The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

Niall Ferguson describes the history of the British empire in the book titled Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power. According to the author, the British Empire began with private exploration in the search for wealth.

With no luck finding precious metals, privatized naval warfare - privateering - became the norm because robbing Spanish and Portuguese ships was easiest. As sea-faring technology in Britain improved, Britain became an empire of the sea. Ferguson emphasizes the beginnings of consumer culture in early 18th century England as the ultimate driving force behind British imperialism.

Instead of gold and silver, English colonies became economically viable through the production of consumer goods, especially sugar, but also coffee, tobacco, cocoa, spices, cotton and dyes. Caribbean island colonies, especially Jamaica, and India became natural targets for British imperialism as these areas could produce the desired materials.

Ferguson further describes the birth of the British East India Company, and the importance of the company's merger with its Dutch counterpart in 1688. The Anglo-Dutch merger led to the modernization of the British financial system and enabled easier operations in the East. At this time, however, political power in the East remained independent of England.

Ferguson puts forward the factors that led to British naval supremacy by the mid-18th The modern British banking system enabled the British government to finance the navy. Simultaneously, the East India Company grew increasingly powerful, laying the groundwork for British occupation of India.

By the early 19th century, some 40 million Indians were under British rule and the East India Company had become "much more than its name implied" according to Ferguson. (2002, p 56) Within two centuries, Britain became the largest empire that had ever existed, having "robbed the Spaniards, copied the Dutch, beaten the French and plundered the Indians." (2002, p 56)