The British Empire: Themes and Perspectives

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.

Notes on Contributors. Foreword. List of Abbreviations. Maps. 1. Britain’s Empires: John Darwin. 2. Foundations of Empire, 1763–1783: Eliga Gould. 3. Empire and Ideology: Stephen Howe. 4. Empire and the British State: Andrew Thompson. 5. The British Empire on the Move, 1760–1914: Kent Fedorowich. 6. Economics and Empire: Andrew Dilley. 7. Religion in the British Empire: Elizabeth Elbourne. 8. Colonial Knowledge: Tony Ballantyne. 9. Agency, Narrative, and Resistance: Jon E. Wilson. 10. Culture and Identity in Imperial Britain: Catherine Hall. 11. Imperial Identities: Stuart Ward. 12. Ends of Empire: S. E. Stockwell. Bibliography. Index

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).

"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)