Legacies of the Empire

The colonial times represent some of the most glorious days in the British history mostly because they were the times of the existence of one of the most powerful empires in the history of the world. The British Empire was one of the biggest empires that have ever existed in the world and it existed in a time span bigger than two hundred years, between the late 16th and the early 18th century. During its existence, the British Empire held over one-fifth on the world’s population and a little less of a quarter of the Earth’s area. While the empire was at the peak of its power there was a saying that said “the sun never sets on the British Empire” because the area that it covered made it possible that the sun was always shining on at least one part of the British numerous territories. Having these things in mind, it is only natural to believe that the British Empire has left numerous legacies on Britain itself as well as the territories it once ruled.

Today’s modern Britain does not have that many legacies visible on its territory in comparison with the countries that it once ruled. The biggest legacy that helped Britain to become the country that it is today is the wealth and the resources that the Empire once provided. The riches that the colonies brought to the Empire are one of the main reasons why Britain is one of the strongest economic forces in today’s world. The Empire gave today’s Britain a chance to grow, to expand and to advance in every imaginable way. Furthermore, the British Queen is still the sovereign of 15 countries that are outside the British Isles and that are all members of the Commonwealth of Nations that accepts the Queen as their reigning constitutional monarch and the royal line of succession. One of the legacies that the Empire has left for today’s Britain is also a large number of minority groups that immigrated to Britain during the colonization and thus making Britain a multi-ethnic society that it is today.

It was mentioned in the previous paragraph that the countries that the British Empire once ruled were left with far more legacies than the territory of today’s Britain. These legacies can be found in the culture, language, legal systems, political systems, and religion of the former colonies and a rough description of each impact will be given in continuation. The influence of the British culture expands too broadly and a whole encyclopaedia would be necessary to enumerate all the impacts on the culture of the former colonies. The language is one of the most important legacies that the British Empire has left its territories but it is also an important legacy for today’s Britain because the English language covers the largest part of the Earth’s area and is also considered as the universal language of communication and it is taught in schools as an obligatory foreign language in almost all the countries that do not have as