The British Empire caused famines and bloodshed everywhere it went, dividing and conquering for fun, slicing up entire landmasses, but it also raised civilizational norms and global standards.
In West Asia it achieved what the Ottoman Empire could not and would never dream of doing: ending slavery and piracy.
Its naval dominance enforced a set of norms, laws, and procedures that defined economic activity within an enlightened and capitalistic context.
Would Arab, Ottoman, and Muslim armies still be raiding, and pillaging international ships to this day if not for English gunboats? Most definitely, as Islam has shown over the millennium that it's not a religion that is capable of reform or growth. It must be pushed to do the right thing via the sword.
An excerpt from, "Arabia: The Cradle of Islam" by Rev. S. M. Zwemer, Fleming H. Revell Company, 1900, pg. 221-222:
From 1805 to 1821 there were British naval encounters with the pirates of the Gulf, and since that date all piracy in these waters has ceased. British naval supremacy established peace at Bahrein and has protected its native government since 1847. When in 1867 the native ruler, "a crafty old fox" as Curzon calls him, broke the treaty, the bombardment of Menamah brought further proof of British naval supremacy. Kuweit was for a time (1821-22) the headquarters of the British Resident at Busrah; and, semi-independent of Turkey, is now becoming wholly dependent on England—another indication of British naval supremacy. Even at Fao, Busrah and Bagdad British gunboats often keep the peace or at least emphasize authority. In a word Great Britain holds the scales of justice for all the Persian Gulf litoral. She guarantees a pax Brittanica for commerce; she taught the Arab tribes that rapine and robbery are not a safe religion; where they once swept the sea with slave-dhows and pirate-craft they have now settled down to drying fish and diving for pearls. For the accomplishment of this subject England has spent much both in treasure and in lifeblood. Witness the graves of British soldiers and marines in so many Gulf ports.
