Synopses & Reviews
Museums and Empire is the first book to examine the origins and development of museums in six major regions of the British Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It analyzes museum histories in thirteen major centers in Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South-East Asia, setting them into the economic and social contexts of the cities and colonies in which they were located. Written in a lively and informative style, it also touches upon the history of many other museums in Britain and other territories of the Empire. A number of key themes emerge from its pages; the development of elites within colonial towns and cities; the emergence of the full range of cultural institutions associated with this; and the reception and modification of the key scientific ideas of the age. It will be essential reading for students and academics concerned with museum studies and imperial history and to a wider public devoted to the cause of museums and heritage
Review
"An outstanding and original book which deals both authoritatively and perceptively with an important but hitherto rather neglected aspect of imperial cultures. It is engrossing, deeply informative and beautifully written. There is no doubt that it will make a valuable contribution to scholarship across a range of disciplines, as well as enhancing the well-established Studies in Imperialism series." --Dr. Nigel Rigby, National Maritime Museum "Only a mature scholar with the range and experience possessed by someone like MacKenzie could have taken this on, and it is most welcome that he has done so. MacKenzie brings to the task the qualities that mark him out as our foremost historian of the cultures and ideology of empire: enormous span, considerable powers of synthesis, and an eye that is ever alert to significant detail. As ever, he presents his research with consummate ease and style." --Professor Saul Dubow, University of Sussex
Synopsis
Museums and empire' is the first book to examine the origins and development of museums in six major regions if the British Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It analyses museum histories in thirteen major centres in Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India and South-East Asia, setting them into the economic and social contexts of the cities and colonies in which they were located. Written in a lively and informative style, it also touches upon the history of many other museums in Britain and other territories of the Empire. A number of key themes emerge from its pages; the development of elites within colonial towns and cities; the emergence of the full range of cultural institutions associated with this; and the reception and modification of the key scientific ideas of the age. It will be essential reading for students and academics concerned with museum studies and imperial history and to a wider public devoted to the cause of museums and heritage
Synopsis
Museums and Empire is the first book to examine the origins and development of museums in six major regions if the British Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
About the Author
John MacKenzie is Emeritus Professor of Imperial History, Lancaster University and holds Honorary Professorships at Aberdeen, St Andrews and Stirling, as well as an Honorary Fellowship at Edinburgh.
Table of Contents
Introduction * The transformation of the British and Indian Armies in the Rebellion of 1857 * ‘Side by side in generous rivalry: Highlanders, Sikhs and Gurkhas in the Rebellion * A ‘question on which the safety of the Empire depends: the European threat, recruiting, and the development of martial race ideology after 1870 * ‘A power which a man should try to manage for himself: military influence and martial race discourse in British popular culture * Martial races: the Inter-imperial uses of a racially gendered language * Representation versus experience: life as a martial race soldier * Conclusion * Bibliography * Index