The Sun never sets on the Empire of Profit
It is news to no one that the British Empire maintained their colonies out of financial reasons. Even though justification at the time ranged from education of the poor savage in Africa to the protection of religious minorities in India the underlying context was always money. It is therefore only understandable that great Empire toppled after the Second World War when more and more colonies demanded independence, revenue streams began to narrow or dry up and the alternatives to the so called “Gunboat diplomacy” became more and more appealing. Away was suddenly the concern for the nation state of Hong Kong away the military protection of religious boundaries between Muslim and Hindus. Without their money focused overlords the first one was swallowed whole and the other two started butchering each other on a regular basis. The Empire stopped their actions abroad for good it seems once there was no more profit to be had. But that was apparently not the last advance of the British into foreign waters for the benefit of money. The recent leak of financial documents known as the “Panama Papers” shows that there is still money to be made, or rather kept, for the British in the old colonies. This does not brand David Cameron as a modern day Cecil Rhodes but it makes clear that where ever there is profit to be made in foreign lands there we can find the ember of colonial ideals.
Sources:
Booth, Robert, Holly Watt, and David Pegg. “David Cameron Admits He Profited from Father’s Panama Offshore Trust.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
