Has the British Empire influenced the spread of the English language?

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As we all know, English is considered a global language nowadays. It is almost impossible to meet someone who is not capable of speaking the language which derives its origin from Great Britain. Today, English is the official language in more than 67 countries and more than 400 million people are native speakers. The number of people who speak English as a foreign language varies  between 600 and 700 million.

It is pretty obvious that the extension of the British Empire had a huge impact on the development of the differet countries. Due to the fact that English soldiers, settlers and merchants travelled to the different continents and countries it was hardly possible for them to not "take their own language with them" and pass it on to the natives of the new country.

The first country that was conquered was Ireland which lead to the fact that the Irish people adapted to the English language and slowly forgot about their own native language. Many countries such as North America, India, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Africa followed.
It is said that the British Empire seized almost one quarter of the entire world. The interesting fact is that those countries who were part of the British Empire pretty much portray the "English-spoken areas" today.

Although most countries became independent after WW2 they still have strong connections to Great Britain and some of them are even part of the Commonwealth which is a logical explanation why English still remains their native language.

The Flag of the Commonwealth

The official flag which is currently used to represent the Commonwealth of Nations was introduced in 2013. However, its design dates back to 1976 and was only altered in order to create a new one. 

As you can see, the flag consists of a golden globe based on a blue field. The globe is meant to represent the "global nature" of the Commonwealth, meaning its expansion and impact on the whole world. The blue field is supposed to portray the "Britishness" of the Commonwealth. Moreover, the golden globe is surrounded by radiating spears. If you take a closer look you will notice that those spears form a "C" which stands for Commonwealth.

As I have mentioned before, the current flag is based on the previous flag which was created by the first Commonwealth Secretary-General Arnold Smith and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1976. Back then, the globe was surrounded by 61 spears which were not intended to represent the number of countries that are part of the Commonwealth since there have never been 61 Commonwealth members. It is rather a symbol for the "many facets of Commonwealth cooperation" (Source) around the world. 

However, the current flag was altered, it no longer includes 61 radiating spears but 34. The colours were modified as well. 

Nowadays the flag is mainly used at places where Commonwealth meetings and events take place. It is permanently flown at Marlborough House in London, which is the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat. There are also a few cities who raise the flag on Commonwealth Day (held each year on the second monday of march), like for example Edinburgh.

CURRENT FLAG

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/c/cwn1x2.gif

PREVIOUS FLAG

https://www.middevonnewscentre.info/files/2014/03/Commonwealth-flag.jpg

http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/commonwealth-flag.html

The Empire Christmas Pudding

http://www.retrovert.co.uk/blog/the-proof-is-in-the-christmas-pudding

Due to the fact that there was no uni over the christmas holidays I had quite some time to do things I usally can't do because of other responsibilities. I spend a whole afternoon lying on the couch, watching random shows on tv. Suddenly one of those boring programmes caught my attention. There was a documentation on Queen Victoria and how she introduced christmas to Great Britain and the Empire. As a result of her marriage to the German-born Prince Albert she learnt a lot about German christmas traditions like the Christmas tree and other decorations as well as Christmas Eve. At the beginning of the 19th century christmas was hardly celebrated but Victoria's new passion for this special event served as a basis for other people's interest in christmas traditions and their meaning.

Having seen this documentation I was eager to find more information on the topic and googled random terms which had something to do with christmas in Great Britain and the Empire. In searching for some British christmas recipes I found this Empire Christmas Pudding Recipe which sounded quite good. However, it is not just a usual recipe, this Christmas Pudding rather consists of ingrediets from several countries who once belonged to the British Empire.

Apparently, the idea of the Empire Christmas Pudding goes back to the 1920s and "aimed to promote using ingredients from countries throughout the British Empire. The Empire Marketing Board campaigned up until the war to promote the pudding and other recipes. There was even a propaganda film about a boy who, after seeing the pudding in a shop window, has a dream about visiting all the empire countries to find the ingredients" (http://www.retrovert.co.uk/blog/the-proof-is-in-the-christmas-pudding).

Unfortunately I haven't had time yet to try the recipe, let alone travel to all those countries to buy the ingrediets, but I am sure next christmas is coming sooner than you think and until then there is still some time left to get some plane tickets to the several Empire countries :)

https://hellofreshcouk.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/christmas-pudding.jpg

The Battle of Trafalgar

http://strandartgallery.com/gordon%20exhibition/images/Battle-of-Trafalgar-48x24.jpg

I guess that most students of English Literature and Culture know about the Battle of Trafalgar, at least those of us who have taken Cultural Studies I in previous semesters. But what happened at the Battle of Trafalgar and when did it take place? What was the initiator for this well-remembered event and did anyone profit from it? Here is a short overview for anyone who is interested in British history.

The Battle of Trafalgar took place during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), on 21 October 1805 to be precise. The battle was set at Cape Trafalgar, Cadiz, Spain and fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of France and Spain. The Royal Navy was led by famous Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson while the French/Spanish Navy had Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as their leader. At that time Napoleon had established France as the dominant military power on land and was trying to expand his dominion which is why he was making plans on how to get to Great Britain by ship. Britain sensed a possible threat of their empire and decided to face their competitors. This is why both fleets met in Cadiz in October where the British Navy turned out to be successful and could defeat Nelson’s fleet. As a consequence of this significant victory over France and Spain, Britain gained naval supremacy and stayed the world’s biggest sea power for more than 100 years. Unfortunately though, Lord Nelson who is still celebrated as one of the heroes of British history could not cover himself with glory as he died during the battle. Nowadays you can still think of him when you go to London as there is Trafalgar Square with its famous column that was built in remembrance of Lord Nelson’s victory in 1805.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Nelson's_Column,_Trafalgar_Square,_London.JPG

http://www.wasistwas.de/archiv-geschichte-details/die-schlacht-bei-trafalgar.html

The British East India Company

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Coat_of_arms_of_the_East_India_Company.svg/2000px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_East_India_Company.svg.png

I suppose the majority of us have heard of the British East India Company before, but did you know that it was originally called 'Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies'? That's quite a name, isn't it? Apparently the term British East India Company wouldn't have been formal enough for the Royal Charter in 1600. So now that we have learnt about this significant name we can ask ourselves what precisely the British East India Company was for. What exactly did they trade into the East Indies? As we can already guess due to its name, the company was owned by some London businessmen who specialised in importing goods from South Asia. One of the most interesting facts about the company is that it was supposed to pursue trade with the East Indies but somehow ended up mainly trading with the Indian subcontinent and Qing China. The British East India Company mainly traded with cotton, silk, salt, saltpetre, tea and opium. However, the first thing they imported were spices.

https://thechatterjis.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/traders-652-353.png

Nowadays it is said that the company kind of formed the beginnings of the British Empire in India. The company received a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I which made it to one of the most important European East India Companies. Of course those other European companies turned out as competitors, which is why the British East India Company eventually had to assemble its own military and administrative departments. The company was successful for quite a long time, it was very popular and one of the main importers of goods from different countries. However, there were some incidents, like for example the Indian Mutinity in 1857, which led to the fact that the company went out of existence in 1873.



http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/eic.html

Gibraltar - "Gate to Spain"

http://www.visitgibraltar.gi/images/homepage_slider/df1aw_slide2.jpeg

As we all know Gibraltar is still one of Britain's most popular colonies. Apparently, Gibraltar was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Since then, Spain has constantly been trying to regain their power over the British Overseas Territory which is part of the Iberian Peninsula. During WW2 especially the Royal Navy settled in the territory as it is kind of seen as "a gate" to the Mediterranean Sea.

Nowadays, almost more than 30,000 people live in Gibraltar, not only Gibraltarians but also other nationalities. Tourism plays a significant role in Gibraltar's economy. Duty-free shopping and several sights attract many tourists throughout the whole year. The most famous sight of the country is definitely the fortification of Gibraltar. As Field Marshal Sir John Chapple pointed out, it is "probably the most fought over and most densely fortified place in Europe, and probably, therefore, in the world".

http://www.gibraltar.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/trafalgar_cemetery.jpg

However, there are also other attractions which make tourists enjoy their visit, for example the local monkeys, also called Barbary macaques, are very popular all over the world as well as the flowstone caves of Gibraltar. The so-called Trafalgar Cemetery is a great tourist attraction too, whereupon its name is a bit misleading. Contrary to its denomination only two people who are buried there actually fought in the battle of Trafalgar. The majority of the people whose graves can be seen at this cemetery were victims of other sea battles.

http://www.abenteurer.net/wp-content/uploads/gibraltar-affen.jpg

Nowadays Gibraltar airport is a very important economic factor as it offers people from the United Kingdom a favourable possibility to get to one of Britain's main colonie, which is also considered as "the gate to Spain".




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortifications_of_Gibraltar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Gibraltar

Malta and the British Empire

Malta's 'Britishness' today

When I switched on my tv on friday afternoon the image of Queen Elizabeth II immediately appeared on my screen. Apparently her majesty, her husband Philip Duke of Edinburgh as well as their son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, had returned to Malta. The occasion for the queen's visit to this tiny island was a meeting of the heads of government from across the Commonwealth.

Malta officially became part of the British Empire in 1814 and regained its independence in September 1964. That means that they were under British rule for almost 150 years. However, if one travels to this historic island today they will immediately sense the aftermaths of the British Empire. 

When I was in Malta in June 2015 I noticed that it is not only bilingual street signs which can be found there but also left-hand traffic. Moreover, most citizens still speak English as their mother tongue. There is only a small percentage of inhabitants who are able to speak the original language Maltese. This became pretty obvious to me when I had a walk through Malta's capital city La Valetta. You can find English language schools wherever you go and a lot of students from abroad actually come to Malta to improve their English language skills. The fact that Maltese children wear school uniform was also very striking. Furthermore, the post boxes as well as telephone boxes which can be seen in the streets of Malta look similar to those British ones. During my holiday I also had the impression that you can figure out which buildings were built by British people as their archictecture leads back to the British building structure. 

http://www.malta-urlaub.eu/gfx/malta-wappen/malta-wappen.jpg

http://www.theflagshop.co.uk/ekmps/shops/speed/images/malta-flag-156-p.jpg

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