Advertising Empire: Consumerism and the Spatial Imaginary of the British Empire

Abstract

In the wake of the First World War, many in Britain feared the economy was flagging. War entailed high costs, unemployment was rising and international competition, particularly from the United States, threatened Britain’s position in maritime trade. In this climate of uncertainty “many businessmen... and politicians of all persuasions... looked to the British Empire overseas for salvation.” The war had expanded Britain’s imperial dominion, and many viewed it as “a route to Britain’s long-term economic survival, to her political security in the wider world, to higher standards of living in Britain and perhaps, some hoped, to social harmony, social stability, and political quiescence at home.” For Britain, the economic support of the empire could only be realized by imperial consumers purchasing British manufactured goods, and British consumers purchasing goods from within the empire to support those protected markets. However, this increased reliance on colonial markets arose while empire as an institution was being drawn into question across Europe. Movements for national independence were successful in parts of the former Ottoman, Russian, and AustroHungarian empires, and demands for independence were being voiced by representatives from Egypt, India, China, Korea and Vietnam. Empire seemed under threat at the exact moment that many in Britain believed they needed it most.