The Impact of British Colonisation — is it still visible?
There are a lot of countries that “belonged” to the British Empire in one way or the other. But can one still see that? In countries of the Commonwealth one significant connection can be found instantly: the current Queen is on their money. In addition, countries such as Australia or New Zealand, for example, still have the Union Jack as part of their national flags and they drive on the left side of the road. When I lived in Australia, I got to know all the Australian public holidays. And while the Australians celebrate Australia Day or Anzac Day every year, they always have a public holiday on the Queen’s birthday and celebrate it as well. Furthermore, I lived in Melbourne which is in Victoria — so, also the names of cities, states or territories are named after the former Queen, for instance.
Apart from that, the influence of the British can also be seen. When I was in Singapore three weeks ago, there was one thing that caught my eye: the architecture. In Singapore, there are so many buildings that look just like buildings in the UK. Because of this, being in an Asian country like Singapore can all of a sudden feel like being in Britain. This can be quite interesting but also confusing at the beginning because the “British buildings” don’t seem to go very well with the other more Asian stlye buildings.
The way buildings in Singapore were built during the British colonisation can easily be compared to the architecture of Britain to that time. When walking through Singapore, one can see the new skyline with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel on the one side and a building as the Old Supreme Court (see photo below) on the other side. The impact of the British colonisation is still visible in the whole city. Such visible proof of the British impact can also be found in cities as Sydney or Melbourne. In Melbourne, one can find little arcades which were built in the Victorian era.
In general, one can find lots of elements which remind of the British colonisation. Some may seem more to fit in (like in Australia) and some don’t (like in Singapore).
