At its height in 1914, the British Empire stretched around the world incorporating more land mass into her Empire than all other countries' empires combined. Map maker's conventionally coloredBritain and her possessions red. Most of Britain's imperial possessions were added during the middle decades of the 19 th century, before the great competition for Africa had begun. Ironically, the new acquisitions were made during a time when the government's policy was officially anti-expansionistic, colonies being seen as expensive items. His facetiousness aside, there is some truth in his observation.
Civilization requires it.
As a result of the Opium Wars, Great Britain took over Hong Kong and Kowloon which it returned to China in 1997 after 150 years of English occupancy. The story illustrates the themes noted above. Despite the recent twattle in the popular press and media, Britain's defeat of China and the cession to Britain of Hong Kong was not a simple story of British greed and Chinese innocence. It was about the clash of cultures, with enough greed, deviousness, megalomania, altruism, high-minded motives, and innocence on both sides to satisfy all tastes. The story began in the early 19 th century when British traders desired to gain more access to China for trade purposes, and Chinese emperors and other provincial governors desired to restrict trading access.