The British Empire

This volume adopts a distinctive thematic approach to the history of British imperialism from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It brings together leading scholars of British imperial history: Tony Ballantyne, John Darwin, Andrew Dilley, Elizabeth Elbourne, Kent Fedorowich, Eliga Gould, Catherine Hall, Stephen Howe, Sarah Stockwell, Andrew Thompson, Stuart Ward, and Jon Wilson.

• Each contributor offers a personal assessment of the topic at hand, and examines key interpretive debates among historians
• Addresses many of the core issues that constitute a broad understanding of the British Empire, including the economics of the empire, the empire and religion, and imperial identities

Notes on Contributors vii

Preface xi

Abbreviations Used in Notes xvii

Maps xviii

1 Britain’s Empires 1
John Darwin

2 Foundations of Empire, 1763–83 21
Eliga H. Gould

3 Empire and the British State 39
Andrew Thompson

4 The British Empire on the Move, 1760–1914 63
Kent Fedorowich

5 The Economics of Empire 101
A. R. Dilley

6 Religion in the British Empire 131
Elisabeth Elbourne

7 Empire and Ideology 157
Stephen Howe

8 Colonial Knowledge 177
Tony Ballantyne

9 Culture and Identity in Imperial Britain 199
Catherine Hall

10 Imperial Identities Abroad 219
Stuart Ward

11 Agency, Narrative, and Resistance 245
Jon E. Wilson

12 Ends of Empire 269
Sarah Stockwell

Consolidated Bibliography 295

Index 343

"The British Empire: Themes and Perspectives is an impressive collection of twelve chapters by junior and senior scholars which presents overviews of various areas of scholarship on the British Empire . . . nevertheless, the vast scope of past and present historiography covered in The British Empire: Themes and Perspectives makes it an invaluable companion for students and scholars of the British Empire." (Canadian Journal of History, 1 October 2010)

"By putting the 'old' political, economic, intellectual history in conversation with newer concerns about culture, gender, race, sexuality, identity-formation, and migration, this approach might be a very important way of reinvigorating the study of empire." (Victorian Studies, Autumn 2009)

"It will provide a most stimulating companion for students and researchers alike." (English Historical Review, June 2009)

"This book provides a wide-ranging, judicious, and insightful survey of some of the most important contemporary issues in British imperial and colonial historiography. Editor Stockwell (King's College London) has assembled 12 excellent essays on a representative sample of themes. Stockwell has cut through the polemics that have sometimes characterized scholarly debate in imperial history, demonstrating that the field's strengths are greater than the sum of its parts. Essential." (CHOICE, December 2008)

Sarah Stockwell is senior lecturer in Imperial and Commonwealth History at King’s College London. Her previous publications include The Business of Decolonization: British Business Strategies in the Gold Coast (2000) and Imperial Policy and Colonial Practice 1925-1945 (1996). This volume adopts a distinctive thematic approach to the history of British imperialism from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, bringing together leading scholars representing an unusually wide range of historical approaches to the British Empire.

The contributors tackle the core themes in the history of the British Empire, including economics, religion, ideology, migration, the state, foundations of empire, decolonization, colonial knowledge, and imperial culture and identities. The essays trace the trajectory of their subject and explore how current understandings of issues have developed, examining key debates among historians.

The British Empire is essential reading for all students and scholars of imperial and colonial history.

Contributors: Tony Ballantyne, John Darwin, Andrew Dilley, Elizabeth Elbourne, Kent Fedorowich, Eliga Gould, Catherine Hall, Stephen Howe, Sarah Stockwell, Andrew Thompson, Stuart Ward, and Jon Wilson.

"An ideal guide to the enormous breadth, complexity and nuances of a vital historical topic, both for those new to it and even for experts. A remarkably successful blending of history, historiography, analysis and controversy. Freshly written, and remarkably consistent for a multi-authored work."
–Bernard Porter, University of Newcastle