The House That Imperialism Built

These photos are from our trip to the Victoria & Albert Museum. I think I was more taken with the building itself than the collections, though I should acknowledge that they are spectacular and overwhelming in their breadth and depth. The building screams, "Look at how rich and powerful we are!" and the collections definitely testify to the incredible geographic scope of the empire at its peak. (The mindboggling abundance and variety of ethnic food still found all over London also proves this point.) The British invested well when they built and stocked this fantastically ornate institution of culture. Even the parts that aren't about the British are about the British - about their power. If you're paying even the slightest bit of attention, you can't help but notice it all around you.

It's difficult to fathom such things these days since the types and manifestations of imperialism have changed so that it is not longer as 'in your face' as it once was (but it is no less real). As terrible as it was (and is) in many ways, I LOVE imperial history. I am absolutely fascinated by it. As an American, one can read about it ad naseum and still never quite get it until one visits the seat of power - London - and sees for herself exactly what imperialism built and how Londoners are still reaping the benefits to this day. All those awe-inspiring buildings? statues? monuments? gardens? parks? art collections? Imperialism. That subtle but definite sense of cultural superiority projected to the rest of the world? Well, a legacy thereof. (All of the above and, at least in part, some of the fucked up territorial disputes in Asia and the Middle East... You better believe white folks had a hand in that shit!)

All that being said, London may well be the greatest city on earth, and I love the British. I have long been an ardent Anglophile. (I should warn you though, Britons: the Dutch are gaining ground in my heart! I do secretly wish that I were Dutch... they're so tall and liberal and cool!).