Volume III: The Nineteenth Century

Volume III of The Oxford History of the British Empire covers the long nineteenth century, from the achievement of American independence in the 1780s to the eve of world war in 1914. This was the period of Britain's greatest expansion as both empire-builder and dominant world power. The volume is divided into two parts. The first contains thematic chapters, some focusing on Britain, others on areas at the imperial periphery, exploring those fundamental dynamics of British expansion which made imperial influence and rule possible. They also examine the economic, cultural, and institutional frameworks which gave shape to Britain's overseas empire. Part 2 is devoted to the principal areas of imperial activity overseas, including both white settler and tropical colonies. Chapters examine how British interests and imperial rule shaped individual regions' nineteenth-century political and social-economic history. Themes dealt with include the economics of empire, imperial institutions, defence, technology, imperial and colonial cultures, science and exploration. Attention is given not only to the formal empire, from Australasia and the West Indies to India and the African colonies, but also to China and Latin America, often regarded as central components of a British `informal empire'. Series Blurb The Oxford History of the British Empire is a major new assessment of the Empire in the light of recent scholarship and the progressive opening of historical records. From the founding of colonies in North America and the West Indies in the seventeenth century to the reversion of Hong Kong to China at the end of the twentieth, British imperialism was a catalyst for far-reaching change. The Oxford History of the British Empire as a comprehensive study allows us to understand the end of Empire in relation to its beginnings, the meaning of British imperialism for the ruled as well as the rulers, and the significance of the British Empire as a theme in world history Contributors to this volume - Susan Bayly, Christ's College, Cambridge Peter Burroughs,Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London P. J. Cain, Sheffield Hallam University Raewyn Dalziel, University of Auckland Donald Denoon, Australian national University, Canberra David Fitzpatrick, Trinity College, Dublin E. H. H. Green, Magdalen College, Oxford Marjory Harper, University of Aberdeen Gad Heuman, University of Warwick Alan Knight, St Antony's College, Oxford Robert V. Kubicek, University of British Columbia Martin Lynn, Queen's University, Belfast T. C. McCaskie, University of Birmingham John M. MacKenzie, University of Lancaster Ged Martin, University of Edinburgh Robin J. Moore, Flinders Unversity of South Australia Colin Newbury, Emeritus Fellow of Linacre College, Oxford David Northrup, Boston College Avner Offer, Nuffield College, Oxford Jurgen Osterhammel, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva Andrew Porter, King's College, London Christopher Saunders, University of Cape Town Afaf al Sayyid-Marsot, University of California, Los Angeles Iain R. Smith, University of Warwick Robert A. Stafford, University of Melbourne A. J. Stockwell, Royal Holloway, London B. R. Tomlinson, University of Strathclyde D. A. Washbrook, St Antony's College, Oxford Marivic Wyndham, Australian National University, Canberra