Historians before the 1940s argued that moralistic reformers such as William Wilberforce were primarily responsible. [117] All the main denominations were involved, including the Church of England, the Presbyterians of Scotland, and the Nonconformists. Popular pages. A Historiography of the British Empire. Cambridge History of The British Empire by J. L. Morison Cambridge, 1930 The impact of the Great Famine of 1845 - 49 was obviously a huge influence on Ireland's relationship with the Empire and the wider world and in particular North America. They have focused on British conceptions of imperial world order from the late nineteenth century to the Cold War. The economic aspects of Empire. : The revival of imperial history and the Oxford History of the British Empire.". Basic Search: the historiography of the british empire commonwealth Revise Search. [171] The American Loyalist James Matra in 1783 wrote "A Proposal for Establishing a Settlement in New South Wales" proposing the establishment of a colony composed of American Loyalists, Chinese and South Sea Islanders (but not convicts). Buy The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume V: Historiography New Ed by Winks, Robin (ISBN: 9780199246809) from Amazon's Book Store. 6. It was suppressed by the British Army after much bloodshed. Popular attitudes to Empire within Britain. [172] Matra reasoned that the land country was suitable for plantations of sugar, cotton and tobacco; New Zealand timber and hemp or flax could prove valuable commodities; it could form a base for Pacific trade; and it could be a suitable compensation for displaced American Loyalists. "Writing Post-Orientalist Histories of the Third World: Perspectives from Indian Historiography,", Thompson, Andrew. In Africa, especially, the missionaries made many converts. Historiography of the British Empire A KS3 worksheet for analysis of how and why interpretations of the British Empire have changed over time. ", Price, Richard. [82][83] The demand increasingly rose in Great Britain to end the free trade policy and impose tariffs to protect its manufacturing from American and German competition. The special relationship between Britain and the United States. by Nicholas Canny, vol 2 "The Eighteenth Century" ed. Post-imperial Britain. The history of the breakdown of the Empire has attracted scholars of the histories of the United States (which broke away in 1776), India (independent in 1947), and the African colonies (independent in the 1960s). A. D. Roberts, "The British Empire in Tropical Africa: A Review of the Literature to the 1960s," in Winks, Ronald Robinson, John Gallagher, Alice Denny.popopopopopoopop. [121] As historians such as Carl Bridenbaugh have argued, a major problem for colonial officials was the demand of the Church of England to set up an American bishop; this was strongly opposed by most of the Americans had never happened. In 1876 Disraeli overcame vehement Liberal opposition and obtained for Queen Victoria the title of "Empress of India" (she was not "Empress of the British Empire. [37], Mercantilism taught that trade was a zero-sum game with one country's gain equivalent to a loss sustained by the trading partner. Oxford University became the main center for African studies, with activity as well at Cambridge, and the London School of Economics. Tough choices: grappling with famine in Qing China, the British Empire, and beyond. ", Fieldhouse, David. Leadership in British imperialism was expressed by Joseph Chamberlain and Lord Rosebury, and implemented in Africa by Cecil Rhodes. Ray accuses the British of depleting the food and money stocks and imposing high taxes that helped cause the terrible famine of 1770, which killed a third of the people of Bengal. [115][116], In the 18th century, and even more so in the 19th century, missionaries based in Britain saw the Empire as a fertile field for proselytizing for Christianity. Isles it also explores ways in which the British empire was viewed from the subaltern perspective. 8. Rose, J. Holland, A. P. Newton and E. A. Benians (gen. It encourages a shift of emphasis away from seeing provincial manufacturers and geopolitical strategy as important influences, and towards seeing the expansion of empire as emanating from London and the financial sector. [230], The major multi-volume multi-author coverage of the history of the British Empire is the Oxford History of the British Empire (1998-2001), five volume set, plus a companion series. For the latest research see Crispin Bates, ed., David Gilmartin, "Partition, Pakistan, and South Asian history: in search of a narrative. 1776-1781) by Edward Gibbon. Exploring the rhetorical leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. [153] Recent work by historians pays special attention to continuing Imperial aspects of Irish history,[154] postcolonial approaches,[155] Atlantic history,[156] and the role of migration in forming the Irish diaspora across the Empire and North America.[157][158][159]. Many other historians followed his path, with the six volume History of Australia by Manning Clark (published 1962-87) telling the story of "epic tragedy": Since the 1980s a "history war" has been fought in Australia by scholars and politicians. Law, Settlers, and Space in Britain's Imperial Historiography. [146], Since the 1950s, historians have tended to concentrated on specific countries or regions. The Methodists, led by George Whitefield, were the most successful according to Mark Noll. [36] A wide array of regulations was put in place to encourage exports and discourage imports. [96], One of the most controversial aspects of the Empire is its role in first promoting and then ending slavery. Admitting the horrible suffering of slaves, he notes that many Africans benefited directly, because the first stage of the trade was always firmly in the hands of Africans. Marshall notes the British went into partnership with Indian bankers and raised revenue through local tax administrators and kept the old Mughal rates of taxation. Historiography of the British Empire: | The |historiography of the British Empire| refers to the studies, sources, critical metho... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. The informal British Empire. Stuart McIntyre, "Australia and the Empire," in Robin Winks, ed., Neville Meaney, "Britishness and Australian identity: The problem of nationalism in Australian history and historiography,", Deborah Gare, "Britishness in recent Australian historiography. She charmed both British businessmen and the locals in Nigeria, giving the colonial peoples graciousness and respect; she made the British appear to be Not so much rulers, as guides and partners in social, economic and political development.[133]. Mercantilist policies were also embraced throughout much of the Tudor and Stuart periods, with Robert Walpole being another major proponent. 6. ", Rüger, Jan. "Nation, Empire and Navy: Identity Politics in the United Kingdom 1887-1914", Sinha, Mrinalini, "Colonial Masculinity: The 'Manly Englishman' and the 'Effeminate Bengali' in the Late Nineteenth Century" (1995), Whitehead, Clive. [123], Missionary societies funded their own operations that were not supervised or directed by the Colonial Office. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands). Prime minister Salisbury explained his position: The condition of a protected dependency is more acceptable to the half civilised races, and more suitable for them than direct dominion. J.R. Ward, "The British West Indies in the Age of Abolition," in P.J. Historian Denis Judd says the "black hole" is a fallacy and that there was continuity. The social and cultural aspects of the imperial past. From the founding of colonies in North America and the West Indies in the 17th century to the reversion of Hong Kong to China at the end of the 20th, British imperialism was a catalyst for far-reaching change. "‘Naked abroad’: The continuing imperialism of free trade. Macaulay simultaneously was a leading reformer involved in transforming the educational system of India. John Gallagher, and Ronald Robinson, "The Imperialism of Free Trade", Martin Lynn, British Policy, Trade, and Informal Empire in the Mid-19th Century," (1999) 3:118-19, Chris Grocott and Jo Grady. [41] The army, usually in cooperation with local forces, suppressed internal revolts, losing only the American War of Independence (1775–83). [87], Gentlemanly capitalism is a theory of New Imperialism first put forward by P. J. Cain and A. G. Hopkins in the 1980s before being fully developed in their 1993 work, British Imperialism. The issue was actually raised by conservative British politician Edmund Burke who in the 1780s vehemently attacked the East India Company, claiming that Warren Hastings and other top officials had ruined the Indian economy and society. Fieldhouse rejects these arguments as unfounded speculation.[70][76]. The Historiography of the British Empire-Commonwealth: Trends, Inter-pretations and Resources. "[151], Ireland, in some ways the first acquisition the British Empire, has generated a very large popular and scholarly literature. It tended to reintegrate the historiographies of the American Revolution and the British Empire. 9. He says that Britain achieved its goal of increasing its economic interests in many areas, "but the broader goal of 'regenerating' societies and thereby creating regions tied as 'tributaries' to British economic interests was not attained." He also warned that India had to be protected and vastly increased the responsibilities and dangers to Britain. Empire history as an integral part of British history and the formation of British identity. The Old Colonial System, 1688-1850,", Cain, P. J.. and A. G. Hopkins. 251,534 Pages. India became the keystone of the Second Empire, along with colonies later developed across Africa. In the 1920s, historians using missionary sources started presenting the Coloured and African viewpoints, as in W. M. Macmillan, Bantu, Boer and Briton: The Making of the South African Native Problem (London, 1929). This proved especially troublesome in India, were very few local elites were attracted to Christianity. [110] A serious challenge came from the intensified use of multiple transportation routes and the emergence of central hubs such as Hong Kong all of which facilitated this spread of epidemics such as the plague in the 1890s, thus sharply increasing the priority of public health programs. "[24] Walpole did not ensure the promised "liberty" to the colonies because he was intent on subordinating all colonial economic activity to the mercantilist advantages of the metropolis. Search Sign In Don't have an account? Helen Power, The Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine: Institutionalizing Medical Research in the Periphery. [187] Afrikaner historiography began in the 1870s with early laudatory accounts of the trekkers and undisguised anger at the British. [128], Historians have begun to analyze the agency of women in overseas missions. [45] At about the same time in London, Sir Keith Hancock wrote a Survey of Commonwealth Affairs (2 vol 1937-42) that dramatically widened the scope of coverage beyond politics to the newer fields of economic and social history. Propaganda campaigns using posters, rallies, and later films were used to educate the general public. [140][141][142] Gregory Barton argues that the concept of environmentalism emerged from forestry studies, and emphasizes the British imperial role in that research. "What Is Imperial History Now?" "The historiography of British imperial education policy, Part I: India. More recent scholarship has examined who Were the bureaucrats, and the governors, and the role of the colonial experience in their own lives, as well as their families. By the 21st century there were more Anglicans in Nigeria than in England. "[86] Many studies have supported Bairoch but Other economists have challenged his results regarding Canada. Much of the debate was pioneered by such theorists as John A. Hobson (1858–1940), Joseph Schumpeter (1883–1950), Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929), and Norman Angell (1872–1967). ", Joe Cleary, "Amongst Empires: A Short History of Ireland and Empire Studies in International Context,". The historiography of the British Empire refers to the studies, sources, critical methods and interpretations used by scholars to study the history of the British Empire. For some, imperialism designated a policy of idealism and philanthropy; others alleged that it was characterized by political self-interest, and a growing number associated it with capitalist greed. [105] Historian Richard Pares, in an article written before Williams's book, dismisses the influence of wealth generated from the West Indian plantations upon the financing of the Industrial Revolution, stating that whatever substantial flow of investment from West Indian profits into industry there was occurred after emancipation, not before.[106]. "The Imperialism of Free Trade" is a highly influential 1952 article by John Gallagher and Ronald Robinson. The efficient use of rivers through dams and irrigation projects was an expensive but important method of raising agricultural productivity. "[211], Hyam goes on the state that by the 21st century new themes had emerged including "post—colonial theory, globalisation, sex and gender issues, the cultural imperative, and the linguistic turn."[212]. ", Christian Tripodi, "'Good for one but not the other': The 'Sandeman System' of Pacification as Applied to Baluchistan and the North-West Frontier, 1877-1947. [221] The new approaches to imperial history are often grouped together under the heading of the "new imperial history". The American historian William L. Langer wrote The Diplomacy of Imperialism: 1890-1902 (1935), a book is still widely cited. [176] One school says it was a disaster that retarded for a century and more the normal development of a middle class society, leaving Quebec locked into a traditionalism controlled by priests and landlords. 1956-58) and Arthur Bryant, The History of Britain and the British Peoples (3 vols. Economic historians have debated at length the impact of these tariff changes on economic growth. A Historiographical Reflection. ), Broich, John. [181] Marshall argues that recent scholarship has reinterpreted the view that the prosperity of the formerly benign Mughal rule gave way to poverty and anarchy. Most visited articles. While these non-Marxist writers were at their most prolific before World War I, they remained active in the interwar years. ", Gregory Barton, "Empire forestry and the origins of environmentalism. SPEDIZIONE GRATUITA su ordini idonei Mar. Clive Whitehead, "The historiography of British Imperial education policy, Part II: Africa and the rest of the colonial empire." Armitage thus links the concerns of the 'New British History' with that of the Atlantic history. [152] Marshall says historians continue to debate whether Ireland should be considered part of the British Empire. Turning away from most political, economic, and diplomatic themes historians recently have looked at the intellectual and cultural impact of the Empire on prison itself. [77] The debate among historians involves what the implications of free trade actually were. thereby Britain could fulfill its moral duty and achieve its own greatness. Historians also disagree regarding a degree of involvement in the domestic British society and economy. Sir John Seely, for example, pondered in 1883: Historian Douglas Peers emphasizes that an idealized knowledge of the Empire permeated popular and elite thought in Britain during the 19th century: From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, Mercantilism helped create trade patterns such as the, Thirteen American colonies and Revolution, First British Empire and Second British Empire, Whiggish history and the civilising mission, Political, economic and intellectual studies. But this is only a half-truth. [95] In Wakefield’s vision, the object of benevolence was to introduce and promote values of industriousness and a productive economy, and not use colonies as a dumping ground for transported criminals. The old conceptual unities as they had been worked out in the previous half-century now collapsed, particularly under the pressure of the inexorable advance of area studies. Expansion of England appeared at an opportune time, and did much to make the British regard the colonies as an expansion of the British state as well as of British nationality, and to confirm to them the value of Britain's empire in the East. Historian Robert Pearce points out that many colonial wives had a negative reputation, but he depicts Violet Bourdillon (1886-1979) as "the perfect Governor's wife." These webs were made up of the flows of ideas, books, arguments, money, and people that not only moved between London and Britain's colonies, but also moved directly from colony to colony, from places like India to New Zealand. Some British colonies were ruled directly by the Colonial Office in London, while others were ruled indirectly through local rulers who are supervised behind the scenes by British advisors, with different economic results as shown by Lakshmi Iyer (2010). Beattie, James. "[75] Lenin believed that capitalism was in its last stages and had been taken over by monopolists. Historians and their ideas are the focus here; specific lands and historical dates and episodes are covered in the article on the Ottoman Empire. [165] They debate how "British" or "multicultural" Australia has been historically, and how it should be today. [112][113], Danald McDonald has argued the most advanced program in public health (apart from the dominions) was established in India, with the Indian Medical Service (IMS). Humpty Dumpty back together again notes that Gibbon 's work, `` 'Imperialism ': Historiographical... Spokesmen included Lord Cromer, Lord Curzon, General Kitchner, Lord Curzon, General Kitchner, Lord,... J.. and A. G. Hopkins part II: Africa and the past example is that the world ever! The bedrock of Aotearoa-New Zealand biculturalism historian William L. 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