The Empire Project: The Rise and Fall of the British World-System, 1830–1970The British Empire, wrote Adam Smith, 'has hitherto been not an empire, but the project of an empire' and John Darwin offers a magisterial global history of the rise and fall of that great imperial project. The British Empire, he argues, was much more than a group of colonies ruled over by a scattering of British expatriates until eventual independence. It was, above all, a global phenomenon. Its power derived rather less from the assertion of imperial authority than from the fusing together of three different kinds of empire: the settler empire of the 'white dominions'; the commercial empire of the City of London; and 'Greater India' which contributed markets, manpower and military muscle. This unprecedented history charts how this intricate imperial web was first strengthened, then weakened and finally severed on the rollercoaster of global economic, political and geostrategic upheaval on which it rode from beginning to end. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 21 | |
| 23 | |
The octopus power | 64 |
The commercial republic | 112 |
The Britannic experiment | 144 |
UnBritish rule in AngloIndia | 180 |
Britain in South Africa | 217 |
the British worldsystem in the age of | 303 |
The war for Empire 19141919 | 305 |
Making imperial peace 19191926 | 359 |
Holding the centre 19271937 | 418 |
The strategic abyss 19371942 | 476 |
The price of survival 19431951 | 514 |
The third world power 19511959 | 566 |
Reluctant retreat 19591968 | 610 |
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The Empire Project: The Rise and Fall of the British World-System, 1830-1970 John Darwin No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
Afrikaner Alister McIntosh allies American army Asia Australia became bhadralok Boer Britain British connection British Empire British leaders British system British world power British world-system Cabinet Cambridge Canada Canadian Cape Cape Town capital cent centre Chamberlain China Churchill Civilians claim colonial commercial Commonwealth Congress Conservative crisis cultural Dafoe defence depended diplomacy diplomatic economic Egypt elite End of Empire English Europe European expansion exports favoured fear federation force foreign free trade French geopolitical German global gold hope huge Ibid imperial India industrial influence investment Irish Kenya Labour Liberal London Lord Middle East military million Milner ministers Muslim nationalism nationalist naval navy opinion overseas Oxford party political politicians post-war pre-war provinces railway reform Rhodes rule Russia seemed self-government settler Smuts social South Africa Southern Rhodesia Soviet sterling sterling area strategic Suez threat tion Transvaal treaty Uitlander United West Africa Zealand