Rise and Fall of the British Empire

This is a wonderful History of the British Empire. Very thorough.

This course offers a solid, comprehensive overview of the British Empire from start to finish. In addition to the political and economic dimensions, the course includes two lectures on literature and one on cricket! Prof. Allitt clearly explains how the Empire arose as a trading enterprise, and then only gradually evolved into colonies of white settlers overseas (North America and Australia/New Zealand) and political dominion over other peoples (India, Africa). Britain’s particular advantages that enabled it to maintain the Empire for as long as it did included: naval supremacy, early industrialization, advanced banking and insurance, and the advantages of an island nation (more defensible homeland, relative political stability). The course tries to be non-judgmental on the moral rights-and-wrongs of the empire. Nevertheless, I felt Prof. Allitt was more of an imperial apologist than many other historians would be today. For example, regarding the role of slavery, he says it was not remarkable that the British engaged in slave trade (“the world had always been like that”), and then he gives the British great credit for leading the abolition movement globally. Hmmm…

I commend Professor Allitt for presenting a course with incredible content and scope. My less than excellent review however, comes from presentation. I did not think it was up to the level of other Great Courses; but perhaps I have been spoiled. On the plus side, Professor Allitt provides a wealth of data in a well organized way. Each topic is in depth and easy to follow. I especially liked his coverage of controversial topics like Ireland, the white dominions, the middle east, India and Pakistan, etc. His coverage of the world wars was also quite interesting as was his sociological look at Cricket and the British Empire. From a historical perspective, this course is an excellent overview of the topic by someone who clearly knows the subject well. My frustration comes from his presentation. Professor Allitt rarely moves from the lectern; clearly reads the script in a manner where eye contact is missing; uses word graphics extensively, sometimes reading three long slides at a time; and although pleasant, has a very limited vocal variety. I wanted to like this course and did get a lot out of it. I just wish Professor Allitt could have been more exuberant about his subject. The final nail in the coffin for me was the last lecture. After a monumental topic and hours of lectures I expected a truly earth shattering summation filled with excitement and awe. Sadly , it ended with a whimper and not with a bang.

The author always goes to great lengths to present a balanced view. This course hellped me understand the reasons for the rise of the British Empire, the domestic situation in Britain and the factors that led to the end of the empire.

This is a very balanced account of the British Empire that gave the world so much good (global commerce, steam powered machinery, railroads, banking, insurance and more peace than war), so much bad (the slave trade and Zionist colonization of Palestine), and so much that we should fear (democracy and pluralism).
For Americans, this subject is especially relevant as we are now in the midst of two interminable wars, one internal and one in the Middle East, both resulting directly from the past Empire’s commercial and political reach. Lecture 3 (African Slavery and the West Indies) and Lecture 11 (Abolition of the Slave Trade and Slavery) address British policies leading directly to the 1861-65 American Civil War and the post-WWII urban racial conflict now dividing the nation. Lecture 23 (The British Empire Fights Imperial Germany), Lecture 24 (Versailles and Disillusionment) and Lecture 31 (Israel, Egypt and the Suez Canal) describe the 1917-18 British WWI campaign in Palestine, the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the 1956 Suez Crisis, all of which combined to embroil the United States in costly pro-Israel wars and subversions. So, the Empire may have ended as a failure for the British, but it has been a disaster for their American cousins and the Islamic states.
My wife and I had previously enjoyed Prof. Allitt’s The Great Tours: England, Scotland, and Wales (Course No. 8006); this lecture series is a fine complement, describing the impact of this island nation on the world beyond. His organization of the material and delivery are excellent. HWF & ISF, Mesa, AZ.

This was a thoroughly entertaining course! Dr. Allitt is a very good speaker, I found his diction clear despite his accent. I found his treatment of British behaviour to be very fair. He criticized certain episodes of brutality or greed, but did not indulge in over-criticism of what would be considered racist behavior through a 21st century lens. Rather he puts events and policies in the context of what was considered morally acceptable at the time. His frequent use of quotes from other historians, or authors, or participants in a historic event were especially enlightening and indeed entertaining. Finally, his summary of what are the lasting (positive) accomplishments of the British Empire was excellent.

If you like your history at what I would consider medium depth (not scholarly), and presented as more of a story then a collection of events, and including many cultural and character references, then this course will be ideal for you, as it was for me!

The only recommendation I can make under the category "room for improvement" would be to include a chapter that would compare the British Empire to the Roman Empire and the Spanish Empire and perhaps the Ottoman Empire. The few remarks on this topic in the final chapter were not enough for me.

Canada's Foreign Minister Lester B. Pearson was the one who came up with the Peace plan that ended the Suez crisis. Pearson advocated United Nations Peace Keeping troops which were deployed in many conflicts since. Pearson essentially saved the World from a Third World War and he received the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize. Pearson later became Prime Minister over the most progressive government in Canadian History. Why was this fact of history neglected?

This is my fourth TC course with Professor Allitt. He is one the best presenters, brimming with pertinent details and analysis delivered in an easy pace and style. I opted for the audio version available from Audible rather than the TC video. The thirty-six lectures passed all too quickly, even though Professor Allitt ranges over much of the world through the past few centuries.

The course does not pursue a strictly chronological scheme, moving as it does from colony to colony. Professor Allitt makes plain, however, that the British Empire, the largest in history, developed gradually, without a plan, and initially through chartered trading companies. The lectures deal not only with how the British Empire developed, operated, and declined, but also why it did. Imperialism is certainly a dirty word these days, but Professor Allitt sides neither with those who absolutely condemn the British Empire, nor those in uncritical favor. How he does this is something you will have to experience first-hand!

Professor Allitt’s reach goes well beyond the expected: it includes the influence and impact of cricket; the final imperial venture in the1982 Falkland Islands war; favorably compares the British Empire with others, notably the Roman empire; the increasingly multiracial nature of Britain; and, in colonial and post-colonial literature, the novelists of British Africa and India (including Salman Rushdie).

This 2009 course comes with a 140-page guidebook. The lecture summaries are shorter than I would like, but do cover the essentials. There are also useful timeline, glossary, biographical notes, and bibliography. Unfortunately, there are no maps in the guidebook, though there is a world map on the cover. That is likely the disadvantage of the audio version, as I assume the video lectures do better regarding maps. Nevertheless, this is an excellent course!