Britain's Empires - (Anthem Studies in British History) by James Heartfield

About the Book

A history of the many different British Empires - the Old Colonial System (1600-1776), the Empire of Free Trade (1776-1870), the New Imperialism (1870-1945), Decolonisation (1945-1990) and the era of humanitarian intervention (1990-2020). Britain's Empires aims to tell the story of the colonial past as one marked by change and reinvention.

Book Synopsis

A history of the many different British Empires - the Old Colonial System (1600-1776), the Empire of Free Trade (1776-1870), the New Imperialism (1870-1945), Decolonisation (1945-1990) and the era of humanitarian intervention (1990-2020). Britain's Empires aims to tell the story of the colonial past as one marked by change and reinvention.

Review Quotes

"Heartfield goes beyond the teleological, moralistic and one-size-fits-all approach to the understanding of history that has become so common in contemporary debates about the past. This book takes history and human agency seriously, revealing the complexities, contradictions and competing motives of the different periods of Britain's Empire, thus bringing forth new insights. This makes for a knowledge-rich, refreshing and challenging read"- Inaya Folarin Iman, The Equiano Project.

"In this wide-ranging and fascinating book, James Heartfield takes a critical approach to the past, observing the many changes and continuities in Britain's imperial relationships and shedding light on the various economic, political, and ideological factors that drove those changes. Anyone seeking to understand the (uneven) development of British colonialism over the course of more than four centuries, should read this book"- Dr Cheryl Hudson, Lecturer in U.S. Political History, University of Liverpool.

"James Heartfield is without a doubt one of Britain's most original and insightful living historians. His skill in tracing the roots of Britain's imperial history and relating it to wider debates in social science is wonderfully displayed in this book. Read it and be prepared to have your thinking challenged" - Philip Cunliffe, Associate Professor in International Relations, University College London.

"There are few single volume histories of the British Empire that match this book's temporal and geographical span. Well illustrated and balanced across political, economic and cultural approaches, it serves as an excellent overview of a vast, dynamic and enduring phenomenon that reconfigured Britain and the world" - Professor Alan Lester, FRHistS, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, UK.

"This excellent text offers a deft periodisation; vivid illustrations of key processes and moments of the different times and places of British empire and its discontents; illuminating interconnections between change in Britain and global change; a rich use of contemporary sources; and the author's nuanced judgements " -Henry Bernstein, Professor Emeritus of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London.

This well-researched, profusely illustrated, and welcomed volume can serve in an undergraduate course - CHOICE

A strength of the book is how it carefully works to avoid the myths of origins, continuity and teleology. Heartfield enables us to move from a notion of a transhistoric British imperialism to the concrete analysis of concrete situations in which Britain's Empires operated. -Café Américain

About the Author

James Heartfield wrote The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, Who's Afraid of the Easter Rising? The Equal Opportunities Revolution and many other books; he is a long-standing campaigner for social justice.