Greater Britain facts for kids

Greater Britain was a term used in the late 1800s. It was part of discussions in Britain about the British Empire. People used this term in different ways. Sometimes, the same person even used it differently at different times.

Many people who used the term were part of the Imperial Federation League. This was a group of political activists. They wanted the British government to have a more active and positive approach to the empire.

In the 1900s, Oswald Mosley brought the term back. He published a book called The Greater Britain in 1932. This book helped launch his political party, the British Union of Fascists. He wrote that their goal was to develop their political ideas in Britain.

Later, in 1964, John Tyndall started a group called the Greater Britain Movement (GBM). He got the name from Mosley's book. Tyndall first wanted to connect with other extreme groups around the world. But in 1966, his group stopped openly supporting such extreme views. The GBM then closed down. Tyndall told its members to join the National Front, a newly formed political party.

Ideas About Greater Britain in the Late 1800s

During the late 1800s, the term "Greater Britain" had three main meanings:

• The entire British Empire. This included all the lands ruled by Britain.
• The settler colonies within the empire. These were places where many British people moved to live, like Canada or Australia.
• The English-speaking world. This included countries like the United States, where English was the main language. Today, this is sometimes called the anglosphere.

Charles Dilke's Book: Greater Britain (1869)

The discussion about "Greater Britain" really started with a book by Charles Wentworth Dilke. His book, published in 1869, was called Greater Britain: A Record of Travel in English-Speaking Countries During 1866-7.

In his book, Dilke shared his thoughts about the British people. He believed that the British "race" was very grand. He thought it was already spreading across the world and would eventually cover it all. Dilke often praised both the English and the British. He believed Britain had done more than just create colonies. He felt Britain had also spread its ways of life to people from other parts of Europe, like Germany and Scandinavia. He even said that through America, England was "speaking to the world."

Dilke traveled to the United States shortly after the American Civil War ended. This war had led to the end of slavery in the U.S. with the Thirteenth Amendment.

In his book, Dilke also wrote about different groups of people. He believed that some groups were stronger and would succeed more than others. He thought that English people would continue to be very successful around the world.

John Colomb's Book: The Defence of Great and Greater Britain (1880)

John Colomb wrote a book called The Defence of Great and Greater Britain. He published it after a special group was set up in 1879. This group was called the Royal Commission. It was created to look into how to defend British lands and trade around the world.

Parts of Colomb's book were published earlier. For example, Chapter II appeared in The British Trade Journal in 1872. Other chapters were read at important meetings. Chapters III and IV were presented at the Royal Colonial Institute in 1873 and 1877. Chapters V and VI were read at the Royal United Services Institute in 1879. Colomb's work focused on the military defense of the British Empire.