The British Imperial Century, 1815–1914

A World History Perspective, Second Edition

Timothy H. Parsons

The British Imperial Century provides a concise but comprehensive overview of the formation and administration of the empire from its origins in the early nineteenth century, to its climax at mid-century and ultimate denouement on the eve of the First World War. Considering the impact of British imperial rule and influence on subject peoples, Timothy H. Parsons explores the themes of cross-cultural social and environmental interaction from a world history perspective. He traces the transition from informal to formal empire, which broadened and intensified Britain's relations with Asia, Africa, and the western hemisphere. The establishment of extensive colonies and protectorates in Africa, the occupation of Egypt, the declaration of the Raj in India, and increased economic and political intervention in Latin America and in the Chinese and Ottoman empires brought ever-larger numbers of non-European peoples and cultures under either the influence or direct authority of the British Crown.

By considering British imperialism through the lens of world history, Parsons moves beyond questions of Britain's motives in acquiring more territory to ask how it was able to acquire such an empire. As a global network of exchanges, the British Empire linked disparate regions in a series of distinct but overlapping exchanges. By co-opting and adapting the values and customs of their subjects imperial rulers strengthened their authority and legitimacy, but in doing so produced a hybrid culture that was largely British in style but not entirely British in substance. An ambitious and thoughtful contribution, The British Imperial Century will be invaluable for courses on world history and European history and as a supplement for courses on African, Asian, British, and Middle Eastern history.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 200 • Trim: 6⅛ x 9

978-1-4422-5091-8 • Hardback • January 2019 • $75.00 • (£58.00)

978-1-4422-5092-5 • Paperback • January 2019 • $32.00 • (£25.00)

978-1-4422-5093-2 • eBook • January 2019 • $30.00 • (£22.99)

Series: Critical Issues in World and International History

Subjects: History / World, History / Africa / General, History / Asia / General, History / Europe / Great Britain / Victorian Era (1837-1901)

Courses: History; Europe; British, History; Europe; 18th-19th century, History; Europe; Modern (1300-Present)

The British Imperial Century, 1815–1914

A World History Perspective, Second Edition

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

The British Imperial Century provides a concise but comprehensive overview of the formation and administration of the empire from its origins in the early nineteenth century, to its climax at mid-century and ultimate denouement on the eve of the First World War. Considering the impact of British imperial rule and influence on subject peoples, Timothy H. Parsons explores the themes of cross-cultural social and environmental interaction from a world history perspective. He traces the transition from informal to formal empire, which broadened and intensified Britain's relations with Asia, Africa, and the western hemisphere. The establishment of extensive colonies and protectorates in Africa, the occupation of Egypt, the declaration of the Raj in India, and increased economic and political intervention in Latin America and in the Chinese and Ottoman empires brought ever-larger numbers of non-European peoples and cultures under either the influence or direct authority of the British Crown.

By considering British imperialism through the lens of world history, Parsons moves beyond questions of Britain's motives in acquiring more territory to ask how it was able to acquire such an empire. As a global network of exchanges, the British Empire linked disparate regions in a series of distinct but overlapping exchanges. By co-opting and adapting the values and customs of their subjects imperial rulers strengthened their authority and legitimacy, but in doing so produced a hybrid culture that was largely British in style but not entirely British in substance. An ambitious and thoughtful contribution, The British Imperial Century will be invaluable for courses on world history and European history and as a supplement for courses on African, Asian, British, and Middle Eastern history.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 200 • Trim: 6⅛ x 9

978-1-4422-5091-8 • Hardback • January 2019 • $75.00 • (£58.00)

978-1-4422-5092-5 • Paperback • January 2019 • $32.00 • (£25.00)

978-1-4422-5093-2 • eBook • January 2019 • $30.00 • (£22.99)

Series: Critical Issues in World and International History

Subjects: History / World, History / Africa / General, History / Asia / General, History / Europe / Great Britain / Victorian Era (1837-1901)

Courses: History; Europe; British, History; Europe; 18th-19th century, History; Europe; Modern (1300-Present)

Author

Timothy H. Parsons is professor of African history at Washington University. His publications include The African Rank-and-File: Social Implications of Colonial Service in the King’s African Rifles, 1902–1964, The Rule of Empires: Those Who Built Them, Those Who Endured Them, and Why They Always Fall and The Second British Empire: In the Crucible of the Twentieth Century.

Table of Contents

List of Maps

Preface to the Second Edition

1 Introduction

Terminology

Empire and Globalization

Britain’s Imperial Century

Empire and World History

Notes

2 The Imperial Century

The Transformation of the Old Empire

The Era of Informal Empire

Britain and the “New” Imperialism

Consolidation of the Second British Empire

Notes

3 India

The Origins of British India

Consolidation and Expansion in the Imperial Century

India under the Raj

India at the End of the Imperial Century

Notes

4 Africa

Africa before the Partition

Britain and the Partition of Africa

Africa under British Rule

The Consequences of Britain’s African Empire

Notes

5 Imperial Influence

Asian Empires

Influence in China

Influence in the Ottoman Empire and Central Asia

Influence in South America

Influence

Notes

6 Empire and Globalization

Mobility, Communication, and Settlement

Culture and Empire

Whose Empire?

Environment and Empire

Notes

7 Historiography

Notes

Recommended Reading

Index

About the Author

Reviews

This history of the British imperial world in the nineteenth century is as engaging and informative an introduction to the subject as you’ll find. In a substantially revised edition that incorporates recent scholarship, Parsons displays all the qualities that distinguish his work as a historian, including lucid prose, sound judgment, and penetrating insight. Students and specialists alike will enjoy and benefit from this book.
— Dane Kennedy, George Washington University

Imperial history all too often masquerades as world history, while in reality presenting readers with the restricted view from the gunboat or the cabinet office. In this rich interpretation, written with admirable clarity and verve, Parsons offers a genuinely world historical perspective on Britain’s nineteenth-century empire, one that pays as much attention to the experience of subject populations as to metropolitan elites. The expansion of empire is shown to be a major engine of globalization, but the character of that empire was shaped as much from beneath and within as from above.
— Peter Crooks, Trinity College Dublin

This revised survey of the long nineteenth-century empire offers a dispassionate, factual account of the British in their successes and failures at ruling and exploiting others. Material drawn from recent scholarship challenges a conventional story and invites us to argue and reflect, thereby engaging both fans of empire and those who fervently dissent.
— Susan Pennybacker, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Features

Concise, clearly written general introduction to the history of imperialism

Author is a leading scholar of imperialism

New features
Available as a package with The Second British Empire in the Crucible of the Twentieth Century

Extended discussion of Latin America, Persia, and Australia and New Zealand

Includes a new historiographical section

Expanded analysis on the imperial dimensions of race, class, and gender