Chapter 41

The empire contains or is bounded by some of the highest mountains, the greatest lakes, and the most important rivers of the world. Its climates may be said to include all the known climates of the world; its soils are no less various. In the prairies of central Canada it possesses some of the most valuable wheat-producing land; in the grass lands of the interior of Australia the best pasture country; and in the uplands of South Africa the most valuable gold- and diamond-bearing beds which exist. The United Kingdom at present produces more coal than any other single country except the United States. The effect of climate throughout the empire in modifying the type of the Anglo-Saxon race has as yet received only partial attention, and conclusions regarding it are of a somewhat empiric nature. The general tendency in Canada is held to be towards somewhat smaller size, and a hardy active habit; in Australia to a tall, slight, pale development locally known as "cornstalkers," characterized by considerable nervous and intellectual activity. In New Zealand the type preserves almost exactly the characteristics of the British Isles. The South African, both Dutch and British, is readily recognized by an apparently sun-dried, lank and hard habit of body. In the tropical possessions of the empire, where white settlement does not take place to any considerable extent, the individual alone is affected. The type undergoes no modification. It is to be observed in reference to this interesting aspect of imperial development, that the multiplication and cheapening of channels of communication and means of travel throughout the empire will tend to modify the future accentuation of race difference, while the variety of elements in the vast area occupied should have an important, though as yet not scientifically traced, effect upon the British imperial type.

The white population of the empire[1] reached in 1901 a total of over 53,000,000, or something over one-eighth of its entire [Sidenote: Population.] population, which, including native races, is estimated at about 400,000,000. The white population includes some French, Dutch and Spanish peoples, but is mainly of Anglo-Saxon race. It is distributed roughly as follows:--

United Kingdom and home dependencies 41,608,791 Australasia 4,662,000 British North America 5,500,000 Africa (Dutch and British) 1,000,000[2] India 169,677 West Indies and Bermuda 100,000 ---------- 53,040,468

The native population of the empire includes types of the principal black, yellow and brown races, classing with these the high-type races of the East, which may almost be called white. The native population of India, mainly high type, brown, was returned at the census of 1901 as 294,191,379. The population of India is divided into 118 groups on the basis of language. These may, however, be collected into the following principal groups:--

(A) Malayo-Polynesian. (B) Indo-Chinese: i. Mon-Khmer. ii. Tibeto-Burman. iii. Siamese-Chinese. (C) Dravido-Mu[n.][d.][=a]: i. Mu[n.][d.][=a] (Kolarian). ii. Dravidian. (D) Indo-European. Indo-Aryan sub-family. (E) Semitic. (F) Hamitic. (G) Unclassed, e.g. Gipsy.

_Eastern Colonies_

Ceylon, high type, brown and mixed 3,568,824 Straits Settlements, brown, mixed and Chinese 570,000 Hong-Kong, Chinese and brown 306,130 North Borneo, mixed brown and Sarawak 700,000 --------- 5,144,954

[v.04 p.0607] Of the various races which inhabit these Eastern dependencies the most important are the 2,000,000 Sinhalese and the 954,000 Tamil that make up the greater part of the population of Ceylon. The rest is made up of Arabs, Malays, Chinese (in the Straits Settlements and Hong-Kong), Dyaks, Eurasians and others.

_West Indies._

The West Indies, including the continental colonies of British Guiana and Honduras, and seventeen islands or groups of islands, have a total coloured population of about 1,912,655. The colonies of this group which have the largest coloured populations are:--

Jamaica--Chiefly black, some brown and yellow 790,000 Trinidad and Tobago--Black and brown 250,000 British Guiana--Black and brown 286,000 --------- 1,326,000

The populations of the West Indies are very various, being made up largely of imported African negroes. In Jamaica these contribute four-fifths of the population. There are also in the islands a considerable number of imported East Indian coolies and some Chinese. The aboriginal races include American Indians of the mainland and Caribs. With these there has been intermixture of Spanish and Portuguese blood, and many mixed types have appeared. The total European population of this group of colonies amounts to upwards of 80,000, to which 15,000 on account of Bermuda may be added.

_Africa._

Chiefly black, estimated South 5,211,329 Central 2,000,000

The aboriginal races of South Africa were the Bushmen and Hottentots. Both these races are rapidly diminishing in numbers, and in British South Africa it is expected that they will in the course of the twentieth century become extinct. Besides these primitive races there are the dark-skinned negroids of Bantu stock, commonly known in their tribal groups as Kaffirs, Zulu, Bechuana and Damara, which are again subdivided into many lesser groups. The Bantu compose the greater part of the native population. There are also in South Africa Malays and Indians and others, who during the last two hundred years have been introduced from Java, Ceylon, Madagascar, Mozambique and British India, and by intermarriage with each other and with the natives have produced a hybrid population generally classed together under the heading of the Mixed Races. These are of all colours, varying from yellow to dark brown. The tribes of Central Africa are as yet less known. Many of them exhibit racial characteristics allied to those of the tribes of South Africa, but with in some cases an admixture of Arab blood.

_East Africa._

Protectorate--Black and brown: Natives (estimated) 4,000,000 Asiatics (estimated) 25,000 Zanzibar--Black and brown 200,000 Uganda 3,200,000 --------- Total 7,425,000

_West Africa._

Estimated. Nigeria (including Lagos)--Black and brown 15,000,000 Gold Coast and hinterland--Chiefly black 2,700,000 Sierra Leone " " 1,000,000 Gambia " " 163,000 ---------- 18,863,000

From east to west across Africa the aboriginal nations are mostly of the black negroid type, their varieties being only imperfectly known. The tendency of some of the lower negroid types has been to drift towards the west coast, where they still practise cannibalistic and fetish rites. On the east coast are found much higher types approaching to the Christian races of Abyssinia, and from east to west there has been a wide admixture of Arab blood producing a light-brown type. In Uganda and Nigeria a large proportion of the population is Arab and relatively light-skinned.

_Australasia_.

Australia--Black, very low type 200,000 Chinese and half castes, yellow 50,000 New Zealand--Maoris, brown, Chinese and half castes 53,000 Fiji--Polynesian, black and brown 121,000 Papua--Polynesian, black and brown 400,000 ------- 824,000

The native races of Australia and the Polynesian groups of islands are divided into two main types known as the dark and light Polynesian. The dark type, which is black, is of a very low order, and in some of the islands still retains its cannibal habits. The aboriginal tribes of Australia are of a low-class black race, but generally peaceful and inoffensive in their habits. The white Polynesian races are of a very superior type, and exhibit, as in the Maoris of New Zealand, characteristics of a high order. The natives of Papua (New Guinea) are in a very low state of civilization. The estimate given of their numbers is approximate, as no census has been taken.

_Canada._

Indians--Brown 100,000

The only coloured native races of Canada are the Red Indians, many in tribal variety, but few in number.

_Summary_.

Native Populations: India 294,191,379 Ceylon and Eastern Colonies 5,144,954 West Indies 1,912,655 South Africa 5,211,329 British Central Africa 2,000,000 East Africa 7,425,000 West Africa 18,863,000 Australasia and Islands 824,000 Canada 100,000 ----------- 335,672,317 White populations 53,040,468 Total 388,712,785

This is without taking into account the population of the lesser crown colonies or allowing for the increase likely to be shown by later censuses. Throughout the empire, and notably in the United Kingdom, there is among the white races a considerable sprinkling of Jewish blood.

The latest calculation of the entire population of the world, including a liberal estimate of 650,000,000 for peoples not brought under any census, gives a total of something over 1,500,000,000. The population of the empire may therefore be calculated as amounting to something more than one-fourth of the population of the world.

It is a matter of first importance in the geographical distribution of the empire that the five principal divisions, the United [Sidenote: Divisions.] Kingdom, South Africa, India, Australia and Canada are separated from each other by the three great oceans of the world. The distance as usually calculated in nautical miles: from an English port to the Cape of Good Hope is 5840 m.; from the Cape of Good Hope to Bombay is 4610; from Bombay to Melbourne is 5630; from Melbourne to Auckland is 1830; from Auckland to Vancouver is 6210; from Halifax to Liverpool is 2744. From a British port direct to Bombay by way of the Mediterranean it is 6272; from a British port by the same route to Sydney 11,548 m. These great distances have necessitated the acquisition of intermediate ports suitable for coaling stations on the trade routes, and have determined the position of many of the lesser crown colonies which are held simply for military and commercial purposes. Such are the Bermudas, Gibraltar, Malta, Aden, Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, Labuan, Hong-Kong, which complete the [v.04 p.0608] chain of connexion on the eastern route, and such on other routes are the lesser West African stations, Ascension, St. Helena, the Mauritius and Seychelles, the Falklands, Tristan da Cunha, and the groups of the western Pacific. Other annexations of the British empire have been rocky islets of the northern Pacific required for the purpose of telegraph stations in connexion with an all-British cable.

For purposes of political administration the empire falls into the three sections of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with the dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man; the Indian empire, consisting of British India and the feudatory native states; and the colonial empire, comprising all other colonies and dependencies.

In the modern sense of extension beyond the limits of the United Kingdom the growth of the empire is of comparatively [Sidenote: Growth.] recent date. The Channel Islands became British as a part of the Norman inheritance of William the Conqueror. The Isle of Man, which was for a short time held in conquest by Edward I. and restored, was sold by its titular sovereign to Sir William Scrope, earl of Wiltshire, in 1393, and by his subsequent attainder for high treason and the confiscation of his estates, became a fief of the English crown. It was granted by Henry IV. in 1406 to Sir John Stanley, K.C., ancestor of the earls of Derby, by whom it was held till 1736, when it passed to James Murray, 2nd duke of Atholl, as heir-general of the 10th earl. It was inherited by his daughter Charlotte, wife of the 3rd duke of Atholl, who sold it to the crown for £70,000 and an annuity of £2000. With these exceptions and the nominal possession taken of Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583, all the territorial acquisitions of the empire have been made in the 17th and subsequent centuries.

The following is a list of the British colonies and dependencies (other than those belonging to the Indian empire) together with a summary statement of the date and method of their acquisition. Arranged in chronological order they give some idea of the rate of growth of the empire. The dates are not, however, in all cases those in which British sovereignty was established. They indicate in some instances only the first definite step, such as the building of a fort, the opening of a trading station, or other act, which led later to the incorporation in the empire of the country indicated. In the case of Australian states or Canadian provinces originally part of other states or provinces the date is that, approximately, of the first settlement of British in the district named; _e.g._ there were British colonists in Saskatchewan in the last half of the 18th century, but the province was not constituted until 1905. Save where otherwise stated, British authority has been continuous from the first date mentioned in the table. Reference should be made to the articles on the various colonies.

Name. Date. Method of Acquisition.

Newfoundland 1583 Possession taken by Sir H. Gilbert for the crown.

_17th Century._

Barbados 1605-1625 Settlement. Bermudas 1609 " Gambia c. 1618 " A second time in 1816. St Christopher 1623 " Did not become wholly British until 1713. Novia Scotia 1628 " Ceded to France 1632; recovered 1713. Nevis 1628 " Montserrat 1632 " Antigua 1632 " Honduras 1638 " St Lucia 1638 " Finally passed to Great Britain in 1803. Gold Coast c. 1650 Settlement. Danish forts bought 1850, Dutch forts 1871. Northern Territories added 1897. St Helena 1651 Settled by East India Co. Government vested in British crown 1833. Jamaica 1655 Conquest. Bahamas 1666 Settlement. Virgin Islands 1666-1672 Settlement and conquest. N.W. Territories of Canada 1669 Settlement under royal charter of Hudson's Bay Co. Purchased from imp. gov. 1869, and transferred to Canada 1870. Turks and Caicos Is. 1678 Settlement.

_18th Century._ Gibraltar 1704 Capitulation. New Brunswick 1713 Cession. Prince Edward Is. 1758 Conquest. Ontario 1759-1790 With New Brunswick and Nova Quebec 1759-1790 Scotia constituted Dominion of Canada 1867. Prince Edward Is. enters the confederation 1873. In 1880 all British possessions (other than Newfoundland) in North America annexed to the Dominion. Dominica 1761 Conquest. St Vincent 1762 Capitulation. Grenada 1762 " Tobago 1763 Cession. Afterwards in French possession. Reconquered 1803. Falkland Is. 1765 Settlement. Reoccupied 1832. Saskatchewan 1766 Settlement. Separation from N.W. Territories of Canada 1905. Pitcairn I. 1780 Settlement. Straits Settlements 1786 to 1824 Settlement and cession. Vested (1858) in crown by E.I. Co. Transferred from Indian to colonial possessions 1867. Malacca in British occupation 1795-1818. Sierra Leone 1787 Settlement. Alberta c. 1788 Separated from N. W. Territories of Canada 1905. New South Wales 1788 Settlement. Ceylon 1795 Capitulation. Trinidad 1797 " Malta 1800 "

_19th Century._

British Guiana 1803 Capitulation. Tasmania 1803 Settlement. Cape of Good Hope 1806 Capitulation. Present limits not attained until 1895. First British occupation 1795-1803. Seychelles 1806 Capitulation. Mauritius 1810 " Manitoba 1811 Settlement by Red River or Selkirk colony. Created province of Canada 1870. Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 1815 Military occupation. B. Columbia and Vancouver Island 1821 Settlement under Hudson's Bay Co. Entered Canadian confederation 1871. Natal 1824 Settlement. Natal Boers submit 1843. Queensland 1824 Separated from New South Wales 1859. West Australia 1826 Settlement. Victoria 1834 Separated from New South Wales 1851. South Australia 1836 Settlement. New Zealand 1840 Settlement and treaty. Hong-Kong 1841 Treaties. Kowloon on the mainland added in 1860; additional area leased 1898. Labuan 1846 Cession. Incorporated in Straits Settlements 1906. Lagos 1861 Cession. South Nigeria amalgamated with Lagos, under style of Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria 1906. Basutoland 1868 Annexation. Fiji 1874 Cession. [v.04 p.0609] W. Pacific Islands, including 1877 High commission created by order including Union, Ellice, in council, giving jurisdiction Gilbert, Southern Solomon, over islands not included in and other groups other colonial governments, nor within jurisdiction of other civilized powers. Protectorates over all these islands by 1900. Federated Malay States 1874-1895 Treaty. Cyprus 1878 Occupied by treaty. North Borneo 1881 Treaty and settlement under royal charter. Protectorate assumed 1888. Papua 1884 Protectorate declared. Nigeria 1884-1886 Treaty, conquest and settlement under royal charter. Chartered Co.'s territory transferred to crown, and whole divided into North and South Nigeria 1900. Somaliland 1884-1886 Occupation and cession. Protectorate declared 1887. Bechuanaland 1885-1891 Protectorate declared. Southern portion annexed to Cape Colony 1895. Zululand 1887 Annexation. Incorporated in Natal 1897. Sarawak 1888 Protectorate declared. Brunei 1888 " " British East Africa 1888 Treaty, conquest and settlement under royal charter. Transferred to crown 1895. Rhodesia 1888-1893 Treaty, conquest and settlement under royal charter. Zanzibar 1890 Protectorate declared. Uganda 1890-1896 Treaty and protectorate. Nyasaland 1891 Protectorate declared. Ashanti 1896 Military occupation. Wei-hai-wei 1898 Lease from China. Pacific Islands-- Christmas, Fanning, 1898 Annexed for purposes of projected Penrhyn, Suvarov Pacific cable. Choiseul and Isabel Is. 1899 Cession. (Solomon Group) Tonga and Niué 1900 Protectorate declared. Orange Free State 1900 Annexation. Formerly British 1848-1854. Transvaal and Swaziland 1900 Annexation. Formerly British 1877-1881.

_20th Century._ Kelantan, Trengganu, &c. 1909 Cession from Siam.