Was the British Empire a force for good - Essay Example

A number of industries were also built in these countries which provided the needed stimuli for the economic growth and advancement. (Rodden, 2007). However, the British empire rule inflicted much more pain to their subject than the good they brought with them as the Indians were subjected to inhuman treatment and abuses by the British. It is therefore imperative to say that the British empire an empire for the good of the colonies they controlled but a way for them to amass wealth at the expense of the locals (Hyam, 2010).

This essay will seek to provide the evidence to demonstrate the extent to which the British empire rule was for no good, while using counter arguments to rebuff the different sides of the arguments. Though a number of citizens died from the atrocities committed by the British empire especially in India, their rule can be attributed to the introduction of a the rule of law in the country. Though sounding ironical, the empire pioneered the formation of the judicial system to enable the Indian offenders to be punished for their mistakes.

This established the foundation for the country’s legal system in the face of the atrocities committed. The British form of rule in their colonies was heavily characterised by torture, ritual slaughter, hangings, rape and slavery to make it worse draining of natural resources. This affected millions of people by way of interfering with their cultures, dignity, livelihoods, religion and languages. All this disregard of rule of law and respect to other people’s way of living unfortunately was spread all over the British Empire (Cohn, 1996).

This was largely exercised in those nations where they encountered rejection due to conflicting interest. The process of tapping on the natural in the country was characterised by the introduction of a number of industries in the country that