Empire - Softcover

Denis Judd

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006379745 ISBN 13: 9780006379744

Publisher: Fontana Press, 1997

Synopsis

The British Empire radically altered the modern world. At its height, it governed over a quarter of the human race and encompassed more that a fifth of the globe. As well as providing the British people with profits and a sense of international purpose, the Empire afforded them the opportunity to create new lives for themselves through emigration and settlement. For those it dominated and controlled, the Empire often represented arbitary power, gunboat diplomacy, the disruption of local customs and government by a distant administration. This study analyzes the British imperial experience from the American Revolution to the present day. It examines the ways in which Empire affected both rulers and ruled, and the roles of significant personalities - from Queen Victoria to Nelson Mandela, Cecil Rhodes to Mahatma Gandhi.

About this title

Review:

By the middle of the 18th century, writes English historian Denis Judd, the British empire extended around the world, so that truly, as the adage had it, the sun never set on it. Yet within years that empire began to unravel, beginning with the loss of the American colonies. (The colonies, Judd opines, were not as badly treated by the crown as they professed to have been). He examines the battles, stratagems, and intrigues that helped extend British rule so far afield, drawing into his account the contributions of the great men and women of imperial history as well as the not so great ones. The latter group, in Judd's view, misjudged the tides of popular sentiment and lost the crown many friends through violence and reaction. The historian closes his study with the election of Nelson Mandela to the presidency of South Africa, and with the arguable observation that the British did their best in governing their far-flung holdings.

About the Author:

Denis Judd is Professor of British Imperial and Commonwealth History at the University of North London. He appears frequently on radio and is a regular reviewer for most national newspapers and literary journals.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fontana Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0006379745
• ISBN 13: 9780006379744
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 544