Over the last 400 years what power has done the most to spread the ideas of limited government and independent judiciary certain inalienable rights and free markets that power would be the British empire it was Britain that gave his ideals to the United States it was the British empire the largest empire in the world has ever known which made these ideas global aspirations it was the British empire along with America that defended these ideas into colossal world wars freedom English ones right and wherever he went he took direct with him whether he was an English columnist in America governing himself through a locally elected Assembly or an English adventurer likes to stanford raffles creating the free market city state of Singapore or an English officer like te lawrence leading Arab tribesmen against the turks the British always thought of themselves as liberators as brainers of freedom the Believed the final and necessary justification of their empire was a moral one the British kept the peace they brought sound honest administration and they insisted that basic moral standards were honored the British did not try to nation build in the way we think of it now they're under no illusions about making arabs or afghans or zulus and English meant they were more than content to leave people alone to let them be themselves to govern them with the lightest possible hand an American We remember this when we think of the British empire so called the nine neglect we can see it throughout the history of the British empire I think about the vast territory of the Sudan it was governed by 100 and 40 British civil service even Gandhi praise the British empire paraphrasing jefferson saying that he believed that the best government was the government that governs least and that he found the British empire guaranteed his freedom and government him Of all and the defense of freedom the empire drew moral lines no power did more to abolish slavery and the slave trade in the modern world than did the British empire the British Treasury spent enormous sums to liberate slaves and compensate slave owners in the Caribbean the Royal Navy had is a primary duty the eradication of the slave trade and in fact abolishing the slave trade became a major factor driving the expansion of the British empire the British Forced a pax britannica putting down pirates taming head hunters and keeping the peace between previously warring tribes and religions while respecting and often ruling through local leaders the British still insisted on certain judeo Christian moral standards they were not in that respect multicultural list they had a firm sense of right and wrong when sir Charles napier was confronted by the practice of city would over and India he told the brahman priest involved that he understood it was their custom but the British Custom to they hanged man who burned women alive and their goods were confiscated so if the brom insisted I continuing their tradition of whatever name and he would insist on following his British tradition of hanging the murderers of widows widow burning India soon ceased but we don't have to dig far into history and the abolition of slavery and widow burning to find the British empire on the side of moral right and freedom We can think of events within our own lifetimes or those of our parents and grandparents and we think of the two deadliest threats to freedom in the twentieth century we generally think of communism and Nazi ism that how many remember that in 19 40 after the Hitler stalin pact and after the fall of France one power the British empire stood alone in mortal combat against the combined tyrannies of the world even where the Merited criticism as in Ireland there is more to the imperial story during negotiations to create the Irish Republic for instance British Prime Minister David lloyd George who could speak welsh reminded the Irish nationalist and gala extremist even diva era that the kilts never had a word for Republic it was an idea given to them by the English this is our own history two if you love America you should also love the power that gave us our sense of an alien a voter rights rights traceable back to magna carta it all started in America with the British empire a great liberty loving empire it is the emperor's legacy the English speaking world there remains the great global guardian of freedom today I managed to be crocker for prager University Hey hope you enjoy the video did you know prager u is a hundred percent fan funded we make videos for people like you because of the support of people like you click here to help out and help us keep knowledge free for everyone