After World War II, Britain lost so many colonies. Which place was the most distressing to Britain?
After World War II, Britain lost so many colonies, and British India was definitely the most distressing place for Britain. The Empire on which the Sun Never Sets
From the second half of the 18th century to the 19th century, Britain has always been the most powerful country in the world, bar none. At that time, Britain had a large number of colonies, with a land area of more than 30 million square kilometers, about a quarter of the world's total land area. From the British mainland to Hong Kong, Gambia, Newfoundland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and countless islands, 24 time zones on the earth are all colonies of the British Empire. Therefore, Britain is called the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets." This shows how powerful Britain was at that time, even more powerful than the United States today.
At that time, the British occupied so many colonies, which were not simply military bases. Instead, they frantically plundered the local economy for their own use. British economist Jevons once described it this way: The plains of North America and Russia are our cornfields, Canada and the Baltic Sea are our forest areas, Australia is our pastures, Peru is our silver mines, South Africa and Australia are our our gold mines, India and China our tea plantations, the East Indies our sugar cane, coffee, and spice plantations, and the American South our cotton plantations. ?The description by the British economist is really to the point, and it vividly depicts the strength and greed of Britain at that time. It can be said unceremoniously that without these colonists, Britain would not be as strong as it was at that time. This is the evil of capitalism. British India
After the two world wars, especially after World War II, Britain gradually declined, and the United States and the Soviet Union became the world's top powers. With the development of national liberation movements around the world, British overseas colonies became independent one after another. At that time, Britain was unable to stop it and could only reluctantly cut its flesh. Among the many colonies lost, the loss of British India was undoubtedly the most distressing to Britain.
British India does not simply refer to today’s India, but includes today’s India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and other countries. The reason why the loss of British India distressed Britain the most is mainly due to the following two reasons: First, economic reasons. Britain has been under colonial rule over British India for more than 200 years. With its fertile land and rich products, British India's annual economy accounts for about a quarter of the world's total GDP, and such a large share ’s GDP was finally contributed to the UK free of charge. It can be imagined how important such a large economic contribution is to the development of the UK. After losing British India, the UK can be said to have directly declined from a first-rate country in the world to a second-rate country in the world, and is even now on the verge of becoming a third-rate country in the world.
The second is strategic significance. The British Empire and India have extremely important strategic significance. Due to their unique geographical location, during the British colonial rule of British India, Britain could use this to deter Tsarist Russia to the north, hinder Tsarist Russia's southward expansion, encroach on the Ottoman Empire to the northwest, and British India guarded the Indian Ocean. Once Britain owned British India, it firmly controlled the Indian Ocean and owned the Indian Ocean. Its strategic significance was very important.
Although British India was so important to Britain, after the outbreak of World War II, Britain was too tired to deal with the European battlefield and had no time to visit India, and gradually relaxed its control over India. In addition, Britain wants to tie India to its own chariot and give India more power. Subsequently, after the end of World War II, with the development of the Indian national independence movement, Britain had no choice but to adopt the partition plan of India and Pakistan in 1947. British India officially gained independence, and Britain completely lost this most fertile land. of fat. Conclusion
Although there are various problems in India's development today, Britain's former little brother has experienced rapid economic development, and India's total GDP has been equal to that of Britain. According to India's current development momentum, surpassing the UK is not a problem. To sum up, from an economic and strategic point of view, the loss of British India is undoubtedly the most distressing for the United Kingdom.