Zócalo's Connecting California
A New Kind of Empire?
It used to be, running an empire meant governing an often far-flung group of territories. But is California developing a new kind of empire, based on industries like hi-tech and entertainment?
During the 19th century, Britain was known for reigning over an empire on which the sun never set. That's long since changed. But after a recent trip to London, columnist Joe Mathews says that in some ways, California has taken its place. Now that's a very tall order. At its height, the British empire covered more than 13 million square miles and included more than 20 percent of the world's population. But in this edition of Zócalo's Connecting California, Joe says that nowadays, California wields major clout far beyond its borders--including in the UK.