Unjust William
Sir: It is a bad idea for schools to be recommending their pupils listen to William Dalrymple’s podcast Empire (‘Striking back’, 4 July), without also suggesting they listen to, for example, Niall Ferguson on the same subject. Dalrymple does not prize the British Empire, but many of us who have studied it in detail admire the many benefits it conferred on its subjects. Balance is essential in educating children and from Dalrymple they will get an unduly pejorative view. Hearing his analysis, one might wonder how such an inefficient and corrupt entity succeeded in governing about a third of the world for a long period.
There were two main failures. The first was the empire’s inability after the second world war to afford the cost of its African colonies long enough to ensure the development of a significant local middle class before independence. The second was the withdrawal from India in 1947, which was both too early and not properly thought through, resulting in partition and shocking intercommunal violence. What was needed in both cases was more empire, not less. All governmental systems have their weaknesses, but, by and large, the British Empire was a force for good.
