The Great Coronation Durbar of December 12th,1911
A great event at the height of the British Raj
Occurred during the Visit
Of their Imperial Majesties
the King Emperor and Queen Empress
The British Empire
at its peak
The visit covered the period
from December 2nd, 1911 to January 10th, 1912
Here are some lines written in the 1930s. From a book called The Outline of the world today . " The British Empire is only three hundred years old, but it has already outrun all the records of history. The Roman Empire never reached one-seventh, the Arab , Mongolian, Spanish and Chinese never more than one-third, even the Empire of the Tsars did not amount to much more than one-half the British Empire, which covers a quarter of the land of the Globe. It is three times greater than Europe, twice as great as South America, a hundred times greater than the United Kingdom.
And it has been growing all the time , most of all since the loss of those plantations now known as the United States " .
From the Book THE OUTLINE OF THE WORLD TODAY (1932)- edited by Sir Harry Johnson, & Dr. L. Haden Guest.
Notice it says that the Empire expanded with great force after the loss of the United States ( plantations!! :) ). The entire credit went to the greatness of the people who constituted the Empire and not to the acquistion of a massive obedient, unquestioning and awestruck Labour force known as India, acquired within a period of 75 years, through subterfuge and conspiracy disguised smartly by Elizabethan Elegance. The US was lost in 1776 and the gradual encroachment into India started in 1757 by Robert Clive. Clive made Machiavelli look like an innocent todler :). His "victory" largely through underhand means gave a strong impetus to the pace of acquistion.
The fear of the Deities called the British was instilled by events like this Durbar. The veneer after 1857 was Empire and Government. The soul was always trade, skewed to benefit the colonials.
And yes the Empire went like a punctured ballon after Indian freedom. Last year (2003) a well read media fed Engineering college student wanted to know what was Great Britain. He was aware of Britain but "Great Britain" he was not so sure. "Great" of course in the mind of an older generation stood for the vastness of the Empire. The "Sun never set" remember - no one does! :).