http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/british-empire Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Tue, 05 May 2026 06:19:34 -0400 Tue, 05 May 2026 06:19:34 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1719/victorian-racism-an-explication-of-scientific-knowledge-its-social-character-and-its-relation-to-victorian-popular-culture By Peter Conlin - The British Empire of the nineteenth century displayed and embodied racism in its composite. In embodying this idea of racial inequality, the Empire created grounds on which it could justify the imperialist actions that it executed throughout the world during this century. Actions such as extending its power, influence, and domination to continents like Africa and Asia and imposing ‘Britishness’[1] in such places.[2] Many scholars in the existing scholarly literature have agreed on the point that racism was used as a tool of justification for imperial actions, such as Andrew Aptner... Wed, 17 Jan 2018 08:31 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1719/victorian-racism-an-explication-of-scientific-knowledge-its-social-character-and-its-relation-to-victorian-popular-culture http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1437/how-important-is-the-notion-of-the-civilising-mission-to-our-understanding-of-british-imperialism-before-1939 By Thanapat Pekanan - The ‘civilising mission' is a broad ideology that combines four main ideals; Enlightenment ideals, Christian / Evangelical ideas of pre-destination, racist ideas about white superiority and Liberalism. All these ideals have had a significant role in our understanding of British imperialism before 1939. Due to the limitations of this essay, I will focus on two of the most relevant and important aspects of the ‘civilising mission': racism and Liberalism. This essay proceeds in three parts. The first section demonstrates how important racism was in influencing the understanding of British... Wed, 24 Aug 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1437/how-important-is-the-notion-of-the-civilising-mission-to-our-understanding-of-british-imperialism-before-1939 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1019/feminist-and-new-historicist-readings-of-kiplings-the-man-who-would-be-king By Kelley S. Kent - “The Man Who Would Be King” (1888)[1] is one of Rudyard Kipling’s most well known and highly acclaimed short stories. Michael Caine, Sean Connery, and Christopher Plummer starred in John Huston’s classic film adaptation (1975), which provided a testament to the story’s enduring popularity (Beckerman 180). Even when Kipling’s critical reputation suffered, “The Man Who Would Be King” continued to garner acclaim. However, because of its unsettling ambiguity, this story “resists classification” (Gilmour 37). Like the rest of misogynistic... Wed, 25 Mar 2015 11:07 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1019/feminist-and-new-historicist-readings-of-kiplings-the-man-who-would-be-king http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/817/rudyard-kiplings-literary-and-historical-legacy By Kelley S. Kent - Critical opinion of Rudyard Kipling, his imperialism, and his oeuvre has radically changed in the last century. Depending on the literary history and the time period, Kipling has been seen as either an exclusively South African poet (Warren 415), or “as little of an imperialist as Conrad” (Fowler 337). Always, however, he is a poet, novelist, and short story writer of the British Empire, whether or not critics believe Kipling supports that empire in his oeuvre. One measure of critics’ praise or censure is their critical opinion of Kim (1901). Although few think the novel has... Mon, 25 Nov 2013 08:54 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/817/rudyard-kiplings-literary-and-historical-legacy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/781/propaganda-public-opinion-and-the-second-south-african-boer-war By Kelley S. Kent - The Second Boer War (1899‑1902) was costly for Great Britain and the semi‑independent South African Republic (Transvaal). It strained political relations between the British and the Boers, who did not gain independence from the United Kingdom until 1961. Political freedom and civil rights for South Africa's native population came later. What was the purpose of fighting this war? Many historians believe the Boer War was "the last of the gentleman's wars" (Krebs 55), a war to preserve the empire, but also, as seen in the mass street celebration of the relief of Mafeking on May 18, 1900... Mon, 28 Oct 2013 09:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/781/propaganda-public-opinion-and-the-second-south-african-boer-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1113/still-the-good-fight-the-commonwealth-of-nations-turn-60 By Rory Lowings - Once upon a time, Britain ruled the world. Fully a quarter of the Earth’s surface and population was united under the red, white and blue of the Empire. Had the British Empire remained a sclerotic, sedentary racial hierarchy, like the contemporary French and Portuguese empires, it might have died a slow, painful death, as did they. But Britain’s development of infrastructure, both in education and industry, facilitated the growth of national identities within the Commonwealth, whose claims upon independence grew in direct proportion to British decline during the Inter-War period. 3... Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1113/still-the-good-fight-the-commonwealth-of-nations-turn-60 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/64/breaking-boundaries-football-and-colonialism-in-the-british-empire By Patrick M. Hutchison - Finally, an article by Shaun Lopez, a stunningly handsome professor at the University of Washington, shows how resistance through football manifests itself in postcolonial Egypt. “Football as National Allegory: Al-Ahram and the Olympics in 1920s Egypt” is strikingly different from the other articles which are full of evidence of how football unified communities and became a way to instill indigenous culture into a new form of resistance. Lopez seems to suggest that football in Egypt, particularly in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, was an effort to break out of the colonized mold and become... Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:35 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/64/breaking-boundaries-football-and-colonialism-in-the-british-empire http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/5/decolonization-and-the-collapse-of-the-british-empire By David Pierce - Before World War II it was stated fairly, “The sun never set on the British Empire.” For decades, this was true: the British colonial Empire touched all corners of the globe. After the War concluded, however, a worldwide process of decolonization commenced in which Britain granted independence to all of its major colonies, beginning notably in India. The British decision to grant independence to India arose primarily out of necessity; however, Gandhi’s successful social movements also inspired a fundamental change in the perceptions of colonial power that eventually led to the... Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:08 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/5/decolonization-and-the-collapse-of-the-british-empire