Great Britain, for better or worse, brought their brand of civilization to corners on the world which had no standard to compare to it. Both India and China were literally dragged from their ancient cultures into the modern world, and a light was shined into Central Africa that was still largely in the Stone Age. An era of taming nature and building from the resources at hand ushered in the Industrial Age, and the fundamentals of capitalism followed the Union Jack everywhere. A semi-isolated island country exerted power over the world that all the previous kings and military rulers previous could not have grasped, let along maintain the control that the British Crown held over the world for literally centuries, before the Empire turned upon itself and was consumed by factions and territorial demands from people who had for centuries only managed to live at a subsistence level.
Give the British their due. They may not have invented civilization, but they certainly raised it to an art form unique in all the world history.
Compare the former British colonies in world against the colonies of other European empires and the British ones are doing far better as a whole.
“Great Britain, for better or worse, brought their brand of civilization to corners on the world which had no standard to compare to it.”
Yes, and we could also say that Hitler’s enormous power, ability to attract a following, and barbarity prove nothing about the ‘white’ race as a whole.
Didn’t some nonwhite cultures eat people?
The British likened themselves to the Romans.
Give them their due - yes I certainly do. Look at former British colonies around the world and compare and contrast with the dysfunctional messes the Spanish and French left behind. Pakistan is one exception, and I blame Jinnah and Islam for that. Africa is slowly devolving back To tribalism since the Brits left. At least under colonialism there was relative peace and prosperity.