Attitudes to Empire, 1914-39 Flashcards
(11 cards)
Source of national pride: films and documentaries
In 1926 there were 3000 cinemas in Britain, and by 1938 there were nearly 5000 – the technology of filmmaking became very prominent and advanced during the interwar years, and became a platform for imperialist propaganda – also, colour was now a mainstream in film (1902 was the first colourised film)
Films such as the Gold Coast Cocoa (1930) and Cargo from Jamaica (1933) were designed to illustrate the economic interdependence of Britain and the Empire – appeals to the public’s ideas of Britain being
In 1938, a committee under the chairmanship of Sir Robert Vansittart (the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office), suggested that feature films were the best method of imperialist propaganda: they ‘reinforce or modify prejudices or opinions already held’ making a ‘more lasting impression’ in the long run. Vansittart went on to write the script for the film Sixty Glorious Years (1938) which celebrated the reign of Queen Victoria – shows how films both appealed to existing support for empire amongst British people and shaped public opinion (shown through the verb ‘modify’)
Anything tending to criticise white officials or settlers, or emphasise conflict within the Empire was likely to be banned, including attempts to make films about the Indian Mutiny
Source of national pride: Empire Marketing Board
o The Empire Marketing Board was created in 1926 by Leopold Amery, the Colonial and Dominions Secretary, in order to encourage the consumption of imperial goods in Britain (especially because of the policy of free trade being pursued)
o The propaganda included publishing booklet, pamphlets and posters (for the London Underground in particular)
o Special displays of imperial products were mounted in over 70 exhibitions
o In 1930, 2000 British empire shopping weeks were organised in 65 different touns (widespread influence)
Source of national pride: the BBC
o By 1939, there were 9m wireless licences in Britain providing access to radio to almost everyone in the country
o Broadcast a large number of talks on Empire Marketing Board themes
o Successfully broadcasted the opening speech of George V at the Wembley Exhibition in 1924
o Empire Day was fostered by features on the BBC and Radio Times
Source of national pride: Wembley exhibition
o Buildings of the exhibition included mock-ups of a coal mine and a pavilion for every territory of the empire (big show of the size, glory and economic value of empire – fostered a sense of national pride)
o Over 17m visitors in 1924 – very strong turnout indicating interest in Empire and it being a source of national pride (as the exhibition is celebratory overall)
Source of national pride: imperial institute
o Founded in 1883 and the idea originated from a plan to build a permanent museum or exhibition to celebrate the Empire
o Initially didn’t achieve much recognition, but after extra funding in 1923 it managed to gain more support; it attracted more than 1m visitors a year in the last 1930s
Source of national pride: the youth and empire day
o By the interwar period, imperial ideas became much more imbedded in national education (i.e., in subjects like history, geography and English). In particular, the history of Christian missionaries such as David Livingstone, General Gordon and Mary Slessor were taught.
o Sir John Seeley’s ‘The Expansion of England’ (1883), which celebrated the expansion of Britain and thus stimulated national pride around empire, remained in print and had a considerable influence on education
o After WWI, Empire Day was celebrates on 24th May by the majority of schools and was fostered by features on the BBC and in the Radio Times
Counter: film and documentaries
o That fact that people like Sir Robert Vansittart thought feature films could ‘modify prejudices’ surely shows that the empire wasn’t an overwhelming source of pride for the British public, as the imperialist film makers thought that there was something which needed to be modified – the need for propaganda indicates
o The fact that people wanted to make films about murkier, more conflict-based stories of empire such as the Indian Mutiny (even though weren’t allowed) surely indicates that there was emerging criticism amongst the British public, and this was just something which the censors tried to suppress/limit
o The vast amount to cinemas could equally demonstrate how more critical/less supportive films effectively influenced attitudes: i.e., produces such as Paul Rotha and Basil Wright had left-wing sympathies
Counter: Empire Marketing Board
o The board failed in 1933 because of Imperial Preference (though this isn’t a very good counter because the Ottawa system of 1932 essentially fulfilled the same role of encouraging British consumption of imperial goods, meaning that people wouldn’t suddenly have stopped buying products from empire and losing pride in that regard)
Counter: the Wembley Exhibition
o Heavily satirised at the time – people didn’t necessarily go because the empire was a source of national pride for them, but because they were vaguely intrigued in the extent to which the government were going to promote empire
o Heavy fall off after the first year: 17m in 1924 but only 9m in 1925 (almost 50% decrease)
Counter: Imperial Institute
o The need for extra donations in order to keep the institute going in 1923 surely points to the lack of interest (i.e., the public attraction should be enough to fund it, so clearly there wasn’t much)
o Many of its visitors were involuntary, as they comprised servicemen were schoolchildren.
o It was far less popular than its competing attractions such as the Natural History Museum and reached few people outside of London.
o This lack of popularity meant that the Imperial Institute neither indicated existing pride in Empire amongst the public, nor was very effective in influencing public opinion and changing this.
Counter: young people and Empire Day
o Sir John Seeley’s ‘The Expansion of England’ (1883) was not entirely celebratory of empire/jingoistic, as it actually suggested that holding on to India might not be beneficial in the long run – so its influence on national education doesn’t necessarily indicate that people supported empire
o Empire Day was only once a year (24th May), and was essentially just a mini-holiday – engagement with it by school children, therefore, cannot necessarily be linked to support for/pride in Empire, but just wanting to have some fun and engage in non-academic activities
o The Boy Scouts and Girl Guides became less militaristic and pro-empire following WWI
