What were the benefits of being in the British Empire?

One of
the chief benefits of British imperial
rule was that it allowed a sub-section of society to gain
the benefits of
Western education. In turn, this allowed for the development of a

politically-conscious middle-class that, in due course, would spearhead various
independence
movements. So in other words, the British were, inadvertently,
digging their own graves, so to
speak, by providing a select group of the
indigenous population with the education befitting of
English
gentlemen.

The British were undoubtedly aware of what such
a
provision might lead to. But in reality they had little choice. With the
decline in power of
traditional rulerssuch as Maharajas in Indiathe colonial
authorities needed an alternative
indigenous elite on whom they could rely in
order to help govern the Empire. This created the
space for the development
of a new indigenous elite, whose authority was based on Western
education
rather than ancient custom.

In practical terms, this gave
many
young men an...