Empire: The British Imperial Experience from 1765 to the Present - Softcover

Judd, Denis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1842124986 ISBN 13: 9781842124987

Publisher: Phoenix, 2002

Synopsis

At its height, the British Empire governed over a quarter of the human race and more than a fifth of the globe. While it gave the English profits and purpose, it also represented arbitrary power, gunboat diplomacy, and the disruption of ancient customs and governments. A highly acclaimed single-volume study of the most influential imperial enterprise of the modern era. ".indispensable."--John Keegan. ".excellent.cannot be faulted.comes to balanced and sensible conclusions.an admirable chronology."--The Times. "Wonderfully ambitious.attractive survey."--The London Review of Books.

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: Phoenix
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1842124986
• ISBN 13: 9781842124987
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 544