The British Empire comprised the territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over one-fifth of the world's population and covered almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. After WWII most of the territories were given independence.

Jewish influence

A less often mentioned aspect is the large Jewish influence. Jews had been admitted back by Oliver Cromwell in 1656 after having been expelled in 1290 (in one of the many Jewish expulsions).

Jews gained a large economic influence. In the years before World War I, despite comprising less than three tenths of 1% of the population, Jews constituted over 20% of non-landed British millionaires. All of these belonged to the "Cousinhood" which was an ethnic network of about twenty closely inter-related and mutually supportive Jewish families. The wealth was derived from the fields of “banking, finance, the stock markets and bullion trading".[1]

However, political influence was limited by legal restrictions until the lifting of legal restrictions on religious minorities in the middle of the 19th century.[1][2]

The Jewish political influence has been argued to have been used to support a variety of pro-Jewish activities such as placing Jews from the Cousinhood in many of the most significant administrative positions in the Empire, financial manipulations and scandals, support for the Second Boer War (highly beneficial to Jewish mining operations in South Africa), support for the Ottoman Empire (while it was persecuting Christians but was friendly to Jews), and using exaggerated pogrom propaganda and economic funding in order to support a large Jewish migration to and rising Jewish influence in the United States.[1][2]

Jewish influence has also been argued in relation to topics such as the Balfour Declaration, Benjamin Disraeli, and the Opium Wars.

References

1.0 1.1 1.2 Free to Cheat: “Jewish Emancipation” and the Anglo-Jewish Cousinhood, Part 1 http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2012/08/free-to-cheat-jewish-emancipation-and-the-anglo-jewish-cousinhood-part-1/ 2.0 2.1 Free to Cheat: “Jewish Emancipation” and the Anglo-Jewish Cousinhood, Part 2 http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2012/08/free-to-cheat-jewish-emancipation-and-the-anglo-jewish-cousinhood-part-2/

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