The shadow of India

Between 1815 and 1922, the United Kingdom, consisting of England, Wales, Scotland and the whole of Ireland, is a successful industrial nation slowly shuffling towards democracy. During the century, Britain accumulates overseas territories in all continents, but authority is delegated to those countries where white settlers dominate – Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Britain’s principal Asian interest is the Indian Empire, built up by private initiative. This interest shadows attitudes toward the Arab world and the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Victorian experts in the Middle East – many of whom have knowledge of Islam and the Turkish and Arabic languages, like Richard Burton – come to these studies from India and familiarity with Persia. Strategists during this period debate whether the Ottoman Empire should or should not be upheld as a bulwark against an expanding Russia, seen also as a threat to Indian possessions. There have been long-standing commercial interests, mostly based in Constantinople (Istanbul), Smyrna (Izmir) and Aleppo. These markets channel imports from farther east. The development of steam power brings the eastern Mediterranean world closer to Britain; over the century, fuelling stations – Aden, Cyprus, Egypt – are acquired, facilitating routes to India, especially after the Suez Canal is opened in 1869.