Dilke, Sir Charles

Dilke, Sir Charles
(1843–1911)
   A fervent Liberal imperialist, Charles Dilke was born into the bosom of the British Liberal establishment. His father was given a baronetcy for his work with Prince Albert on the Great Exhibition of 1851, which Dilke inherited in 1869. As a boy he was introduced to most of the great figures of the age, from Victoria herself to the Duke of Wellington and Lord Palmerston. Dilke was educated at Cambridge, and after graduation he embarked on a then unusual grand tour around the world. The result was a two-volume memoir, Greater Britain: A Record of Travel in English- Speaking Countries during 1866 and 1867. The work was an instant success, going through many editions, and propelling Dilke into Parliament.
   Greater Britain tells the tale of an observant but highly opinionated young man traveling westward across the United States, with a brief excursion to Canada, then across the Pacific to New Zealand and Australia, and thence to India, returning to England by the Suez Canal. Although often remembered today as a celebration of imperialism, Dilke’s vision was that of a free-trading radical, and his volumes were not uncritical of the British Empire. In India, for instance, he labeled the Anglo- Indian government “a mere imperialism, where one man rules and the rest are slaves,” and saw with some prescience that “by means of centralization and railroads, we have created an India which we cannot fight.”
   For Dilke, the term Greater Britain meant the countries that had been influenced by British emigration and culture or by British rule. It was the United States in which he was most interested, and which was for him Britain’s exemplary colony. For Dilke, as for many Victorians, the term colony had classical associations and did not necessarily imply political subordination. In his preface, Dilke wrote, “In America, the peoples of the world are being fused together, but they are run into an English mould . . . through America, England is speaking to the world . . . If two small islands are by courtesy styled ‘Great,’ America, Australia, India must form a ‘Greater Britain.’”
   It was a combination of ethnic and cultural pride in his country that was rather more self-confident, and less inclined to focus purely on political ties, than the avowed imperialism of later decades. Nevertheless, the primary impact of Dilke’s volumes, aside from giving an initial boost to his own political career, was to raise the profile of Britain’s overseas possessions in the minds of the book-buying public, and to suggest that colonies might be a source not merely of expense and danger, but also of pride and strength to Britain. In that way, he played some role in preparing the ground for the more aggressive imperialism of subsequent decades.
   Dilke began his political career as a radical, going so far to the left as to dally with republicanism in the early 1870s. He served as the representative of William Gladstone ’s 1880–1885 government during the unsuccessful attempt to renew the Cobden-Chevalier Free Trade treaty of 1860, and represented the Admiralty in the House of Commons during the British occupation of Egypt in 1882. He was seen as a man of great ability and a potential future Prime Minister, but his political career was destroyed by a divorce scandal in 1886. He became in his later years a respected and cautiously imperialist commentator on imperial and military affairs, publishing Problems of Greater Britain in 1890, and in 1899, a volume of essays entitled The British Empire.
   See also <>; <>.
   FURTHER READING:
    Jenkins, Roy. Sir Charles Dilke, A Victorian Tragedy. London: Collins, 1958;
    Matthew, H.C.G. The Liberal Imperialists. London: Oxford University Press, 1973.
   MARK PROUDMAN

Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth, 2o baronet — (4 sep. 1843, Londres, Inglaterra–26 ene. 1911, Londres). Político británico. Fue elegido al parlamento en 1868, primero en calidad de radical y después como moderado. En 1882 se incorporó al gabinete de William E. Gladstone y era considerado… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth, 2nd Baronet — born Sept. 4, 1843, London, Eng. died Jan. 26, 1911, London British politician. He was elected to Parliament in 1868, first as an extremist then as a moderate. In 1882 he became a member of William E. Gladstone s cabinet and was seen as a future… …   Universalium

  • Sir Charles Dilke, 2nd Baronet — Charles Dilke redirects here. For other uses, see Charles Dilke (disambiguation). Sir Charles Dilke, Bt Image from an Ogden s Cigarette Card Born 4 September 1843& …   Wikipedia

  • DILKE, SIR CHARLES WENTWORTH —    English publicist and politician, grandson of the preceding, born at Chelsea; called to the bar; travelled in America and the English colonies, and wrote a record of his travels in his Greater Britain ; entered Parliament as an extreme… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth —    Bart., P.C., LL.D., etc. (b. 1843)    Political writer. Greater Britain (1868), The Fall of Prince Floristan of Monaco, Problems of Greater Britain (1890), etc …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Sir Charles Dilke, 1st Baronet — For other people named Charles Dilke, see Charles Dilke (disambiguation). Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 1st Baronet (18 February 1810 – 10 May 1869), English Whig politician, son of Charles Wentworth Dilke, proprietor and editor of The Athenaeum,… …   Wikipedia

  • Charles — Charles, Ray * * * (as used in expressions) Adams, Charles Francis Addams, Charles (Samuel) Atlas, Charles Babbage, Charles Barkley, Charles (Wade) Charles Daly Barnet Bartlett, Sir Frederic C(harles) Baudelaire, Charles (Pierre) Charles Edward… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • sir — /serr/, n. 1. a respectful or formal term of address used to a man: No, sir. 2. (cap.) the distinctive title of a knight or baronet: Sir Walter Scott. 3. (cap.) a title of respect for some notable personage of ancient times: Sir Pandarus of Troy …   Universalium

  • Charles — /chahrlz/, n. 1. (Prince of Edinburgh and of Wales) born 1948, heir apparent to the throne of Great Britain (son of Elizabeth II). 2. Ray (Ray Charles Robinson), born 1930, U.S. blues singer and pianist. 3. Cape, a cape in E Virginia, N of the… …   Universalium

  • sir — (Voz inglesa.) ► sustantivo masculino Tratamiento honorífico empleado por los británicos. * * * sir (ingl.; pronunc. [ser]) m. *Tratamiento de respeto usado en Inglaterra delante de un nombre de hombre o para dirigirse a la persona de que se… …   Enciclopedia Universal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”