British Imperialism

Bloomsbury presents Partition Voices written and read by Kavita Puri. UPDATED FOR THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF PARTITION ‘Puri does profound and elegant work bringing forgotten narratives back to life. It’s hard to convey just how important this book is’ Sathnam Sanghera ‘The most humane...

They built some of the first communal structures on the empire's frontiers. The empire's most powerful proconsuls sought entrance into their lodges. Their public rituals drew dense crowds from Montreal to Madras. The Ancient Free and Accepted Masons were quintessential builders of empire, argues Jessica Harland-Jacobs.

2.6 billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies. The empire's influence upon the quarter of the planet it occupied, and its gravitational influence upon the world outside it, has been profound: from the spread of Christianity by missionaries to nearly 1 in 3 driving on the left side of the road, and even shaping the origins of international law. Yet Britain's idea of its imperial history and the world's experience of it are two very different things.

In the Spring of 1857, with India on the brink of a violent and bloody mutiny, Krishnapur is a remote town on the vast North Indian plain. For the British there, life is orderly and genteel. Then the sepoys at the nearest military cantonment rise in revolt and the British community retreats with...

A best-selling journalist’s illuminating tour through the hidden legacies and modern realities of British empire that exposes how much of the present-day United Kingdom is actually rooted in its colonial past. Empireland boldly and lucidly makes the case that in order to understand America, we...

A revelatory history of enslaved people's resistance and self-emancipation, across the Atlantic world and beyond. In the 1720s, the West African chief Tomba was abducted for organizing the local resistance against slave raiders and imprisoned on a British ship, where he promptly led a revolt...

WINNER OF THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY ‘A narrative of startling originality … As discussions of Britain’s colonial legacy become increasingly polarised, we are in ever more need of nuanced books like this one’ SAM DALRYMPLE, SPECTATOR Rebels Against the Raj...

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was the first Asian to win a Nobel Prize. Nationalism is based on lectures delivered by him during the First World War. While the nations of Europe were doing battle, Tagore urged his audiences in Japan and the United States to eschew political aggressiveness and...

Witness the fierce resistance and relentless global trade that defined the turbulent history of British imperialism. From the bustling harbors of Hong Kong to the battlefields of Bengal, this gripping narrative captures the brutal rise and violent retreat of colonial conquest. Perfect for an...

Trace the dramatic rise and fall of a maritime empire that reshaped world history, global politics, and human destiny. Perfect for an educational commute, this sweeping historical narrative immerses you in the fierce European rivalries, commercial conquests, and industrial revolutions that...

Standing atop a mound of rocks, Mildred wrapped her blue padded jacket tightly around her and squinted against the sand-laden wind. To her right the Great Wall wound east for fourteen hundred miles until it reached the Yellow Sea. Before her lay the rocks and sand of the vast Gobi Desert. She...

Experience the epic world history of how a fragile island forged the largest global empire ever known. Perfect for an educational commute, this thought-provoking journey traces the dramatic rise and fall of British imperialism. Witness the stunning transformation of a minor maritime kingdom into...

Uncover the fierce conflicts and staggering economic power that drove the rise and fall of British colonialism. Whether you want a thought-provoking narrative for your daily commute or an immersive educational listen, this epic history tracks how a small island kingdom conquered the globe...

Dive into the gripping world history of a small island that forged a global empire on trade and conquest. Perfect for focused studying or a long daily commute, this dramatic narrative moves far beyond dry academic dates. It transports you directly onto bustling European dockyards, lucrative...

“Where are you from?” was the question hounding Hazel Carby as a girl in post-war London. One of the so-called brown babies of the Windrush generation, born to a Jamaican father and Welsh mother, Carby’s place in her home, her neighbourhood, and her country of birth was always in doubt.

This riveting new history shows how having an empire and losing it has shaped modern Britain. Drawing on a mass of original research into the thoughts and feelings of the British people, pop culture, sport and media, Imperial Island tells a story of people on the move and of people trapped in the past, of the end of empire and the birth of multiculturalism, a chronicle of violence and a testament to togetherness. It is the story that best explains Britain today.

Witness a gripping clash of civilizations as British imperialism shatters the isolated majesty of the Qing empire. Perfect for your daily commute, this immersive historical deep dive reveals how a single narcotic transformed global trade forever. Listeners seeking to understand modern...

Experience the dramatic military history of how a booming underground narcotics trade shattered the mighty Qing Empire. Perfect for your morning commute or focused learning sessions, this gripping historical narrative plunges you into a tense clash of civilizations. Discover how a single illegal...

The story of the British Empire is a familiar one: Britain came, it saw, it conquered, forging a glorious world empire upon which the sun never set. But this imperial vision is based on an entirely false premise. In fact, the British Empire, far from being the story of a single nation imposing its will upon the world, came to being in spite of British weakness on the international scene. In this book, David Veevers looks beyond the myths of triumph and into the realities of British misadventures.

A strong emotional attachment to the memory of empire runs deep in British culture. In recent years, that memory has become a battleground in a long-drawn ideological war, inflecting debates on race, class, gender, culture, the UK’s future and its place in the world. This provocative and passionate book surveys the scene of the imperial memory wars in contemporary Britain, exploring how the myths that structure our views of empire came to be, and how they inform the present.