Table of Contents

Introduction

0. Introduction
1. An empire in all but name: the mid-nineteenth century
2. Shifts and expedients: 1857-75
3. Conquests forced on us: 1875-90
4. Struggles for existence: 1890
5. A limited area of heather alight: 1890-1905
6. An essential compromise: 1905-14
7. Everything becomes fluid: 1914-20
8. Difficult times: 1920-39
9. Moving quickly: 1939-70
10. A sudden shift: 1970-95

11. Coming out of the closet: circa 2000
Further reading
Index

Promotional Information

Revised and updated edition of this popular and challenging  history of British imperialism.

About the Author

Bernard Porter is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Newcastle. His previous publications include Britannia’s Burden: The Political Evolution of Modern Britain 1851-1990 (1994) and The Absent-Minded Imperialists: The Empire in British society and culture, 1800-1940 (2004).

Reviews

'Personal preferences aside, Bernard Porter's study remains a wonderfully illuminating, eminently entertaining survey, rich in revealing insights and vivid quotations, from which readers will continue to gain enormous pleasure and enlightenment.' - Peter Burroughs's Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History Recommended reading in BBC History Magazine, October 2006