Empire: The Rise and Demise of the
British World Order and the Lessons
for Global Power by Niall Ferguson
Empire. The Rise And Demise Of The British World Order And The Lessons For Global
Power .
At its peak in the nineteenth century, the British Empire was the largest
empire ever known, governing roughly a quarter of the worlds population.
In Empire, Niall Ferguson explains how an archipelago of rainy islands...
came to rule the world, and examines the costs and consequences, both
good and bad, of British imperialism. Though the books breadth is
impressive, it is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the British
Empire; rather, Ferguson seeks to glean lessons from this history for
future, or present, empires--namely America. Pointing out that the U.S. is
both a product of the British Empire as well as an heir to it, he asks
whether America--an empire in denial--should seek to shed or to shoulder
the imperial load it has inherited. As he points out in this fascinating book,
there is compelling evidence for both. Observing that the difficulty with
the achievements of empire is that they are much more likely to be taken

for granted than the sins of empire, Ferguson stresses that the British did
do much good for humanity in their quest for domination: promotion of the
free movement of goods, capital, and labor and a common rule of law and
governance chief among them. The question is not whether British
imperialism was without blemish. It was not. The question is whether there
could have been a less bloody path to modernity, he writes. The challenge
for the U.S., he argues, is for it to use its undisputed power as a force for
positive change in the world and not to fall into some of the same traps as
the British before them. Covering a wide range of topics, including the
rise of consumerism (initially fueled by a desire for coffee, tea, tobacco,
and sugar), the biggest mass migration in history (20 million emigrants
between the early 1600s and the 1950s), the impact of missionaries, the
triumph of capitalism, the spread of the English language, and
globalization, this is a brilliant synthesis of various topics and an extremely
entertaining read. --Shawn Carkonen
Personal Review: Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British
World Order and the Lessons for Global Power by Niall
Ferguson
If you read more than the introduction, you will realize that Empire is not
simply an "apology" or a "British" view of history. Ferguson has told the
story of the British Empire without worrying about the ignorant political
correctness of the day. While it may be fashionable to think that the British
were savage rulers in red coats, it's simply not true on the whole.
I agree with Ferguson's history of the British Empire on three major points:
1. The British Empire, overall, more than any other power during the time,
imposed, yes imposed, the Rule of Law on the world.
2. The British Empire facilitated the transfer of capital to the developing
world, thereby beginning the process of globalization, opening up markets
to competition, and overall, raising the standard of living for millions of
people.
3. The British Empire, in a time of empires, prevented far more savage
nations (Japan, Germany, etc) from subjugating the world.
As other reviewers have said, however, nothing is perfect. There were
disasters, near-genocides, and corrupt politicians along the way. That's
what happens in the real world. Empires and nations are forged by the
sword if need be. The true test of any empire or nation is how it treats the
conquered after the battle or coup.
The British Empire, with many exceptions and problems along the way,
was a benevolent master. Critics like to say that the best path would have
been one in which there were no empires or colonizers. This is an
irrelevant critique, similar to claiming that life would be better without the
existence of cancer. It's wishful thinking.

Portugal, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, and Russia have all, at one
time or another, whether they admit it or not, been partakers of the great
game known as Empire Building. I would choose to be a subject of the
British Empire a thousand times over before I would choose any of the
others. This is not a false dilemma. If the British Empire didn't colonize
the world, one of the other powers most certainly would have.
Finally, the British have left a legacy of stable, industrial, first-world
countries in their wake. Canada, the United States, South Africa,
Australia, and New Zealand spring to mind, not to mention the fact that
Britain chose to oppose Germany rather than placate her in the second
World War, which prevented countless atrocities from occurring. Former
British Colonies are bastions of stability and law in a world that is anything
but stable and law-abiding. What other conquering power has done so
much?
It's easy to focus on one point or another (and admittedly there are many
to chose from: Boer War, slave trade, etc.) and use that to damn the entire
history of the British Empire; however, that is the type of sloppy thinking
that belongs in coffee shops and meetings of the Young Campus
Communists.
Looking at the broad sweep of history shows that the British Empire was
not an evil entity, hell-bent on bringing misery to colonized peoples.
Overall, the British Empire was a force for good, bringing light, law, order,
free markets, progress, and yes, freedom to her peoples, both foreign and
domestic.
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