Empire: The British Imperial Experience from 1765 to the Present

by Denis Judd

At its height, the British Empire governed over a quarter of the human race and more than a fifth of the globe. While it gave the English profits and purpose, it also represented arbitrary power, gunboat diplomacy, and the disruption of ancient customs and governments. A highly acclaimed single-volume study of the most influential imperial enterprise of the modern era. ".indispensable."--John Keegan. ".excellent.cannot be faulted.comes to balanced and sensible conclusions.an admirable chronology."-- The Times . "Wonderfully ambitious.attractive survey."-- The London Review of Books .

Genres: History, Nonfiction

544 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 1996

About the author

Denis Judd was born in Northamptonshire in 1938 and educated in a village primary school before passing the 'Eleven Plus' and entering the local grammar school. He won a State Scholarship to Oxford, where he took his first degree in Modern History at Magdalen College, going on to study for a PhD at London University, on: 'A. J. Balfour and the evolution and problems of the British Empire 1874-1906.' He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

He has been Head of History, and is now Professor Emeritus of Imperial and Commonwealth History, at the London Metropolitan University. In his research, writing and broadcasting he has specialised in the British Empire and Commonwealth, especially South Africa and India. He has also written extensively on British history, on aspects of the monarchy, and among his biographies is the authorised life of the children’s author Alison Uttley.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dennis Judd's book on the history of the British Empire is not a day by day approach to empire but a focus on the most important events that shaped that empire. Things such as the India uprising in 1857 or the work of Cecil Rhodes are the main focus. The stories that are chosen do an excellent job of showing how the empire developed and the path it took to formation. This really is the best single volume work on the British Empire in terms of a pure history. The book covers all parts of the empire and has interesting vignettes such as the formation of the boy scouts. It also covers some of the major internal domestic squabbles within Great Britain as they relate to empire. I found that the discussions on how world war 1 and 2 affected the empire were very accurate and to the point. The reader can get a very good sense of how the British were drained of resources by the wars and see the effect this had on empire. As nationalistic movements took root in the various countries the British found it more difficult to control. Particularly with the end of Lend Lease by Truman the British were forced to grant independence to their colonies. The last few chapters focus on the remaining parts of the empire and how they fit into the commonwealth including the struggle with the Falkland Islands. If the reader wants a much more detailed account of the empire try to the Oxford history five volume British Empire. Judd's account is very readable and well done for those wanting a review of the salient points in the Empire's history.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I have to say that this book was more than a little bit disappointing because of some of its contents, there are at least a few virtues to the book and some things that a reader would do well to pay attention to. For one, the author draws a parallel between the various imperialisms of the British, showing the continuity between the indirect approach of the second British imperial system in India and Africa along with the similar approach that had been undertaken successfully in North America until 1765 or so, when the British empire desired more control than local elites were willing to accept, leading to the rise of revolutionary politicians and a lack of place for moderates to be able to oppose them, ultimately. The author notes, in looking at a wide variety of instances, that there was a great gulf between what was politically possible in Parliament and what was minimally acceptable to restive populations (like Ireland), and notes that British imperial efforts, and especially English ones within the British Isles, demonstrated a consistent approach that was based on self-interest and not absent-mindedness, as they wanted to think of themselves. Whether or not you agree, there is interesting material here.

This book is between 400 and 500 pages long and it is divided into 31 essays that discuss various aspects of the British imperial experience in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries from a markedly pro-labor and anti-conservative perspective, even a somewhat extreme leftist perspective that, quite frequently, hinders the historiographical value of what is being discussed. Even so, the topics discussed are frequently of interest even if the presentation of the author's discussion is both highly biased and also very discursive and in no way limited to the topic at hand. Included among the topics are discussions of America (2), Australia (3), and Ireland (4) during the late 18th century. The author explores the imperial implications of the repeal of the Corn laws (6), the great Jamaican rebellion (8), the legacy of people like Cecil Rhodes (11), and Joseph Chamberlain (15). There is an unseemly focus on British defeats in South Africa (10, 13), and elsewhere, like Singapore (24). Imperial conferences are discussed (17, 22, 29), and the author manages to comment some on sports, such as a cricket tour in Australia (23). As might be expected, the author takes some swipes at Anthony Eden, speculating that he and Nasser were more than friends (27), while also showing a lack of credibility while talking about the democratic deficit in post-colonial regimes (28), and showing a completely irrational optimism in South Africa (31), after which there is a chronology, notes, bibliography, and index.

Even though there is interesting material, though, it must be noted that there are some clear problems with this book as well. For one, the author is far too interested in issues of sexuality that frequently derail his efforts to discuss people in a fair manner. The author's taste for sexual deviancy and its effect on empire leads him to speculate that not only were various kinds of sexual abuse common in British schools and prisons (including the convict population of early Australia) but that one of the important aspects of imperialism for Britain was to allow a population of those whose sexual tastes were outside of the norm to find a place where they could serve British interests and live a more relaxed lifestyle, whether that involved asexuality with emotional longings of a problematic type, or the enjoyment of prostitutes and various local women, or the practice of pederasty as was apparently the case for some. This is mentioned repeatedly in the book, so it is not an accidental thing, whether one looks at the founding of Australia, the life of Rhodes or the founding of the Boy Scouts or the discussion of the suicide of a British imperial figure in the early 20th century.

[Liam Porter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Redundant as it to say, this is a book on the British Empire. It's just about suitable for the novice however is written thematically and not chronologically; so in style it is more analytical than narrative.

Judd on the early liberal arguments against the empire:

During the nineteenth century and in the early years of the twentieth century, opposition to British imperialism and militarism had been freely and sometimes powerfully articulated. The mid-Victorians had expressed at the very least ambivalence over the need to expand the formal Empire. Richard Cobden and the free traders of the Manchester School had argued that colonies were expensive to maintain, and thus a burden to the taxpayer, especially since trade with them would flourish whether or not they were ruled by Britain, as had been cleary demonstrated by the booming Anglo-American trade after the loss of the Old Thirteen Colonies. Cobden also maintained that one of the main reasons why colonies were retained was in order to find protiable employment for the younger sons of the English aristocracy in the imperial administration and in the army.

The Vcitorians, especially once the ideology of the the free trade market was firmly established, became proccupied with a policy that they called "Retrenchment." A large number of politicians and statesmen believed that it was their duty to cut down on wasteful expenditure, to keep the role of the state to the minimum and as a consequence to save as much of the taxpayers' money as possible. It thus followed that existing colonies must be financially independent and must pay for their own administration out of their resources. p.231

Judd on the perception of free Haiti and emancipated slaves:

The creation of what became the black-ruled Republic of Haiti during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars provided abundant evidence for white reactionaries and conservatives. Lord Elgin described the Republic of Haiti thus during the 1840s:

As respect moral and intellectual culture, stagnation: in all that concerns material development, a fatal retrogression... a miserable parody of European and American institutions, without the spirit that animates either: the tinsel of French sentiment on the ground of negro ignorance.

The British writer and historian Thomas Carlyle, in his vituperative essay "Discourse on the Nigger Question," published in 1849, addressed the issue of slave emancipation in crude and vivid prose: "Our beautiful black darlings are at least happy; with little labour except to the teeth, which surely, in those excellent horse-jaws of theirs, will not fail!" Sensitive to accusations of prejudice, Carlyle went on to deny his hostility: "Do I, then, hate the negro? No; except when the soul is killed out of him, I decidedly like poor Quashee; and find him a pretty kind of man. With a penny worth of oil you can make a handsome glossy thing of Quashee." p.87

Judd on the source of the growth of racism in popular British thought:

Between 1840 and the Jamaica Rebellion of 1865, however there was a significant shift in perception. Or, at least, racist views gained currency and popularity. One of the main reasons for this was that, in various ways, indigenous people as well as emancipated slaves were causing trouble. In New Zealand the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840 had predictably not established a lasting peace between Maoris and land-hungry British settlers, and in 1860 a decade of serious conflict, known by contemporaries as the Maori Wars, had begun; there had been a lengthy sequence of violent frontier clashes over territory and cattle in Cape Colony, coveniently dismissed as "The Kaffir Wars"; finally, there had been the bloody and embarassing Indian uprising of 1857 to 1858. Each of these confrontations had thrown down a threatening challenge to white supremacy and had, in the process, given full rein to destructive European fantasies. p.86

Judd on the existential crisis the empire reached by the early 20th century:

The catalogue of such upsets during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries ran from the Zulu victory at Isandlhwana in 1879 to the disturbances led by the "Mad Mullah" in Somaliland from 1908 to 1920. There were revolts in Uganda in 1896 and 1900. There were revolts in Uganda in 1896 and 1900, in Rhodesia in 1896, the "Boxer" uprising in China in 1898, chronic problems with the tribesmen on the north-west frontiers of India, and, for good measure, the 1906 Zulu revolt in Natal which sent white settlers scuttling in terror to the security of Durban.

These disturbances could be dismissed as "little local difficulties", part and parcel of the responsibility of imperial rule. But they were also uncomfortable reminders that only a small percentage of the Empire's citizens were European, let alone British. The British Empire, at the beginning of the twentieth century, was still by far the biggest and the most varied among the world's imperial systems. It was not, however, unchallenged. Would rival imperial systems eventually gain the upper hand? Was the British Empire in fact in terminal decline? In 1905 an anonymous pamphlet, "The Decline and Fall of the British Empire", caused a considerable stir. Purporting to be a Japanese publication from the year 2005, it listed eight reasons for British decline during the twentieth century. Baden-Powell, if he had read it, would have vigorously agreed with the pamphlet's diagnosis of the nation's ills, which included the growth of luxury, the decline of taste, the debilitation of the people's health and physique, the enfeeblement of religious and intellectual life, the prevalence of urban over country life, a weakening interest in the sea, the failure adequately to defend the country and the Empire, and the damage caused by excessive taxation and municipal extravagance. In 1914, H.G. Wells asked his readers the awkward question "Will the Empire live?" p.207

[Robert Y. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, no doubt. Judd's analysis of the empire seeks to focus around the miniature episodes and specific rebellions, revolutions, and figures that influenced its expansion and decline. At times, the book felt too high level. There were overarching statements about the empire and Britain's relationship with other countries that, while probably true, needed more context. I would have liked to see more footnotes/endnotes as well.

[R DE LISLE · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful analysis of the major events in the British Empire all in one volume. So for me, whose knowledge on these topics is very limited, it has been a brilliant exposition. It will remain on my shelf for reference for a long time.

[Phillip Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading an oldie but goodie volume about the always fascinating British Empire. Highly recommended!

[Leo Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally I get the itch to read up on history. Not sure why. But, frequently it boils down to a saying from Ziggy Marley: "If you don;t know your past, you don't know your future."

Recently, I've been contemplating the role of empire in the world as I watch the US potentially in decline. And I've always been taken by the fact that the US is a product of the English Empire. A lot of our basic assumptions -- the Free Market, the role of banking and finance, the rule of law -- all have English origins. And, outside of Shakespeare, I realize that I had no clue about the history of England. So, I picked up Denis Judd's Empire: The British Imperial Experience From 1765 To The Present .

Overall, I was impressed by Judd's coverage. It seems detailed enough that the outsider can understand it, but not so bogged down in details that it would only appeal to a typical historical buff.

One thing that he does not cover, though, was the politics of energy. Because the British Empire essentially rose with the coal economy. And fell with the rise of oil. It's place as economic juggernaut was taken by the United States, a land that was once rich in oil, which essentially provides nearly 1,000 times the per-pound energy density of a pound of coal. Empire , which seems typical of a lot of historical, does not address this fact. Which seems quite salient.

This aside -- and I'll grant that this is a way of thinking about history that I have adopted since reading Ian Morris's Why the West Rules -- For now, at least -- Judd's Empire is a very enjoyable book. Judd tackles the expected things, like Prime Ministers, the impact of the British monarch on the empire, and the histories of important colonies, like India, but he also addresses things I would not have thought of. Like, for instance, the impact of European males taking native, non-white concubines -- or boys if so inclined -- and how this eventually "humanized" the "alien other." Or how sport, like cricket, rugby and soccer, worked as a glue to bind the empire. A fact we can still sense today.

Overall, I would recommend this to the general reader interested in history. It suffers from all history since Diamond and Morris, in as much as it ignores things like energy capture and geography in its analysis. But, that said, I read it relatively quickly for a history book, which I tend to read slowly due to the number of names and locations they entail.

Leo Walsh is a writer. His first novel, a work of science fiction titled "even snow melts" will be available on Amazon in March or April 2013 For more thoughts from Leo, check out his blog at leo-walsh.com.

[Mills College Library]

941 J922 1996