The Origins and History of the Commonwealth
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The conflict between British and Boers (Dutch farmers) continued throughout the 19th century, culminating in a bitter war fought between 1899 and 1902. The British won that war, but the Boers (or Afrikaners as they came to be called) were able to control the colony from 1910.
Changing views of Empire
In the first 300 years of the British Empire the prime motive behind expansion had been making money through trade. However, in the 19th century the British developed loftier views about their colonial responsibilities.
Thomas Buxton was a British MP, and a campaigner to end slavery. In 1837 he said: ' The British Empire has been singularly blessed by Providence ... Can we suppose otherwise than that it is our office to carry civilisation and humanity, peace and good government, and above all, knowledge of the true God, to the uttermost ends of the Earth?'
Inspired by this view, British Christian missionaries took themselves to remote parts of the Empire to spread the word of the Lord. They took with them all the arrogant preconceptions of the Victorian age about what constituted 'civilisation'. They condemned the houses, the form of dress, the customs, the medicine of the people with whom they worked. Instead they offered a Victorian way of life and provided a Christian education, teaching their converts to read the Bible.
In most areas of Africa the missionaries were not very successful. The number of people who became converted to Christianity remained small. However, the missionaries played their part in the spread of empire.
Effects of industrialisation
At the end of the 18th century a process started which was to transform life in Britain. A series of technological breakthroughs by British scientists and engineers led to the industrial revolution. Businessmen built factories in the cities where the new machines, powered by coal, made large-scale production possible. The factories needed labour. People from the countryside poured into the towns and cities to take the jobs which were now on offer, even though working conditions and pay were wretched. Britain was the first country to industrialise, and it was making more goods than could be sold in the home market - overseas markets were needed.
The industrial revolution transformed transport too. Across Britain a network of railways was built at astonishing speed. The British pioneered new technology in the 19th century so that the sailing ships of the past were replaced by much faster steamships. Towards the end of the century the British were building two-thirds of the world's ships, thus ensuring the continuation of British domination of the high seas. The combination of industrialisation and new, faster forms of transport ensured British domination of the world's trade.
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