[Growltiger]

El Phil,

They are a couple of good points. My ancestors imperialistic tendencies certainly have resulted in the "Empire" covering a large proportion of the globe, and still I believe being the largest imperial dominion the world has ever seen.

That being said, can I make it clear that it is not something I am proud of as an Englishman. Colonisation is all very well, but effectively subjugating native peoples in the name of progress is not a antecedent I particularly like, nor is our military history where plucky group of British soldiers armed with rifles and cannon and sometimes machine guns defeated vast armies of brave spear wielding natives (oh Isandhlwana is still taken as a measure of huge respect for the bravery of the Zulus).

It is certainly true that there were benefits for many peoples and countries of our imperial largesse. The Pax Anglica and general rise in living standards, education and healthcare for the colonies was impressive. However, not sure myself that gave us the right to act the way we did.

Personally, I have always wondered what would have become of the African continent and its peoples if us Westerners (and I include most European nations in this) had left well alone. Given that there were African nations with highly developed cultures, artwork, smelting techniques etc etc, one can only wonder what the continent would have now become if the colonial led deforestation procedures had not caused famine in a chunk of the land.

Now the commonewealth I do have more respect for, albeit its teeth are not very sharp, and we seem to be unable to do anything about Zimbabwe.