British Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

British Empire - Essay Example The utilization of academic journals, timely books, academic web sites, and periodical articles, gives supporting evidence into this research to prove the validity of the statement that the British Empires construction was done to improve upon the British people's homeland, and living conditions, more so than any other socioeconomic factor emphasized. This statement does not hold the validity that the main idea of the construction of the British Empire does, which was to provide guaranteed sustenance, a secure home-land, safety for the citizens, and the promotion of socioeconomic growth. As Porter (2002) points out in his writing, "British expansion was a matter of prudent negotiation rather than thoughtless aggression," or even greed for that matter. This defines the building of the British Empire as a construction that was not done by means of war, but rather discussion amongst other public figures of countries to gain treaties that would allow for Britain to be able to develop and expand in a humane and civil manner. Furthermore, the idea that it was greed that compelled the Britons to expand seems highly unlikely and benign as Porter defines, through his writing, that there were notably times when Britain had no real interest in imperial expansion, even though it normally occurred at a later date through negotiated treaties ( 219). The main cause of this Nation building its empire was more centered on necessary strategies of protection, and the social, economic, and religious factors that were involved at the time, as is being emphasized. As has been stated, there existed multi-faceted reasons for the development of this Empire. The Briton's steadfast belief in imperialism, and the idea they had to civilize and bring the idea of Christianity to the whole world held its own place in the construction of the empire. The Briton's believed that by expanding and acquiring more land they would have better safety nets for refuge in case of attack. They also wanted to secure a safe area of land so that colonializations could develop and the people could feel safe. By doing this they believed it allowed them to have the freedom to follow their own religious following. In other words, expansion brought them a religious form of refuge from persecution by Puritans like Charles I. Not only did the Briton's feel expansion was extremely necessary to provide for religious sanctity at times, but they also realized that the growing population needed a good demographic area to settle for an extended period. These were all unselfish reas ons for the continuing construction of the British Empire's development and security. Furthermore, Britons were aware of the signs of animosity from neighboring countries that could pose a threat to the country's well being, and in this regard they had many defensive reasons as to why the construction of the Empire was indeed, a necessity. Their fear of Spain led them to expand into North American