Uncovering the truth about the British empire and the Mau Mau uprising

I&#x27;ll never forget a discussion with a very intelligent professional American (in the software business) who refused to believe that America could possibly be engaged in torture. She just refused to believe that a country as &#x27;great&#x27; as the US could commit torture. (this was a few years ago under GWB when Guantanamo was all over the UK papers but presumably still being suppressed in the US media).<p>The more stories like this are told and remove any shadow of a doubt about the foundations that western imperial states are built on the better.<p>Occasionally British politicians talk about &quot;British Values&quot; or &quot;Making Great Britain Great Again&quot; without any hit of acknowledgement of what &#x27;British values&#x27; really entailed in reality.

The sad truth is that empires require massive amounts of violence to maintain. There is no other way. Just look at Sumer, Assyria, Persia, Rome, China, Ottoman, France, Britain, and Germany. Also, make no mistake, the United States is also a defacto empire.<p>Unfortunately, the alternatives to empires is isolation and infighting between smaller powers. For an example of this, take a look at the middle east. The middle east is most peaceful when it is part of an empire - be it the Ottoman, the British, Mongol, or Arab empires. Another example, is Europe. Europe was pretty peaceful when it was partitioned between the Soviet empire and the US Empire (also known as NATO).<p>Also, empires can provide major benefits through economies of scale. Take a look at Europe before and after the fall of the Roman Empire. Looking back historically, the Roman Empire was probably a net positive for human development throughout the Mediterranean World. The various Chinese empires were also probably net positives for their citizens.<p>Thus, it is not proper to judge the British empire over violence (given that an empire requires violence). The judgement should be over whether the British empire was a net positive or a net negative overall for the people involved.

Yes one of the great quirks of European history is that the British Empire is not held in the same esteem as the Nazi empire. The British Empire was bizarrely racist and killed tens of millions of people worldwide. Maybe even more than that if you include the promotion of slavery as a business on global scale. England is so lovable now though.

Whilst Kenya was an undoubted low point of the British overseas territories, it&#x27;s chilling to think they were markedly better behaved than the French and especially Belgian colonies in Africa.<p>Quite how any of these were able to rationalise such behaviour, and so comparatively recently, whilst claiming to be civilised beats me.

Appreciate the great work!<p>British did a lot of nasty killings in India as well, for instance the Jalianwala Bagh: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre</a>

I think a better example of the evilness of the British Empire is the Irish experience in the 19th century. You lose the &quot;excuse&quot; of racism and are left with religious sectarianism and sheer greed for the policy.<p>The British put inhumane and genocidal policies in place, starving millions in a land of plenty.

Shouldn&#x27;t we as humans bury the longer past and move on and look at the present-day scenario? I know many will say - &quot;What about justice to our ancestors?&quot;. Justice is done to them when their children(descendants) do not suffer similar injustice and&#x2F;or live a better life. How many parents want their kids to live in a war-waging world?<p>I understand what she did was very hard work. But what&#x27;s the point? People who raise these issues now probably and unintentionally end up generating hatred amongst individuals who might otherwise be perfectly fine with each other. Then there are people who get emotionally touched, take an absolute stand and create an uprising. The people (experts) who raised the issue first get sidelined. The govt tries to control the situation and gets labelled as oppressive. Politicians and media take control now. It goes on and then starts a racial and a religious divide and all the wars in the world. The true purpose is lost and what exists past those wars is just pieces of hazy truth mixed with spiced up vigilantism.<p>The British did very bad and evil things in the past. But why not talk about evil things performed now by another powerful and smart country that uses methods incomprehendible to most people.

There is a great Radiolab episode on this very subject, also touches on the vault of top secret historical documents from the British Empire. <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.radiolab.org&#x2F;story&#x2F;mau-mau&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.radiolab.org&#x2F;story&#x2F;mau-mau&#x2F;</a>

I appreciate that she took a stand for what she believes in. I hope that someone of her calibur will also express how the carribean has so few natives or tribes being pocketed in little corners of many american countries. But I appreciate any effort to understand and reach for justice

It is interesting how everyone wants to portray themselves as a victim. &quot;I was persecuted for pursuing this very popular agenda, please ignore all the overwhelming support I got and pretend I am a victim&quot;. The idea that the British empire was an empire of evil and hatred has been the only acceptable view for decades, and is the standard story taught starting at least 3 decades back. You were not persecuted for supporting the majority view.