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62 - The Commonwealth. Novels of Forster, Lessing & Gordimer., 6.…

- - - - It had est. slave plantations in West Indies - wealth flowing in from here was financing Ind Rev (1760-1840) Huge slave trader. Transported 3.5 m between 1662-1807.
    - - 4) India. Dutch & Port. already trading with India in 16C. End wanted to too. 1600 est. of EIC. Settlements (trading posts) in Madras, Bombay & Calcutta. Didn't start top seize land until after 1757 - Battle of Plassey (uprising . Brit seized vast sums from Bengali treasury & used it to further expansion. EIC - initially just interested in trade of cotton, silk. tea & opium but after 1757 ↑ functioned as military authority.
        
        5) Africa. 1st permanent settlement 1661 Gambia. Not really colonised until 19C Scramble for Africa. Initially focused on slave trade in West Africa.
        
        Australia. Cook 1770. Deported convicts - Am Rev had deprived Eng of a suitable place. ↑ in criminals due to poverty caused by Ind Rev. Immigration ↑ in Aust due to sheep farming prospects, then ↑ dramatically after gold discovered 1851. Late 19C - lots of immigration (mainly from Britain). 1891 - pop 3m
  - - - 2) Free Trade. Merchants had been pressing for it from 1820s, claiming it would make goods cheaper & more competitive.. Not fully implemented until 1840s/50s. Impact: Made Britain reluctant to acquire new colonies, as less economically advantageous. Military/imperial authority/control etc had been deemed necessary partly to enforce trade laws.
        
        3) Relaxing of trade laws thf opened up road to devolution of power. BUT only to those considered 'capable' of governing themselves aka WHITE people.
        
        4) Brit retained 4 interests in the colonies: constitutions, foreign relations, international trade and disposal of wasteland. Rest=devolved. Less work, more efficient, still get benefits.
        
        5) Resp. govt granted to colonies which had sufficient no. of white settlers eg NZ, Aust, Canada, Southern Rodhesia etc. NOT West Indies/India/Ceylon etc.
        
        6) 1907 C/W countries given title of DOMINION to distinguish from others. Big contribution in WW1 (as did countries of BE - Br. West Indies Regiment - 25,000 soldiers. 1920s pushed for clearer definition of Dominion.
        
        7) 1926 Imperial Conference. Dominions considered 'equal in status, in no way subordinate to one another...united by a common allegiance to the crown'. So Brit did not rule them. Still Qs - could one by at war and another not? Different foreign policies?
        
        1 more item...
- - - - 2) Meetings - take place every 2 years. Govts have High Commissions rather than embassies as diplomatic representation in other C/W countries. C/W Secretariat etc in London has organising role.
        
        3) Commonwealth Fund for Tech. Co-op - financed by all member states, provides tech. assistance to less developed members. C/W of Learning (CoL) intergov. agency headquarter in Vancouver - goal: provide universal access to edu & training opps. Over 100 C/W NGOs esp in sports, edu & charity
        
        4) Association of C/W unis - vehicle for academic links, esp, through scholarships. C/W Business Forum - major event, Last June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda. C/W Games - every 4 years. Next 2026 Aust (last 2022 B'ham). Strives for inclusivity. C/W Youth Awards. 2020 C/W Women's event - how to close gender gap.
        
        5) What's the POINT of it? Lots of countries reconsidtextering membership after QE died. K&W disastrous tour of Caribbean 2022 - faced with calls for reparations for slavery etc. 14 Caribbean nations currently attempting to sue B govt for reparations. At best - APATHY towards Charles coronation. &
        
        6) Many see C/W as one of last vestiges of colonialism - Empire 2.0. British companies control more than 1 trillion dollars worth of Africa's key resources: gold, diamonds, gas, oil. Majority in C/W countries. Evidence that suggests that, on collapse of empire, Brit created a new, hidden financial 'empire' of tax havens around the world - eg Cayman Islands, Jersey, ... Windrush scandal: a violation of justice & abdication of Brit's historical responsibility
  - - - 3) Has lost members - some pulled out (Ireland 1940s) some suspended (Pakistan after military coup 1999), some expelled (Zimbabwe 2003)
        
        4) No constitution until Charter in 2012, when members committed to 16 values of democracy, gender equality, sustainable dev. & international peace & security. HEAD of C/W - Now Charles III (previously QE, before her George. Not a hereditary position but Charles 'voted in' during last few years of QE
        
        5) CRITICS: post colonial club/'neo-colonial institution'. SUPPORTERS: co-operation on international goals.
- - - - 3.2 South Afr. Eng.
        
        Spoken by part of white pop. (others speak Dutch dialect Afrikans). Eng 1st lang of 10% of pop. 11 official langs in SA. Eng has characteristic of Eng. learnt as 2nd lang. Has acquired elements of many of these other langs.
        
        Vocab: specific/new words borrowed from Afrikaans. Veld: open country, Bilton: dried meat, Gogga: insect, Muti: medicine. Eng words given new meaning. Location: area where black Africans have to live, camp: fenced portion of a farm. Old Eng words: dispense - pantry/cupboard.
        
        Pron: fairly similar to RP. Broader SAE has particular features due to influence by Afrikaans. Omission of consonants . 'tex' instead of text. Modification of vowels - pin sounds like pen, can sounds like keb.
      - 3.1 Australian Eng)
        
        Vocab: Different flora & fauna resulted in many different words. Some are old and have acquired new meaning (robin - various native birds, scrub -vegetation, creek - stream), some borrowings from Aboriginal/Maori (kangaroo/boomerang/wombat)
        
        Pron: Resembles Cockney (convicts) in vowels & dipthongs ei/ai. Neutral schwa more audible. Gen Aust - spoken by majority. Cultivated Aust- similar to RP . minority. Broad Aust - 'uncultivated extreme'.
    - - Many varieties due to size, class systems etc. V variable phonology - stress, rhythm, intonation all different. Influenced by Indian langs - eg Hind does not permit clusters such as sk/sp/st at beginning of words & s is produced with an initial vowel.
        
        Grammar: Progressive tense used with static verbs eg 'my sister is not understanding you'. Different prepositions eg pay attention on, discuss about something. Q tags don't agree . she likes you isn't it? No inversion in Qs - what you have done?
    - - Similar to US but retains some Brit. pron & spellings. Mix - eg tire (not tyre) but centre (not center). Brit influence greater in West, US in East.
        
        Differences from US: Canadian rising - diphthong before the voiceless consonant in words like 'shout' sounds more like 'shote', knife sounds like 'knoife'. T flapping - t pronounced between/after vowels - metal to medal. Cot/caught sound the same. News pronounced in British way not with /u:/
- - - - APTI: Account of India under Brit rule. St in pre war Brit India. Relationships between colonisers & locals. No communication across the divide. Begins with Q - can an Englishman & an Indian ever be friends? Explored through friendship of Aziz & Fielding. Initially +tive. their friendship falls apart.
        
        Themes APTI: Imperialism, colonialism, clash of cultures. STYLE: unique, 3rd person omniscient narration + lots of dialogue. Makes reader feel part of the action. V accessible - reader has access to all characters thoughts so can easily identify with them.
  - - - Nobel Prize 2007. Turned down Damehood 1992 'no such thing as Empire'. Wrote about race. racism & gender. 1 of most influential women writers 2nd half 20C. Fierce voice vs injustice & colonialism (eg books banned in SA under apartheid). Maybe most famous: The Golden Notebook 1962.
  - - - Iconic status now in SA as a champion of tolerance free speech & understanding. Refused to become an exile. Style - detached, fractured, concise. Depth of feeling & cool irony.