The British and French Empires spent the majority of the period between 1793 and 1815 at war with one another; imperial conflict in this period was not uncommon – the two powers had previously clashed during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) and the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783, with direct French involvement from 1778). [CITE THESE DATES????????] Though by 1815 the Napoleonic Empire had fallen and been replaced by the restored Bourbon Monarchy, which adopted the British ideological system of constitutional monarchy, ideology was not the root of their conflict. However, the two Empires during this period (and continuing into the later nineteenth century IF I TALK ABOUT THAT) operated with varying ideologies (MAYBE? SOME SIMILARITIES)
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The British Empire was predominantly trade-based; Scottish lawyer Andrew Fletcher claimed on behalf of the Empire in 1698 that “Conquest is not our interest.” This focus on trade was the result of both increasing demands for commodities such as tea, sugar, and tobacco, and gave rise to the Empire’s infamous terra nullius doctrine. This stated that it was a human right to take territory not being “properly utilised” by its inhabitants. It was the ideological justification behind the colonisation of North America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand by the British; the indigenous populations of these territories did not participate in what the British believed to be society or civilisation, and they did not understand their use of the land, so they exploited it and the populations for their trade. The indigenous populations that their plantation colonies in places like North America and Australia were considered “small, primitive, and therefore insignificant”; there was not enough there for the British to be concerned about. These attitudes led to frequent conflicts and strained relationships with native populations that weren’t as present in French colonialism. The British aimed to – or claimed to – avoid these conflicts; the commander of the Botany Bay expedition was ordered to live “in amity and kindness” with the Indigenous Australians in the 1780s, though this rapidly devolved. The settler colonies in these areas were the both product of overpopulation after rapid population growth in Britain, and a means of reinforcing Britain’s power and presence in their colonies. Britain’s dominance also had roots in British exceptionalism, which became a foundation of the Empire. The 1763 song “Rule, Britannia!” exemplifies this ideology; it describes rise “at Heaven’s command”, the “nations not so blest as thee”, and
The British Empire was predominantly trade-based; Scottish lawyer Andrew Fletcher claimed on behalf of the Empire in 1698 that “Conquest is not our interest.” This focus on trade was the result of both increasing demands for commodities such as tea, sugar, and tobacco, and gave rise to the Empire’s infamous terra nullius doctrine. This stated that it was a human right to take territory not being “properly utilised” by its inhabitants. It was the ideological justification behind the colonisation of North America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand by the British; the indigenous populations of these territories did not participate in what the British believed to be society or civilisation, and they did not understand their use of the land, so they exploited it and the populations for their trade. The indigenous populations that their plantation colonies in places like North America and Australia were considered “small, primitive, and therefore insignificant”; there was not enough there for the British to be concerned about. These attitudes led to frequent conflicts and strained relationships with native populations that weren’t as present in French colonialism. The British aimed to – or claimed to – avoid these conflicts; the commander of the Botany Bay expedition was ordered to live “in amity and kindness” with the Indigenous Australians in the 1780s, though this rapidly devolved. The settler colonies in these areas were the both product of overpopulation after rapid population growth in Britain, and a means of reinforcing Britain’s power and presence in their colonies. Britain’s dominance also had roots in British exceptionalism, which became a foundation of the Empire. The 1763 song “Rule, Britannia!” exemplifies this ideology; it describes rise “at Heaven’s command”, the “nations not so blest as thee”, and