Information pertinent to George Orwell’s “On Shooting an Elephant” The British Empire and Burma

History of the British Empire “The sun never sets on the British Empire” By 1922, largest empire in the history of human civilization 458 million people (1/5), 33,700,000 km 2 (1/4) Serious decline after WWII 1940s – Independence of India and partitioning of Pakistan and creation of the state of Israel 1950s – Suez Canal crisis 1960s-1980s – pulled out of Africa 1990s – Return of Hong Kong to China

19 th C. Map of the British Empire Consider the following map How does the map reflect the mentality of the British towards their colonies? How is this mentality reflected in “On Shooting an Elephant”?

Myanmar (Burma) Many different ethnic groups moved into region over time Often at war both internally and externally Fell to war with British in mid-19 th C. Transformed from agrarian society into industrial society Tensions between the “in-groups” and the “out-groups” were exaggerated Orwell there from Gained independence in 1948 Under various military regimes from Currently undergoing democratization