Prática de Shadowing: How the British Empire Collapsed - Aprenda a falar inglês com vídeo
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At its peak in the 1920s, the British Empire controlled over a quarter of the Earth's entire land mass.
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It was a dominant global force, a seemingly unstoppable empire that existed for over three and a half centuries.
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And yet, within just a few decades, the British Empire would completely disintegrate.
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Colonialism is about ensuring that wealth and resources enrich the home nation.
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The Second World War was a killing blow to the British Empire, accelerating a chain of events that would see countries withdrawing from the empire en masse,
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in some cases at the cost of thousands of lives.
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In this four-part series, we'll explore the fight for independence from colonial rule by journeying through IWM's latest exhibition, Emergency Exits.
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But first, in this episode, we need to understand the British Empire as a whole.
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How did it work?
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What did Britain gain from controlling so many countries?
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And why, after centuries, did it all come tumbling down?
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our deceptively simple concepts.
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Fundamentally an empire is acquired to bring benefit to the nation
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that owns it and some places are acquired because they guarantee that that benefit will continue because they're in key strategic locations.
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Well although empire is often presented as a much more more complex sort of proposition.
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At its heart, it's about ensuring the benefits flow to the home nation.
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This is exactly how the British Empire operated.
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Each colony directly benefited and enriched Britain and British people.
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This usually came in the form of resources, with each region contributing different materials to sustain the empire.
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Historically, this was often at the expense of indigenous populations who were regularly oppressed and abused.
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Despite Britain formally abolishing slavery in the early 1800s,
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local populations were still mistreated and exploited across the empire through to the 20th century.
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Indentured labourers worked in extremely harsh conditions for little to no pay, all the way up to the First World War.
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When that conflict began, it created a whole new set of challenges for those living in colonised countries.
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The Empire not only provided resources and soldiers,
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it carefully managed how it used those resources and crucially it carefully managed how it used those people.
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So the people of empire were restricted to particular roles, often non-combat roles.
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This is a sealed pattern jacket.
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So the idea behind things like this is that they were made once
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and then this would be the example
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that all of the manufacturers of these jackets would go back to in order to make sure
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that their products were the same.
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And this is a sealed pattern for the South African Native Labour Corps.
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And the crucial thing about the roles that the guys who wore this performed was that they were support roles.
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Fundamentally, the British government didn't want black soldiers fighting white soldiers,
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white German soldiers in Europe as in Europe.
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And they also wanted to ensure that the roles
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that they had were carefully managed and based upon those ideas about what people in the colonies should do,
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rather than a sense of what they could do.
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So the South African Native Labour Corps was restricted to non-combat logistical roles,
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portering, fetching, carrying, digging and so on.
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Indian, African and Caribbean servicemen made an enormous contribution to the First World War, helping to secure Allied victory.
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Yet after the conflict, their contribution was widely forgotten.
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As the Commonwealth War Graves Commission concluded in 2021,
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up to 350,000 people who had served and died for Britain were not commemorated in the same way as their white comrades,
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or possibly not commemorated at all.
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Imagery and the use of imagery is really really important in wartime.
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So it's really carefully curated the images that are put out by each side
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because they wish to portray themselves in a certain light and their enemies in a very different light.
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This photograph was taken from a German prisoner of war and shows black people chained labour forces that have been
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recaptured by Germany, the power that controls them.
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These people are chained in ways that ordinarily would invoke feelings of horror,
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of disgust, memories of transatlantic slavery.
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If British soldiers were captured by German soldiers, they wouldn't have been chained by the neck.
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The types of treatment
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that these men are receiving here is extraordinarily different to the type of treatment
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that even enemy combatants would receive when made prisoners.
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And don't forget these people are technically on the same side.
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And here the person that goes through these images and decides
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which ones are going to be used to illustrate certain things about the enemy
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has made a really interesting point and a very revealing point.
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He says that we should be very careful that we're not suggesting
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that the enemy is doing anything that is necessarily improper by the treatment of these men.
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Because, as the censor says, it's very likely that this is exactly how British forces would treat.
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And the quote here describing these men is native delinquents.
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At the end of the First World War, the question arose of what to do with the colonies of the defeated German and Ottoman empires.
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In the end, Britain gained control of several of these colonies through League of Nations mandates, which included control over Palestine,
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Mesopotamia and other parts of former German colonies in Africa.
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The addition of former German and Ottoman colonies into the British Empire means that in the 1920s Britain's empire is huge.
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It controls around a quarter of the globe.
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But while these mandates were part of the British Empire, they did not operate in the same way as other British colonies.
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The League of Nations oversaw the administration of these territories with the goal of guiding them towards eventual self-governance.
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Other empire countries operated differently too.
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Dominions such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand were former colonies with their own governments
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and a high degree of autonomy while still remaining under British sovereignty.
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Crown colonies such as Kenya,
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Jamaica and Hong Kong were more directly controlled by Britain with the British governor appointed by the Crown who directly ruled them.
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Protectorates were under British protection but with varying levels of control depending on the specific territory and its circumstances.
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A key turning point came in 1931 when Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster.
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This granted the Dominions full legislative independence from Britain
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and formed a Commonwealth of Nations that were autonomous communities within the British Empire.
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The statute formalised the shift from imperial rule to a more cooperative and voluntary structure for the founding members,
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which consisted of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State, and Newfoundland.
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Notably, this freedom was only granted to white governed and established states.
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At this point, not a single government of a dominion was made up of the people who lived in the country before European settlers arrived.
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When the Second World War broke out, the Empire's resources and supply lines became even more critical as they were now directly supporting the war effort.
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This poster
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that we're standing in front of is a really great illustration
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of both the extent of the British Empire during the Second World War and immediately after, and also the complex ways in which it was governed.
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So the thing that it really reveals is kind of one of the purposes, the main foundational purposes of empire,
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which is to extract resources from the countries that are part of it and bring those resources
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or the wealth that comes from trade in those resources back to the motherland.
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And that's particularly important during war because Britain relies upon the empire for all sorts of products,
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all sorts of natural resources, and of course for labour and soldiers, sailors and airmen who come from these countries.
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But the crucial thing as we look at it is it talks about those principal products.
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And one of the things that the British Empire does is that it frequently describes itself,
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or it is described, as something that is a contributory kind of partnership, so that there is equality on both sides.
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And of course, while many people in these countries were very proud of their links to Britain, very proud of their service to the Empire,
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there remains this idea that fundamentally this is about extracting vital resources in order to continue the war effort.
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The resources of the Empire allowed Britain to stay in the fight, but access to those resources was coming under threat.
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As Japan expanded its own empire during the Second World War, many British territories, along with their vital resources, fell under Japanese control.
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Hong Kong, Malaya and Burma were all rapidly occupied, but most costly of all was the fall of Singapore.
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Not only was it the largest surrender in British military history,
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but Britain also lost control of a vital strategic location and access to the crucial raw materials provided by Malaya.
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The fall of Singapore is described by Winston Churchill as the greatest capitulation in British history.
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A shattering moment for Britain and a great tragedy because the thousands of British prisoners of war that are taken,
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the thousands of civilian internees are treated with appalling brutality by their Japanese captors.
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Many are murdered, thousands are tortured.
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And then following Japanese surrender in August 1945, the Union flags return.
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This particular flag was flown over the municipal buildings in Singapore in September 1945.
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An empire maintains its power in part by conveying to people that it is uniquely good at governing.
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And as Lee Kuan Yew, the Prime Minister of Singapore says, when they see Britain removed from Singapore and the Japanese Empire come in,
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suddenly that logic seemingly no longer applies.
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And that is a really powerful realisation.
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When the war ended, Britain regained control of its Southeast Asian territories.
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But whilst geographically the empire seemed to be whole once again, socially, politically and economically, it would never be the same.
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It cost a lot to fight the Second World War.
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Britain's economy is extremely damaged and one of the things Britain then looks to do is to rebuild,
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reassert itself on the global stage.
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Post-war Britain was struggling.
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Significant war debt and damaged infrastructure meant economic recovery was far from immediate.
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Food was still being rationed and housing was in short supply.
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And so the issue of empire became less significant in relation to all the problems people were experiencing at home.
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However, these territories would offer a way to ensure that Britain could rebuild by once again exploiting the resources that they provided.
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The interesting paradox at the heart of empire is of course they cost a lot to maintain.
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So in order to bring those resources in, in order to guarantee that trade, it requires an outlay.
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Getting that balance right between how much Britain wants to spend on securing its empire
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and what it is getting from its empire becomes a crucial question here in London.
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The Second World War highlighted the unequal relationship between Britain and its colonies, particularly in India.
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The Bengal Famine of 1943 resulted in the deaths of between two and three million people.
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Despite no major shortfall in food production, British colonial policies and inflation, along with the denial of aid,
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caused mass starvation and disease that was entirely avoidable.
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It was one of the greatest systematic failures in the history of the British Empire.
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And now, with Britain in a weakened economic position and a new Labour government in power, the Indian independence movement was stronger than ever.
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In 1947, the Indian Independence Act officially ended British rule
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and created the two independent dominion states of India and Pakistan after nearly two centuries of colonial rule.
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Within two years of the end of the Second World War, this jewel in the imperial crown becomes independent.
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The rest of the empire sees India and Pakistan becoming independent and wants the same thing.
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If India can achieve independence, what about my country?
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So many people have come back from the Second World War hungry for change
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and the world that they have returned to is also changing.
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The United States is not prepared to bankroll the idea in perpetuity that European empires are still a good thing.
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The United Nations has been set up, and its members include countries that are themselves fighting for a better future.
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All of these things come together in this period.
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That means by the end of the 1950s, these changes are now inevitable.
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Britain's weakened position on the world stage was exemplified by the Suez Crisis of 1956, when Britain, along with France and Israel,
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invaded Egypt to recover control of the Suez Canal.
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The landings received international condemnation, including from several Commonwealth countries.
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Britain soon backed down under UN and US pressure and was left embarrassed on the international stage.
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It was a clear demonstration that Britain's future role would have to be in line with,
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in particular, US interests and aspirations in the growing Cold War.
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If the Second World War was the fatal blow to the British Empire, the Suez Crisis was the final nail in the coffin.
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In the UK there are different opinions as to the extent to which Britain should maintain its empire.
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But broadly, within government, the idea is pretty simple.
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Whatever happens next has to be on British terms." Over the following 15 years,
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15 countries would gain independence and by 1980, only a handful of territories would remain under British control.
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However, while independence came easily for some countries, for others the struggle for autonomy would turn deadly.
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Throughout the 1950s, Britain fought a series of bloody wars in an attempt to retain direct control over its dwindling empire
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and ensure that the post-colonial future was as rewarding as its colonial one.
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These conflicts and rebellions would become known as emergencies in Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus.
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So whatever comes next in these countries, Malaya in terms of its economic benefits,
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in Kenya in terms of its relationship with its white settler government
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and who owns and benefits from the land and in Cyprus, this incredibly important location.
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In all of these places,
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there are real benefits for Britain in maintaining some form of control.
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And it's that that means Britain is prepared to go to war.
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Visit Emergency Exits, the fight for independence in Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus.
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now at Imperial War Museum London.
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Vocabulário e dicas de fala para esta lição
Esta aula de conversação de nível C1 usa o vídeo “How the British Empire Collapsed”. As palavras que mais se repetem: empire, British, Britain, resources, countries. Este vídeo tem 168 frases e 2406 palavras para praticar shadowing. A fala dura 18:19. O falante mantém um ritmo estável de cerca de 131 palavras por minuto, confortável para o shadowing. 84% das palavras estão entre as 3.000 mais comuns do inglês; vale a pena estudar o restante antes de começar.
Vocabulário principal deste vídeo
As 15 palavras mais avançadas do vídeo, com pronúncia e significado:
| Palavra | Pronúncia | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| govern verbo | /ˈɡʌv.ən/ | governar |
| commemorate verbo | /kəˈmɛməˌɹeɪt/ | comemorar |
| enrich verbo | /ɪnˈɹɪt͡ʃ/ | enriquecer |
| weaken verbo | /ˈwikən/ | enfraquecer |
| restrict verbo | /ɹɪˈstɹɪkt/ | restringir, limitar |
| exploit substantivo | /ˈɛksplɔɪt/ | façanha, proeza |
| autonomy substantivo | /ɔˈtɑ.nə.mi/ | autonomia |
| rebuild verbo | /ɹiːˈbɪld/ | reconstruir |
| mandate substantivo | /ˈmændeɪ̯t/ | mandado |
| extract substantivo | /ˈɛkstɹækt/ | extrato |
| surrender verbo | /səˈɹɛndə(ɹ)/ | render, entregar |
| abolish verbo | /əˈbɑl.ɪʃ/ | abolir, suprimir |
| airman substantivo | /ˈɛɹ.mən/ | aviador |
| appalling adjetivo | /əˈpɔːlɪŋ/ | apavorante, assombroso |
| aspiration substantivo | /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/ | aspiração |
Phrasal verbs que você vai ouvir
| Palavra | Pronúncia | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| back down verbo | recuar, voltar atrás | |
| put out verbo | colocar/botar/pôr para fora | |
| set up verbo | /ˌsɛt ˈʌp/ | preparar |
Gramática neste vídeo
As estruturas que o falante mais usa, com as palavras exatas do vídeo:
| Estrutura | No vídeo |
|---|---|
| Voz passiva be + particípio passado — o foco está no que acontece, não em quem faz | is acquired · are acquired · is often presented |
| Present perfect have/has + particípio passado — uma ação passada que ainda importa agora | have been · has made · have come |
| Orações relativas who / which + oração — informação extra sobre uma pessoa ou coisa | guys who wore · people who had · people who lived |
Pronúncia para ficar de olho
O falante usa 7 contrações e formas reduzidas, como we're, didn't, don't. Diga-as na forma curta, do jeito que você ouve.
- Os sons de “sh” e “zh”: abolish /əˈbɑl.ɪʃ/, aspiration /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/, crucially /ˈkɹuːʃəli/, foundational /faʊnˈdeɪ.ʃə.nəl/, starvation /stɑɹˈveɪʃən/
- Palavras longas — acerte a sílaba tônica: commemorate /kəˈmɛməˌɹeɪt/, autonomy /ɔˈtɑ.nə.mi/, aspiration /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/, contributory /ˈkɑntɹɪbjəˌtɔɹi/, deceptively /dɪˈsɛptɪvli/
Sons difíceis para falantes de português:
- Consoante final — sem acrescentar um “i” depois: commemorate /kəˈmɛməˌɹeɪt/, restrict /ɹɪˈstɹɪkt/, statute /ˈstæt͡ʃuːt/, exploit /ˈɛksplɔɪt/, rebuild /ɹiːˈbɪld/
- /l/ final — a língua toca o céu da boca, não vira “u”: bankroll /ˈbæŋk.ɹoʊl/, dwindle /ˈdwɪn.dəl/, foundational /faʊnˈdeɪ.ʃə.nəl/, jewel /ˈd͡ʒuːəl/, eventual /ɪˈvɛn.t͡ʃu.əl/
- s + consoante no início — sem um “i” antes: statute /ˈstæt͡ʃuːt/, starvation /stɑɹˈveɪʃən/
Como praticar com este vídeo
- Ouça o vídeo inteiro uma vez sem falar e anote as palavras que você não conhece.
- Faça shadowing frase por frase na velocidade normal, repetindo cada uma até o seu ritmo ficar igual ao do falante.
- Grave a sua voz e compare com o original, prestando atenção a palavras como govern, commemorate, enrich.
O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing é uma técnica de aprendizado de idiomas com base científica, originalmente desenvolvida para o treinamento de intérpretes profissionais. O método é simples, mas poderoso: você ouve áudio em inglês nativo e repete imediatamente em voz alta — como uma sombra seguindo o falante com 1-2 segundos de atraso. Pesquisas mostram melhora significativa na precisão da pronúncia, entonação, ritmo, sons conectados, compreensão auditiva e fluência na fala.