The Prager University Foundation, or ‘PragerU’ is a nonprofit conservative advocacy group that seeks to promote conservative viewpoints, particularly to younger individuals who may be in school. It was founded in 2009 by Dennis Prager, a prominent Jewish political writer and talk show host. Although ironically, despite their name, PragerU is not an actual university, and it does not offer degrees. PragerU has recently garnered much controversy, with some calling their videos, which often discuss topics such as slavery, immigration, socialism, and LGBTQ+ topics as inaccurate and/or misleading. This article is the first in a series that will analyze PragerU videos and see if the information they peddle is factual, or if it is misinformation.
Video: “If you live in freedom, thank the British Empire”
This video opens with the narrator, H.W. Crocker, a military historian and author proclaiming that the British Empire has “Done the most to spread the ideals of limited government, independent judiciary, certain inalienable rights, and free markets.”Â
About one minute in, it mentions how the British “always thought of themselves as liberators”, and that the British “Kept the peace, brought sound honest administration, and they insisted that basic moral standards were honored, and did not try to nation-build. They were under no allusion to making Arabs, Afghans, or Zulus into Englishmen. They were more than content to leave people alone, to let them be themselves. To govern them with the lightest possible hand”
The main problem with this statement is the claim that the British Empire did not indulge in practices such as forceful cultural assimilation. In countless instances, the British Empire committed cultural genocide on colonial subjects, perhaps the most notable being residential schools in the Dominion of Canada. These residential schools were largely meant for native Americans and saw hundreds of thousands of native American children in Canada be taken from their families, at times forcefully, and then forced to convert to Christianity as part of a greater campaign to separate the children from their culture and essentially mold them into subjects of Anglo culture. In these schools, many children suffered abuse and would even die. In 2021, a mass grave of over two-hundred children was found at the site of a residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. At the Marieval Residential School on the Cowessess reserve in Saskatchewan, 751 unmarked graves were found weeks later.
Other examples of cultural genocide, regular genocide, and basic oppression by the British Empire include attempts to suppress native Irish language and culture, concentration camps against Boers during the Second Boer War, and various other examples that cannot be summarized into one article. In other words, the British Empire was not “more than content to leave people alone, to let them be themselves”, they clearly committed cultural genocide in their colonies and dominions and believed themselves to be superior, above their subjects. Not to mention, how is conquering 1/4 of the world being “More than content to leave people alone”? Do you ever barge into someone’s house and say “I am more than content to leave you alone”?
On another note, if the British Empire really did wish to always leave people alone and govern with the lightest hand, then what was the need for the American War of Independence? It is rather ironic to see an organization that prides itself on traditional American values so proudly praise the very nation that the United States fought to not be apart of.
Following this, they attempt to portray the father of Indian independence, Mohandas Gandhi as being someone who greatly admired the British Empire, and believed that the British Empire was not oppressive, and was actually the best government in the entire world. Alongside the quote, they show a cartoon tracing of Gandhi wearing his traditional robes, appearing to be based on a 1930s photo of him. The exact quote they cite from Gandhi being…
“The best government is the government that governs the least, I find that the British Empire guarantees my freedom and governs me least of all.”
Did Gandhi really say this? Did the man who was essentially the father of India so prominently praise the British Empire and believe it to be the best of all governments? It does turn out that he did say the quote in 1915, before he became truly involved in India’s independence movement. In other words, events occurred between this quote and Indian independence that caused Gandhi to change his viewpoints on the British Empire. Things that may have influenced his viewpoint include the Rowlatt Act which legalized imprisonment of Indians without trial, the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre which saw British colonel Reginald Dyer massacre 379-1,000+ Indians celebrating the annual Vaisakhi festival, the Salt March which saw over 2,000 peaceful Indian protesters be beaten by colonial police, and other instances of British oppression of Indians. Regarding Col. Dyer, he said the following about the events at Jallianwala Bagh:
“I think it quite possible that I could have dispersed the crowd without firing but they would have come back again and laughed, and I would have made, what I consider, a fool of myself.”
Basically, he willingly killed them without remorse solely because he might look like a fool. Regarding Col. Dyer, the narrator of the video, H.W. Crocker described him as such in this book “Three Cheers for Colonialism! The Politically Incorrect Guide to the British Empire.”:
“-he was a man who stood by the British Imperial principals of justice, fair play, and decency-delivered by force if needed.”
Yikes.
There is little discussion to be needed regarding a man who describes someone who killed over 300 civilians, including children without remorse as someone who stood by things like justice and fair play. However, since this is hardly the end of PragerU’s attempt to frame the British Empire as an objective good, the article continues.
On a side note, Crocker is also the author of “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War.” The book’s first chapter is titled: “Why the South was right.”
Double yikes.
Going back to the British Empire, we hear Crocker describe British efforts to combat slavery. This is true, the British Empire greatly supported abolitionist efforts in the 1800s. Then he describes how Britain ended the practice of Sati in India, which is when a woman throws herself onto a funeral pyre after her husband dies and burns to death. This is also true, it was outlawed by the British. Afterwards, Crocker makes mention of Britain standing alone in World War II against the “Hitler-Stalin Pact” in 1940, specifically stating they “Stood alone in mortal combat against the combined tyrannies of the world.” While it is true that Britain was the only major functioning nation still at war with Germany after the Fall of France, Britain never declared war on Stalin even after the Soviet Invasion of Poland and still viewed Stalin as a potential ally due to the sheer amount of ideological tensions between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. In other words, Crocker implying that Britain stood in combat against both Communism and Nazism in World War II is untrue.
Then comes PragerU on the topic of Ireland. Here, they state that the empire has “Merited criticism, but there is more to the imperial story.” To promote this argument, they quote a conversation between British prime minister David Lloyd George and Irish Republic president Eamon de Valera, in which Sir George stated “The Celts never had a word for ‘Republic’, it was an idea given to them by the English.”
What does this have to do with British atrocities in Ireland? The answer is nothing, and although there are many accounts of this conversation, not a single account claims that Sir George stated the idea of a republic began with the English. (Besides, the Romans, Carthaginians, and many others would also beg to differ.) There also is an Irish word for republic, that being “Poblacht.”Â
Regarding Crocker’s views on British atrocities against the Irish, once again looking at his book “Three Cheers for Colonialism!”, some quotes from it include…
“The English made feeble attempts to rid the Irish of their recidivist barbarianisms.”
“The English left Ireland language, laws, and parliamentary governance, but did nothing to tame the pugnacity of Ireland’s Celts.”
Triple yikes.
Apart from this doing nothing to make the British atrocities in Ireland any less unjustifiable, this also claims that Ireland was some barbaric land before the English, and also fails to mention the fact that Ireland did have a language before English, yet it was infamously nearly wiped out by English cultural genocide. By this point, Crocker has gone from simply denying British atrocities, to just plain racism against the Irish.
Lies Upon Lies
Putting it simply, this video by PragerU is nothing more than lies attempting to paint a revisionist picture of the British Empire, framing it as being a state that never wished to commit wrongdoing, and only had the best interest for all its subjects in mind. Crocker does not make any effort to give actual proof that Britain was the nation that did the most to spread the ideals said in the beginning of the video, only citing out of context quotes and spewing lies upon lies regarding how Britain treated their subjects. His inconsistency is also evident, he praises the United States in the video, yet in his books and other words in the video, he sings the praises of the British Empire and the Confederate States. On a similar note, it is so appalling for people who claim to be devout patriots of America to praise nations such as the Confederate States, a state that was built on pure evil. As a Pakistani-American, whose ancestors were colonized and suffered under the boot of the British Empire, the “points” made by Crocker are as insulting as they are stupid and baseless.
