Pax Britannica: as England maintained its empire in the XXI century
"The stream, always carrying out its service, keeps memories of people and ships that went upstream, returning home to rest, or went down to the sea, to meet the battles"
- Joseph Conrad, "The Heart of Darkness"
When Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific cover twilight, you can be sure that in the area of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for half an hour as dawn has arrived. So, from a technical point of view, as many years ago, "the sun does not set over the British Empire." This statement will be true with respect to British Petroleum.
ENGLAND PREVAILS
History The imperial expansion of the United Kingdom is not the subject of this article (see the links at the end of the material), but it’s still worth a little insight into the history to better understand the situation.
After the end of the Second World War, Britain was drawn into a series of conflicts on the borders of its vast colonial empire. During the “decolonization” process, many crimes were committed so horrendous (especially by the standards of the “peace after the Nuremberg process” - among other things, by the way, the British tortured the grandfather of the first black US president) that British officials even decided to destroy most of the related documents. However, it did not succeed in preserving the empire - times have changed, and the Americans very actively contributed to the destruction of the British Empire (see links at the end of the article). Here the British Commonwealth created in 1931 was useful.
Grandmother Elizabeth and her big happy family
Initially, this organization was needed to regulate relations between the United Kingdom and the dominions - primarily Australia, Canada and New Zealand (we will talk about them separately). But after the war, former and “future former” colonies began to accept it. The head of the Commonwealth is the Queen of England. In general, the Commonwealth is interpreted by many participants and outsiders solely as a ceremonial and charitable organization that has no meaning except for a place for collective sessions of nostalgia. Is it really?
First, for all members of the Commonwealth, a British court (the “Judicial Committee of the Privy Council”, to be exact) is the highest judicial authority. And from time to time high-ranking officials from the Commonwealth countries are judged there. This is done aptly, but very rarely - in order not to annoy the Americans, for whom the dismantling of European colonial empires was once a fixed idea. Imagine for a moment that the supreme judicial body for the countries of the former USSR would be the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Yeah ...
Secondly, diplomatic relations between the countries of the Commonwealth are carried out through the mediation of British functionaries (does Ukraine want to appoint a new ambassador to Georgia? Both turn to the Russian Foreign Ministry ...). An interesting legal detail: Ambassadors for accreditation within the union are not called ambassadors, but “commissars.”
Thirdly, citizens of a number of Commonwealth states can vote in other Commonwealth states: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Malawi, Mauritius, New Zealand, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad-i-Tobago (“The new president of Kyrgyzstan won thanks to the support of Russian citizens”).
Fourth, the collective GDP of all countries of the Commonwealth exceeds $ 10 trillion per year ($ 2006 trillion in 5,5) and within the Commonwealth the member countries trade with each other on conditions that are much better than with “outsiders” (and on 30 -50% more intense). According to some estimates, it is “inside” the Commonwealth to do business on 20% cheaper than “outside” it. The projected economic growth of all the countries of the Commonwealth together is impressive at this time 7%. Last year, Britain exported more than $ 90 billion worth of products to countries - this is only a quarter of the country's foreign trade with Europe, but every year British exports to the countries of the empire grow by an average of 10%. The colonies also get their own: only within this organization India will have guarantees to protect the growing investments in East Africa, and South Africa will be able to fulfill its plans to attract foreign investment and transfer energy from coal. Customs Union, as it should be.
Fifthly, the Commonwealth is 30 of millions of square kilometers and 2,2 of billion people under the direct and indirect influence of Great Britain. This is an unprecedented soft power-ground, which even Americans cannot boast. English educational institutions are the forge of the elites of all colonial countries. British enterprises operate in their widest markets. If necessary, Britain can mobilize all countries of the Commonwealth to protect their interests. By the way, over 10% of the personnel of the British army is recruited in the Commonwealth countries today - and by the 2020 year it is expected that this figure will reach 20%.
Union of the indestructible republics free
History has shown that the “former” British Empire is still a dangerous enemy: having organized the blockade of South Africa, Britain brought this country to a catastrophe. Within the Commonwealth, sedition also does not tolerate London: throughout the organization’s history, the temporary exclusion of various countries (officially - for military coups and human rights abuses) was used 6 once and 5 once the British got their way and the natives crawled back in tears. The only thing, sorry for the pun, the exception to the rules and the Commonwealth - Zimbabwe. But it did not go unnoticed - for 10 years, this country from one of the richest in Africa has become almost the poorest and is now facing a real famine. It turned out that it was hard for Zimbabwean granddaughters to live without patties of a vengeful London grandmother.
However, the neglect of universal values here is not a special sin. For example, Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, was once involved in the 2 murder of thousands of people, for which the International Criminal Court accuses him of committing crimes against humanity. It would seem difficult to imagine a less “handshaking” citizen - but in London Kenyatta was greeted in the most cordial way, despite the slanting views of moralists from the EU (“He’s just the organizer of the massacres, don't force!”). By the way, it was his first trip outside of Africa as president of the country.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president of Sri Lanka, got everything in life and didn’t have anything for it: during the years of his authoritarian rule 40 killed thousands of peaceful Tamils, dissolved one parliament and arrested many oppositionists - but did not bear any punishment from London Rajapaksa. On the contrary, last November he received a delegation of imperial allies to discuss preparations for the Commonwealth Games next year.
The authority of the Commonwealth is also indicated by the fact that even countries that were never part of the British Empire, like the Portuguese Mozambique and the German-Belgian Rwanda, have already entered it. Even French Gabon thinks to follow their example. I think they can be understood: 60% of Jamaicans in 2011 have declared that they would not be against direct control from London at all.
An indirect evidence of the real weight of the Commonwealth is the fact of the presence at the summit of the organization in 2009-th year of the UN Secretary General, the Prime Minister of Denmark and the President of France. Nostalgic ceremonial organization, which is attended by the highest officials of foreign countries. Ponozhalgirovat ...
Interestingly, such a powerful neo-colonial apparatus requires very small expenditures - all annual expenditures of the apparatus of the British Commonwealth do not exceed $ 26 million. It is clear, of course, that the governments themselves give out money for important shares - but the British do not allow huge spending where there is a huge scope for the intensive development of huge budget funds by greedy bureaucrats, deserves every respect. The non-profit and non-governmental organization The Royal Commonwealth Society, founded back in the 1868 year, long before, hm, the Commonwealth itself is engaged in media promotion of the Commonwealth.
One of the strengths of the Commonwealth is its enormous potential for expansion. Readers have already learned about the reception of non-British colonies in the Commonwealth, but here one should take into account the fact that they have been actively asking for a long time (in the case of Mozambique, it even took the collective petition of ten African countries of the Commonwealth). Meanwhile, in the middle of the 1990-s, the French Cameroon joined the organization’s ranks - on the basis that a small part of this state once belonged to the British. Considering that English law is a precedent, it is now possible to accept France (no one has forgotten the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom) and Germany (the legacy of the Hanover dynasty) to the British Commonwealth. The alarmists should be glad that London does not consider the memory of military incursions as a reason to join the organization - today there are only 22 states that have not been stepped on by the British soldier.
The transformation of the Empire into the Commonwealth, in the end, became a boon for both the colonizers, and for the inhabitants of the colonies. British authorities got rid of the huge cost of maintaining infrastructure and maintenance of troops. And local governments have received more that good impact on their economies: studies show that the greatest successes of today show the ones in British India, where the direct intervention of the British administration was minimal.
KENGURU, KIWI, KLYON AND QUEEN
However, there are still places where the authority of Her Majesty’s Government is exercised directly.
Have you ever heard of the governor-general of Canada? And he is. And he has the broadest powers - this is the head of the executive branch. No law can be passed without its approval. He can dissolve the local parliament. He appoints the prime minister. He also appoints federal ministers, senators, judges and other officials. When making decisions, he is not even obliged to consult with the local government. The final touch: the governor-general is appointed by the Queen of England herself.
Acting Governor-General of Canada David Lloyd Johnston. To date, the oath that all newly-minted citizens of Canada read out is: “I pledge my loyalty to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, as well as her heirs and successors. And God help me. ”
In the countries of Hugh Jackman and Peter Jackson, there are similar London-appointed managers with the same set of powers. The differences in the governorship of the country are the smallest: for example, in New Zealand, the governor-general is obliged to listen to the opinion of the prime minister (which he himself appoints). The average tenure in practice is about 5 years, but in theory he is not at all limited.
Yes, the British learned a lot about the loss of 13 of the North American colonies in the 18th century - therefore, they do not abuse their authority openly. For example, the last time the parliament in Australia was dispersed in 1970 (although in 2000 the Canadian governor general did not allow the local prime minister to dissolve parliament). Legally, everything is also done in such a way as not to upset the local ones: Canada, New Zealand and Australia are, according to their documents, different monarchies. That is, Elizabeth II is separately Canadian, separately New Zealand and separately Australian monarch. Governor-General's 1950-s began to recruit from the local, but among them a lot of people with knightly titles, and everyone in the biography necessarily have a study in the UK - which makes "aboriginity" only part of external etiquette.
The degree of subordination of the monarchies-dominions of England can be demonstrated in various examples. The current political structure of Australia (Australian Union) 113 years, 40 of which the country has spent in wars around the world, of which only World War II carried a direct threat to the national security of the country. In Canada, opposition parties may oppose the construction of an oil pipeline in British Columbia, but since the Prime Minister of Canada (do not forget - approved by the Governor-General) believes that reducing the country's energy dependence on the United States should be the main task of the current government - this means all of Canada is starting to improve your energy sector. If Britain develops shale gas, Australia will sooner or later follow its example. And almost a year and a half ago, Britain began to unite its embassies with Canadian embassies around the world, as if for reasons of economy (“The foreign embassies of Ukraine and Russia will be united ...”).
With Canada, by the way, it turned out to be a funny story: once a huge part of its territory (3,9 million square kilometers) was managed by the Hudson's Bay Company, which in the distant 1670 year received a monopoly on the use of all the rivers that flow into the Hudson's Bay. These lands of Canada had to be redeemed at the end of the 19th century for serious money (the communists love to complain that the liberated serfs had to redeem land from their landlords. But do you want to redeem half the country from a private company?). And what about the company? She is alive and still - she, among other things, owns a huge network of supermarkets The Bay. No worse than the British joke in Australia: during the visit of Elizabeth II in 2011, her Australian leadership gifts (worth $ 15,6 thousand) were paid from the Australian taxes.
Looking at how cleverly the British control such remote and developed countries (Canada is a member of G8), it’s absolutely incomprehensible why Russia cannot build relations with Ukraine and Belarus in this way. The sovereignty of these states is, in fact, fictitious - and the degree of their dependence on Russia is incomparably higher than the dominion's dependence on Britain (for example, Canada most of all trades with the United States, and Australia with China). To appoint the governor-general of the country G8 - this is normal, it is democracy and human rights. To support the election of a pro-Russian candidate is imperialism and bloody Mongolian-Kan fascism.
PERSUMENTS EMPIRE
The practice of indirect control requires a good (and sometimes not very good) secret agents of influence.
Meet Altaf Hussein, the leader of Muttahid Komi, an organization of descendants of Muslim refugees from India who settled in Karachi after the partition of British India. It is the largest political party in the city with a population of about 10 million, which is the economic center of modern Pakistan. As befits a leader of a powerful political association, Mr. Hussein lives in London. He has a lot of guards and all, as on the recruitment, the former British military. He had to change his registration at the beginning of 1990, when a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with the charges of preparing a political murder.
Altaf Hussein
The distance from his native city does not affect his activity at all - even from the mansion in Edgever, Altaf manages the political and economic life of the region: arranges thousands of newsgroups with hot appeals to supporters; plans and organizes large-scale strikes, literally paralyzing any activity in Karachi; the militants of his party kill thousands of people. In fact, in connection with the latter, the British police even began an investigation to uncover the facts about his involvement in political violence in Pakistan during the May elections, when, after the incitement speeches of Hussein, the head of the rival party, Tehrik-e-Insaf, was killed. Then 12 of thousands of Pakistanis wrote a petition to the British police (!) Asking them to finally deal with Altaf. By the way, the British police are conducting a parallel investigation into the suspicious circumstances of the death of one of the leaders of "Muttahid" Imran Faruk - he was stabbed to death in London in September of 2010. The party is also suspected of money laundering.
However, the faith in the infallibility of an idol can not shake anything: hundreds of party supporters gather near its branches in Karachi to morally support Hussein. And they need to listen to their words - according to American diplomats, the party has 10 thousands of active militants (and 25 thousands of “reservists”). At the same time, the party itself is secular-liberal, it stands for close cooperation with NATO against Islamism, and the middle class dominates in it. In fairness, it is worth saying that inside Pakistan, despite all of the above, the party is respected for the effective management of Karachi.
Hussein’s influence on the minds of Pakistanis cannot be overestimated - thousands of people listen to his appeals in absolute silence. At the same time, Hussein himself behaves “as the devil, or as a jester” during the speeches: he vigorously imitates Kim Jong Il and Hugo Chavez, so he begins to sing, so he cries.
But let's not quibble. For a man who worked as a taxi driver in Chicago 1970, Mr. Hussein reached amazing heights. Perhaps his example will inspire one of our readers to create a party of Old Believers and emigrate to London.
The privilege to rule the reverse side has the need to punish - a living example of which is James Ibori.
The former governor of Delta, an oil-rich state in Nigeria, for 8 years in office, stole $ 290 million. Eka nevidal in Nigeria, where the frauds with energy resources take $ 8 billion a year from the government! But the British court did not pay attention to such mitigating circumstances and issued a severe sentence - 13 years in prison. Yes, that's right, Ibory judged the fairest and most humane court in the world, because he laundered some of the money in London. Considering that the “Second British Empire” is today the financial center of the world, judging Mr. Ibori for things that are much more modest than the background of the famous litigation of Abramovich and Berezovsky is the same as writing a penalty for speeding during car races. No, most likely, Ibory began to conceal part of the income from English friends. A separate aggravating circumstance was the unproved fact of using Ibori CDC Group (a private enterprise of the UK Department for International Development) for frauds in the amount of $ 47,5 million. Charity in England is a long-standing tradition, and there is no place for the machinations of native neo-colonial managers top management). 18 other Nigerian governors have recently also been accused of corruption - but the case has not reached the court (especially London). As slyly remarked on this in the British edition of The Economist: "Corruption becomes a problem only when you lose your favor."
However, we will not strict: for a guy who has a 1990-'s worked as a cashier in London, was convicted of theft and still can not determine the date of birth (says he 53 years, and London police said that he 49 ), PSI did a great career.
Against this background, the white Englishwoman Samantha Lewthwaite, who led the attack of Somali militants on a shopping center in Kenya last fall, looks like an ordinary employee of MI-6. Surely there are people who believe that a girl from a family of hereditary military, who grew up in a model English suburb, suddenly decided to convert to Islam and marry Jermen Lindsay, who was about to explode in the London Underground and brilliantly performed intentional. Doesn't anyone remind Homeland? Although, maybe, she just heard enough the propaganda of the Muslim Brotherhood. Fortunately, one of their main offices is relatively close to her first place of residence - in London. After the pogrom, perpetrated by the Egyptian military Islamists there, the latter begin to move to London. There is no doubt that many of them, having rested in London, “will make happy” with their appearance some Middle Eastern country in the very near future. And the British? And here the British? The British have human rights, so they tolerate international terrorist centers at their side. And absolutely, in no way, absolutely, not at all, not a bit related to them.
They themselves suffer ...
The White Widow and the daughter of the hereditary soldiers of the empire, Samantha Lewthwaite, who accidentally organized an unprecedented attack by the Islamists.
NULLI EXPUGNABILIS HOSTI
In 1982, Britain repulsed Argentina, trying to seize the islands, which it unreasonably considers its own: the first Englishman landed on the Falklands long before the appearance of Argentina itself, and Britain joined them as a result of real humanitarian intervention (a group of bandits arranged a massacre among the settlers, the Royal fleet intervened). Since then, the leadership of the Latin American country has had time to change more than once - but Argentina has been making territorial claims so far. Considering that, like 30 years ago, the economic situation in this country leaves much to be desired (the government has already begun to forge economic statistics), the new war is quite possible: Christine Kirchner even appointed the Minister of the Malvinas Islands (as Falkland is called in Argentina). But there is no doubt about the British determination - the British Prime Minister promised to protect the Falklands from Argentina in a Christmas address to the people. All parallels with the Georgian war 2008, please arrange yourself.
This summer, the authorities of Gibraltar decided to build an artificial reef in disputed waters (near the western runway of the Gibraltar airport), which caused great dissatisfaction with Spain: Spaniards say that the reef violates environmental protection legislation and damages Spanish fishermen (concrete blocks can damage networks ), the British say that, on the contrary, they help develop the marine ecosystem. But in Europe, they do not immediately say what they mean - soon the two countries resumed a long-standing dispute over the ownership of Gibraltar, which the British conquered from Spain in the early 18th century. From a legal point of view, Spain does not have any rights to these territories - after all, in the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, she recognized England’s right to own Gibraltar. But for the national state (which Spain, unlike the Russian Federation, is), any international agreements are not worth the paper on which they are written, so for three centuries Spain is trying to reclaim this rock (possessing, however, great strategic importance). And this time, the Spaniards established a tough customs regime on the border with Gibraltar (which, in fact, is a violation of the EU's position on freedom of movement within the countries of the Union) - people on the border had to wait until 6 hours. Spain even threatened to introduce a fee for each border crossing (50 euros) and close the airspace for flights to Gibraltar. The real reason, of course, is that modern Gibraltar is a real transit warehouse for smugglers and drug dealers on their way to Spain. But the British government does not confuse such things. Parallels with the customs blockade of the border with Ukraine, please arrange yourself.
Cameron terrorized his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy for 15 minutes on the phone. Member of the British Parliament and Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Arctic Affairs Andrew Rosindell called for the sending of the Royal Squadron fleet to Gibraltar: "In word and deed, we must demonstrate to Spain that it has lost the friendship of Britain and that if they want to change this state of affairs, then they should reconsider their attitude towards Gibraltar." The head of the Gibraltar government even threatened the Spanish courts with shelling for the invasion of territorial waters. Compare with the territorial concessions of the Kremlin administration of Norway, China and, you will laugh, Azerbaijan.
It is important to note that even the most remote provinces contribute to the economy of the United Kingdom. Those Falklands, which in the world press are called “abandoned islands”, can boast of exports in the amount of 120-140 million pounds per year. The level of per capita GDP on the islands is one of the highest in the world - about $ 60-65 thousand per year.
Today, England has 14 overseas territories and the last 30 years have demonstrated that the politicians of this country are determined to fight to preserve the integrity of the Empire, created by their ancestors.
***
If George Alexander Louis, born this summer, ascends the throne in 2082, there is no reason to doubt that the sun will shine over his empire as brightly as today. The English system of educating elites has created a class of people who, with limited resources (the core of a nation is a small island), have aggressively defended national interests and imposed their will on the outside world. What can we say, if Britain 300 has been living in debt for years, and British bankers are fooling the heads of American politicians.
And the Russian people, who lost their national elite 90 years ago, should learn the following: “You will not gain a kingdom until you become like the English.” Expansion, intervention, imperialism is not at all embarrassing. In the adult world, things are done this way, and the United Kingdom is a great example.
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