Map of British Imperial Territories in the 1850s on endpapers.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 389-391) and index.

Introduction: The World Shaped by Empire / P. J. Marshall -- 1. The British Empire at the End of the Eighteenth Century / P. J. Marshall -- 2. 1783-1870: An Expanding Empire / P. J. Marshall -- 3. 1870-1918: The Empire under Threat / P. J. Marshall -- 4. 1918 to the 1960s: Keeping Afloat / P. J. Marshall -- 5. For Richer, for Poorer? / David Fieldhouse -- 6. Power, Authority, and Freedom / A. J. Stockwell -- 7. Empires in the Mind / Andrew Porter -- 8. Imperial Towns and Cities / Thomas R. Metcalf -- 9. British Emigration and New Identities / Ged Martin and Benjamin E. Kline -- 10. The Diaspora of the Africans and the Asians / P. J. Marshall -- 11. Art and the Empire / John M. MacKenzie -- 12. Imperial Britain / P. J. Marshall -- 13. Australia / K. S. Inglis -- 14. Africa / Toyin Falola -- 15. British Rule in India: An Assessment / Tapan Raychaudhuri -- Conclusion: Empire in Retrospect / P. J. Marshall --

Reference Guide: British Imperial Territories from 1783 -- Reference Guide: Further Reading -- Reference Guide: Contributors -- Reference Guide: Acknowledgements -- Reference Guide: Index.

A reassessment of the history and role of the British empire is timely. It is the aim of The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire to present to general readers in a clear and accessible way the findings of historians of empire over recent years.

The book serves both as a full survey of the chronological development and impact of the British empire in history for readers wanting a basic introduction and grounding in the subject, and also as a challenging account from various perspectives of the implications of the empire in the areas it touched.

It reveals how many features of the modern world were shaped by the experience of empire, and its chapters deal with questions of politics, economics, art, language and culture, and the formation of nations.

Academically authoritative, The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire follows its subject from the American Revolution to the last stages of empire in the late twentieth century. With striking illustrations drawn from the wealth of paintings, engravings, and photographs that survive from the period, the book assesses the consequences of the empire both for the people the British ruled and for the British themselves.

Reference

History