The British Empire: Progress or Exploitation?

At its height, the British Empire ruled the seas and governed nearly a quarter of the world. Its influence still shapes politics, migration, identity, and debates about race and belonging.

For some, empire represents progress, reform, innovation, and resistance to tyranny; for others, it signifies exploitation, subjugation, dispossession, and violence.

These conflicting interpretations reflect the diverse experiences of people across the empire.

This series investigates competing histories of the British Empire as experienced in some of its regions.

“Was the British Empire primarily a force for progress, or a system of exploitation and oppression?”