More than Shakespeare, more than the invention of the railway, more than fair play, it was Empire which made Britain into Great Britain. By the early twentieth century, that Empire covered around a quarter of the earth's surface, and embraced more than a quarter of its inhabitants, a mass of over five hundred million people. From its maritime origins in exploration, plunder, trade and war to the scuttling of the Raj, the Empire was always shot through with paradox. In India, the Raj was the splendour of elephant processions ...
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More than Shakespeare, more than the invention of the railway, more than fair play, it was Empire which made Britain into Great Britain. By the early twentieth century, that Empire covered around a quarter of the earth's surface, and embraced more than a quarter of its inhabitants, a mass of over five hundred million people. From its maritime origins in exploration, plunder, trade and war to the scuttling of the Raj, the Empire was always shot through with paradox. In India, the Raj was the splendour of elephant processions and the gallantry of tiger shoots, just as Africa was the glory of mission Christianity and agricultural progress. British India was also the agony of famine, massacre and labouring misery, just as Africa was also slavery and land seizures. The Empire was both a triumphal cavalcade of governors and commissioners, and a sceptical tributary of humanitarians who believed in the emancipation of colonial peoples. It was always a challenging blend of greed and morality, intervention and callous neglect, liberal virtue and high-handed autocracy. At times, it was a source of strength and prestige, at times a burden and a dilemma. Untidy, even messy, Great Britain's Empire survived on its contradictions, to go down in history as the largest and greatest European empire of the modern era. This narrative account seeks to provide a balanced historical understanding of the extraordinary diversity of the British Empire, explaining its realities while avoiding either nostalgia or polemical condemnation. Written by an acclaimed South African historian raised under the discriminatory system of Apartheid (itself a vestige of European colonialism), this is a major new historical narrative of the British Empire from an entirely fresh perspective.
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Add this copy of Britannia's Empire: Making Britain Great (Revealing to cart. $6.29, very good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Tempus.
Add this copy of Britannia's Empire Making Britain Great to cart. $15.50, very good condition, Sold by True Oak Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Highland, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Tempus.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. Revealing History; Brief inscription on flyleaf page. Great overall condition. Minor cosmetic wear. No noteworthy blemishes. No writing.; -We offer free returns for any reason and respond promptly to all inquiries. Your order will be packaged with care and ship on the same or next business day. Buy with confidence.
Add this copy of Britannia's Empire: Making Britain Great (Revealing to cart. $22.00, very good condition, Sold by BookHouse On-Line rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Minneapolis, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Tempus.
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Very Good in Very Good jacket. Very good hardcover in very good dust jacket. Binding is tight, sturdy, and square; boards and text also very good. NOT an ex-library copy, NO remainder mark, NOT a book club. Ships from Dinkytown in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Add this copy of Britannia's Empire: a Short History of the British to cart. $35.85, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by The History Press.
