"Despite the significance of the United States in British history, a recent Gallup poll found that around half of the British public thought that America had never been a British colony. The great figures of British imperial history are now largely forgotten. Gallup found that only small minorities could link particular figures with the places they colonized:
19% put Raffles in Singapore; 20% linked Gordon with Sudan and 37% associated Clive with India.
A recent survey of children in England and France found that whereas French children had clear ideas about why there were proud to be French - the traditions of liberty and equality were frequently cited - the English were less patriotic, and had hazier notions of national pride. The most frequently cited reasons for being proud to be British were to do with national prowess in football (yes, really) and pop music. Empire barely rated a mention.
Yet when they are asked about empire, the British are unapologetic. The politically correct idea that there was something shameful about colonizing large swathes of the world has little resonance with the public. Some 70% of people express pride that Britain had an empire, and 60% say they regret its passing … [while] 13% think that Britain could have hung on to its imperial possessions."
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