inspections (1907), a children’s welfare charter (1908), old age pensions (1908), a trade boards act (1909) and unemployment and health insurance (1911) giving the right to free medical treatment.

Question 25

Who was David Lloyd George?

Answer 25

The last Liberal Prime Minister 1916-22, and a proponent of the ‘New Liberal’ philosophy, bringing in many social reforms as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1906-15).

Question 26

Who was Herbert Asquith?

Answer 26

Liberal Prime Minister 1908-16, forced to resign after the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin.

Question 27

Who was Alfred Harmsworth?

Answer 27

A press magnate, establishing the Daily Mail in 1896, and the Daily Mirror in 1903. He became Lord Northcliffe in 1905, and helped create ‘tabloid journalism’.

Question 28

Why was 1890-1914 regarded as a ‘golden age’ for newspaper publication (3)?

Answer 28

1) Technical advances in printing.
2) Emergence of the professional journalist with a political agenda.
3) Newspapers in regards to Empire were extremely popular and sold very well.

Question 29

What was the significance of the Daily Mail for attitudes to Empire in the early 1900s (4)?

Answer 29

1) Aimed at lower-middle classes, and sold at a low retail price, making it accessible for most.
2) During the Second Anglo-Boer War, it sold over 1 million copies a day, featuring stories of the war, criticism of the Boers and Kruger, and the praise of British heroism.
3) In the early 1900s, it criticised Germany.
4) Serialised a number of patriotic books, such as ‘When England Slept’ (1909), ‘The Riddle in the Sands’ (1903), ‘The Enemy in our Midst’ (1906), and ‘The Spies of Wight’ (1899).

Question 30

What was the significance of the Second Anglo-Boer War for the British media?

Answer 30

It resulted in an outpour of jingoist media coverage in newspapers, cinema, advertising, etc.

Question 31

Who was Rudyard Kipling?

Answer 31

A poet and writer, known for imperial, military and jingoist verses, and for his novel ‘The Jungle Book’. He was a great believer in Empire, and his works reflected his social Darwinist and Orientalist views.

Question 32

Who are 6 examples of Victorian bestselling authors?

Answer 32

1) Rudyard Kipling (‘The Jungle Book’, ‘Kim’).
2) Samuel Baker.
3) G.A. Henty ( ‘The Dash for Khartoum’, ‘With Clive in India’)
4) Gertrude Page (Produced 20+ novels on the lives and loves of fellow settlers in Rhodesia).
5) Mary Gaunt (Romantic fiction, focusing on missionaries, civil servants and scientists).
6) Maud Diver (Anglo-Indian romance and heroism).

Question 33

What was the significance of music for promoting imperialism in 1890-1914 (4)?

Answer 33

1) Nationalist and imperialist themes were found in music, and could be heard in music halls, concert halls and churches.
2) Such music was played at coronations, jubilees, pageants and exhibitions.
3) ‘Imperial’ ballads, patriotic hymns, stirring choral works, and military marches were performed by brass bands, church choirs, and town choral societies.
4) There was an interchange of musicians between the Dominions, to strengthen ties. E.g. Sir Henry Coward toured the Dominions in 1911 with his Sheffield choir.

Question 34

Who are some ‘imperial’ composers/musicians (4)?

Answer 34

1) Sir Arthur Sullivan created a series of operas, conveying a jingoist and imperialist message in a humorous way.
2) Edwin Elgar composed an ‘Imperial March’ for the 1897 Diamond Jubilee, ‘Coronation Ode’ for Edward VII in 1902 and ‘The Crown of India’ for the Delhi durbar in 1911.
3) Sir Henry Coward and his Sheffield choir, toured the Dominions in 1911.
4) Clara Butt performed in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, performing many Elgar songs.

Question 35

Who was Howard Handley Spicer (2)?

Answer 35

1) The founder of the Empire League, providing lectures, sermons and cultural visits on imperial themes.
2) He was also the editor of the League’s magazine ‘Boys of the Empire’, and other books on sport for both genders.

Question 36

How was the imperial message spread to children through literature 1890-1914 (4)?

Answer 36

1) Increased literacy rates opened a new market for books and comics, mainly featuring adventure stories with imperial themes.
2) Tales of the exotic and illustrations of British outposts in E.J. Brett’s ‘Boys of the Empire’ (1888-1900).
3) The Religious Tract Society produced both the ‘Boy’s Own Paper’ and the ‘Girl’s Own Paper’ , with a readership of 250,000-500,000 in 1890-1914.
4) These comics, papers and books were read in schools and church halls across the country, with their popularity based on their promotion/celebration of military and missionary activity.

Question 37

What was the Boy Scout movement (2)?

Answer 37

1) Founded by Robert Baden-Powell in 1908, it was organised like a military cadet force, designed to train defenders of the Empire through competitive challenges, giving the chance to earn badges.
2) It was the most successful of all attempts to mobilise the youth behind Empire, and was popular in the Dominions.

Question 38

When was 1) the Boy Scout movement and 2) the Girl Guide movement founded?

Answer 38

The Boy Scouts were founded in 1908, and the Girl Guides in 1912, both by Robert Baden-Powell.

Question 39

How were imperial ideals emphasised in education (4)?

Answer 39

1) History and Geography books emphasised the glories of Empire, presented missionaries and explorers as heroes, and depicted colonial peoples in racist and chauvinistic terms.
2) Simple reading books contained imperial themes, e.g. ‘ABC for Baby Patriots’ (1899).
3) All children celebrated Empire Day, whilst those in public schools took part in cadet corps, reminding them of their imperial duty/mission.
4) Children were trained for Empire, as well as for racial and cultural dominance.

Question 40

What are 3 examples of Christian youth organisations 1890-1914?

Answer 40

1) The Nonconformist Boys’ Life Brigade.
2) The Anglican Church Lads’ Brigade.
3) The Girls’ Friendly Society (over 200,000 members in 1914).

Question 41

How did advertising reflect British attitudes towards Empire 1890-1914?

Answer 41

Advertisers used imperial connotations to sell goods, showing the British public felt favourably towards Empire.

Question 42

Who was Herbert Baker (2)?

Answer 42

1) Herbert Baker was an architect, designing in both Britain and across the Empire.
2) He was responsible for designing New Delhi (1912-14), the Johannesburg Art Gallery (1911), and the British Pavilion at the international exhibition in Rome (1911).

Question 43

What was the significance of King George V’s coronation in 1911 for promoting Empire (5)?

Answer 43

1) Celebrated with a Festival of Empire at the Crystal Palace in London 1911.
2) 3/4 size models of parliamentary buildings from across Empire were erected to display imperial products.
3) Featured a pageant about the history of Empire, with the music performed by a military band with a 500-voice chorus.
4) Featured an intra-Empire sports championship, the prototype of the British Empire Games (later the Commonwealth Games).
5) Souvenirs, books, postcards, and the media all conveyed the value of Empire to the public.