To be wary of hatred directed towards the British Empire

[Bumpitybumper]

With the rise of movements such as BLM, there seems to be a growing hatred towards the British Empire and a keenness to point out all of the flaws and terrible things the empire and key individuals within it did. I too am horrified when I think about the role that the empire played in slavery and events such as the Irish Potato Famine. As these things become better publicised then there seems to be a growing school of thought that this is a white or at least British people problem that we must somehow atone for and feel guilty about. The British Empire has been cast as the ultimate villain and something we must be ashamed about.

My concern though is that lots of countries around the world have had empires and inevitably when these countries held lots of power, they acted in ways that we would now regard as morally reprehensible. The Mongol and Roman empires for example, were extremely cruel and many empires sort to brutally stamp out religious or cultural differences and gain control. Equally empires have brought about advancements in technology and improved the living standards of millions of people around the world.

Am I therefore being unreasonable to suggest that it is only fair to look at empires holistically and through the lens of the time they operated in? Of course the wrongdoings and horrendous acts mustn't be hidden, but equally they should be given context and positive acts shouldn't be erased either.

Porcupineinwaiting It's difficult to say. The only confirmed 100% wiped out tribe that I know of was the Beothuk, who were slaughtered en masse by the British and whose last known member died in the mid-1800's. However, according to my grandmother many Beothuk men and women chose to marry into the Mik'maq community in order to escape genocide.

There are many other tribes that were brought almost to the brink of extinction.

Atrocities against Native Americans continued well after the British had gone. Manifest Destiny and all that.

@Porcupineinwaiting - excellent points. The Native American way of life conflicted with the aims of successive American governments indeed. Tragic outcome.