The British public in general, and not just civil servants and politicians, are ignorant about Britain’s colonial past (Ghosts of Empire: what Kwasi Kwarteng’s book tells us about him, 30 August).
I teach at University College London and often refer to the history of the British empire when discussing colonial economies or growth of commercial interests (eg the East India Company) in triggering wars of conquest. My British students stare blankly, because they know next to nothing about British colonial history.
I’ve talked to students in various classes over the years and they say that they do not learn about British colonial history – either in Asia, Africa or the Americas (other than the US) – in school. I carry out Maya research in Belize – a British colony until 1981, yet few people in England know of the existence of Belize. Even when big media companies that create documentaries contact me to ask about the ancient Maya, they always arrange trips to Mexico and Guatemala, and are ignorant that a third of the ancient Maya world lies in Belize.
How can any politician make an informed choice about, say, immigration to Britain from former colonial territories when they have learned little about the British empire and its far-reaching impact? In addition to political and commercial activity, the empire acted as a vehicle for spreading the idea of the superiority of everything British: language, literature, schooling, governance, etc. It should not be surprising that one consequence is that many people in the world choose to come to Britain.
Elizabeth Graham
London
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