Synopses & Reviews
The fourth installment in this distinguished and unprecedented series brings us to the twentieth century. As with the other volumes, this book includes the work of leading scholars.
Here, readers confront the many facets of the imperial experience in the final century of the British Empire, above all the rapid processes of decolonization that began at mid-century. Volume IV attempts to understand the men who managed the empire, their priorities and visions as leaders, and the mechanisms of control which held the empire together. There are chapters on imperial centers of activity, on the geographical periphery of the empire, and on the entirety of its connecting mechanisms, including institutions and the flow of people, money, goods, and services. Contributors also explore the experiences of Britain's imperial subjects in culture, politics, and economics--those experiences which fostered the growth of vibrant, and often new, national identities and movements as well as--ultimately--new nation-states. It concludes with decolonization and the reshaping of the political map of the world.
About the Series:
The Oxford History of the British Empire is a major new assessment of the Empire in the light of recent scholarship and the progressive opening of historical records. It deals with the interaction of British and non-western societies from the Elizabethan era to the late twentieth century, provides a balanced treatment of the ruled as well as the rulers, and takes into account the significance of the Empire for the peoples of the British Isles. All five of the volumes in this series fully explore economic and social as well as political trends.
Review
"Magnificent...Taken together, these books constitute an extraordinary feat of organization and scholarship, and they provide the authoritative history of the British Empire for our generation, and the essential starting point of the re-writing of that history which will take place in the next generation. Opinions differ about the British Empire; there can be no disagreement about this superb history of it." --David Cannadine in The Times Literary Supplement
"The Oxford History of the British Empire will take many years to be digested. In the meantime, its five volumes will gather little dust on library shelves. Those fortunate enough to have these books in their own library will possess a valuable publication that recommends new approaches and raises new questions about one of the greatest cultural and technological transfers that has taken place in the world during the past half millennium." --The Historian
About the Author
Judith Brown is Beit Professor of Commonwealth History, and Fellow of Balliol College, at Oxford University.
Wm. Roger Louis is Kerr Professor of English History and Culture at the University of Texas at Austin.
Table of Contents
List of Maps, List of Figures, List of Tables, Abbreviations and Location of Manuscript Sources, List of Contributors
1. Introduction, Wm. Roger Louis
2. The British Empire in the Edwardian Era, Ronald Hyam
3. A Third British Empire? The Dominion Idea in Imperial Politics, John Darwin
4. The Metropolitan Economics of Empire, D. K. Fieldhouse
5. The British Empire and the Great War, 1914-1918, Robert Holland
6. Ireland and the Empire-Commonwealth, 1900-1948, Deirdre McMahon
7. Migrants and Settlers, Stephen Constantine
8. Critics of Empire, Nicholas Owen
9. The Popular Culture of Empire in Britain, John M. MacKenzie
10. Colonial Rule, John W. Cell
11. Bureaucracy and `Trusteeship' in the Colonial Empire, Ronald Hyam
12. `Deceptive Might': Imperial Defence and Security, 1900-1968, Anthony Clayton
13. The Second World War, Keith Jeffery
14. The Dissolution of the British Empire, Wm. Roger Louis
15. Imperialism and After: The Economy of the Empire on the Periphery, B. R. Tomlinson
16. Gender in the British Empire, Rosalind O' Hanlon
17. The British Empire and the Muslim Worlds, Francis Robinson
18. India, Judith M. Brown
19. Ceylon, Stephen Ashton
20. Imperialism and Nationalism in South-East Asia, A. J. Stockwell
21. Britain's Informal Empire in the Middle East, Glen Balfour-Paul
22. West Africa, Toyin Falola and A. D. Roberts
23. East Africa, John Lonsdale
24. Southern Africa, Shula Marks
25. Canada, the North Atlantic Triangle, and the Empire, David MacKenzie
26. The British Caribbean from Demobilization to Constitutional Decolonization, Howard Johnson
27. Latin America, Alan Knight
28. China, Jürgen Osterhammel
29. Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, W. David McIntyre
30. Commonwealth Legacy, W. David McIntyre
31. Epilogue, Judith M. Brown
Chronology, Index