Figure 1.--This is the children of the Hugh Myddelton Primary School in London waving Union Jacks during celebration of Empire Day in 1936. These children are about to undergo the greatest crisis in British history. Only 4 years after this photograph was taken, London would be subjected to the NAZI Blitz. America (a former colony) and the Empire would be vital in saving Britain. The Empire Day celebration was held on the second Monday in March--based on Queen Victoria's birthday. Empire Day after World War II was replaced with Commonwealth Day, but it was not as widely cekebrated and today is virtually ignored.

England began building an empire (17th century), a century after the Spanish. And while it lost much of its original empire, the most English part, with the American Revolution, it proceeded to build one of the great empires in history. It was at the apogee of the Empire that some thought was given to the idea that there should be an annual celebration of the Empire--Empire Day. The idea was for a day to “remind children that they formed part of the British Empire, and that they might think with others in lands across the sea, what it meant to be sons and daughters of such a glorious Empire.”. And that “The strength of the Empire depended upon them, and they must never forget it.” The idea first surfaced (1897). At the time, the idea was honor the motherly Queen Victoria, Empress of India, as the paramount ruler and would be shared by an Empire spanning almost a quarter of the entire globe and about the same portion of the population. The Queen would, however, pass away before the first Empire Day was celebrated. It wa not a celevration of British military prowess in forming and holding the Empire. Rather it was a celebration of the many varied people making up a single political unit and the shared benefits. That of course was an idealized view of the empire. Many Victorians believed it ignoring the fact that many members of the Empire did not want to be part of it. It was clearly exploitive, with brutality and attrocities. In our modern PC world the positive aspects of the Empire are commonly excluded from the historical rcord, such as the campaign to end the slave trade and ultimtely slavery. Many Indians today are unaware that institutions like democracy, elections civil liberties, and the rule of law partnof the heritage of the British Raj. Unfortunately The Indian success with democracy was not immediately repeated in many other former colonies. We see Empire Day being celebrated in Clitheroe in Lancashire during 1920 on the previous page. Despite the size and breath of the Britsh Empire, Empire Day was a rather short-lived holiday. Empire Day was not celerated until after Queen Victoria--the very symbol of the Empire-- passed away (1901). The first Empire Day took place on May 24, 1902--the Queen’s birthday. We suspect that seven decade of ceebrating the Queen's birthday on May 24 may have ben a factor in making Empire Day a holiday. It was not officially recognised as an annual event until 1916, but many schools across the British Empire were celebrating it before then. Because of the independence of India (1947) and most of the Empire (1960s) and the increasing disrepute of colonalism, Empire Day ceased to be widely celebrated. It was changed to Commonwealth Day, but we don't think it is widely celebrated because of its imperial asociations.

English/British Empire

England began building an empire (17th century), a century after the Spanish. And while it lost much of its original empire, the most English part, with the American Revolution, it proceeded to build one of the great empires in history. The British built the largest European colonial empire, perhaps only exceeded in area by the great Mongol Empire. The British empire largely evolved rather than being created from any central plan. The growth of the Empire was made possible in large measure by the Royal Navy. The first British colonies were the modest enterprises along the Atlantic coast of North America. The first permanent colony was Jamestown in Virginia (1607). They also acquired Caribbean sugar islands and French Canada. Britain obtained large areas of India from France at the samr time it obtained Canada. This first British Empire was closed empire which resticted economic activity and trade in the colonies. Much of that empire was lost in the American Revolution (1776-83). The loss of America was a learning experience for the British. They changed their policies and adopted colonial policies that did not restrict economic activity. They also with a few exceptions adopted free trade policies. Then beginning with the the Napoleonic Wars, Britain in the 19th century gradually added colony after colony. Many were acquired in the process of protecting other colonies. The destruction of the Spanish-French fleet at Trafalgur (1805) had left Britain the preminent naval power of the age. The Royal Navy thus played a key role in building the Empire. Two of those colonies were like the early United States and were colonized by people of British stock--building prticularly close ties. Britain has been criticized for its colonialization effort and often rightly so. It is also true that Britain brought the modern world to many areas of the globe. There were many failures, but also a number of successes. The nmost obvious is America, but another is India. The vibrant Indian democratic system and thriving free enterprise economy are both part of the British inheritance.

Chronology

19th Century

It was at the apogee of the Empire that there was some given to the idea that there should be an annual celebration of the Empire--Empire Day. The idea was for a day to “remind children that they formed part of the British Empire, and that they might think with others in lands across the sea, what it meant to be sons and daughters of such a glorious Empire.”. And that “The strength of the Empire depended upon them, and they must never forget it.” The idea first surfaced (1897). At the time, the idea was to honor the motherly Queen Victoria, Empress of India, as the paramount ruler and would be shared by an Empire spanning almost a quarter of the entire globe and about the same portion of the population.

The 20th Century

The venerable Queen would, however, pass away before the first Empire Day was celebrated. It wa not a celevration of British military prowess in forming and holding the Empire. Rather it was a celebration of the many varied people making up a single political unit and the shared benefits. That of course was an idealized view of the empire. Many Victorians believed it ignoring the fact that many members of the Empire did not want to be part of it. It was clearly exploitive, with brutality and attrocities. In our modern PC world the positive aspects of the Empire are commonly excluded from the historical rcord, such as the campaign to end the slave trade and ultimtely slavery. Many Indians today are unaware that institutions like democracy, elections civil liberties, and the rule of law partnof the heritage of the British Raj. Unfortunately The Indian success with democracy was not immediately repeated in many other former colonies. We see Empire Day being celebrated in Clitheroe in Lancashire during 1920 on the previous page. Despite the size and breath of the Britsh Empire, Empire Day was a rather short-lived holiday. Empire Day was not celerated until after Queen Victoria--the very symbol of the Empire-- passed away (1901). The first Empire Day took place on May 24, 1902--the Queen’s birthday. We suspect that seven decade of ceebrating the Queen's birthday on May 24 may have ben a factor in making Empire Day a holiday. It was not officially recognised as an annual event until 1916, but many schools across the British Empire were celebrating it before then. Because of the independence of India (1947) and most of the Empire (1960s) and the increasing disrepute of colonalism, Empire Day ceased to be widely celebrated. It was changed to Commonwealth Day, but we don't think it is widely celebrated because of its imperial asociations.

Empire Celebrations

While we have some information on Empire Day celebrtions in England we are not yet sure about the rest of the United Kingdom. Nor we we know mucch about the rest of the Empire. We suspect that it was enthusiasicallyh celedbrated in the Dominkons, espedcially Australia and New Zealand. We ar less sure about Canada. Herre there may have been differences among the proivinces. It would not hve been popular in Quebec with hed larg, resiv French-spaking popjulation. Ontario may bhve been diffrnt. A Canadian reader grom Quebec tells us that there were no Empire/Commonwealth Day celrbrations while he was in school during the 1960s, but by that time it wa not being celebrated in England either. All of this is is interesting bcause the Dominions at the turn of of the 20th cntury looked on Britain and the powerful Royal Navy as a protector. As the century played out, the Dominions primarily helped protect Breitain rather than be protcted. And in Wotld War II, it was the United States rather than Britain that protcted the Dominions.

Created: 4:37 AM 3/12/2019
Last updated: 6:50 PM 2/23/2022