The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

I really enjoyed this excellent narrative by Lawrence James about the history of the British Empire. Essentially the modern concept of the British Empire began in the 17th Century not as a land grab but rather as an economic necessity of this small Island based Country. In the beginning this included Britain having various mercantile companies settling in far off lands of the Caribbean to the East Coast of North America. In fact the very act of the trade triangle which greatly benefited Great Britain was developed between the Caribbean, North America and England. Later with the defeat of the French in North America in the 1760's, Great Britain was able to take over much of Canada. During these times Great Britain had the largest Navy and a very well trained standing Army. However even with this grand military prowess everything was not smooth sailing. The North American Colonies seceded from the Mother Country causing a major embarrassment. Not to worry by the early 19th Century Wellington defeats Napoleon at Waterloo and the rest of the Century becomes known as Pox Britannia. The empire flourishes throughout the world to include the gem of the empire that being India. The Sun never really did set on this rather remarkable Empire. With these settlements being developed all through the World the English language, government and traditions were exposing all different peoples to the life lived in the Anglican style. All this is explained by Mr. James in this rather general outline of Britain with the governing of its Colonies. The British were rather benevolent and in reality led these countries to seek independence which in the end led to the fall of the Empire. The British encouraged peoples to seek Democracy and eventually independence as seen in India in the early to middle 20th Century. In fact Mr. James goes all the way to the giving back of Hong Kong to China. This is a remarkable general outline of a rather benevolent and wonderful Empire. Good Read! Five Stars!! No Problem!!!

If a reader is seeking a reasonably concise (even at 600+ pages) treatment of the complete arc of the British Empire, this is the best I have come across. Other readers, more familiar with pivital episodes of that drama, should recognize that the work is, after all, a survey and does not purport to describe even the most significant of the empire's turning points (with the exception of India) in great detail. These many pages are a thoroughly enjoyable read for the simple reasons that Author James possesses an obvious command of his subject matter and writes in enviably understandable declarative sentences which should serve as models for other historians. It is interesting to compare and contrast this work with Niall Ferguson's "Empire", an equally readable and somewhat more provocative account of British world hegemony. Both are worth the read, and both provide object lessons regarding the Middle East which are not a little dispiriting at this moment when Israel is ramping up its invasion of Lebanon and Iraq appears inexorably headed toward civil war. Too bad only we history buffs seem to ponder works like these; apparently our political and military leaders don't have time for them, busy as they are fighting the "War on Terror". One can only hope that the lessons they learn in doing so won't be as painful and ultimately destructive of national pride, human and economic resources, and the capacity for doing good in the world as the British experience.

A book with so ambitious a title as "The Rise and Fall of the British Empire" holds much promise for the reader. Visions of 1000+ page tomes come to mind. After all, there is a lot of time and history involved with so monumental a subject. But James' account of what was arguably the greatest cultural, economic, and social force the world has ever known--the British empire--delivers solidly on that promise with clarity and brevity. I won't mince words. The book is short for so massive a subject. But James executes it well. Some passages and accounts are agonizingly brief, of course, but the purpose of the book is not to delve deeply into the minutiae of the Empire's history. It provides a fairly elementary overview of the important events that unfolded to shape the Empire, painting an elegant background picture of the sheer scope and impact of imperialism. Yes, pivotal situations, political turmoil, and wars are often glossed over, replaced by "big picture" statements or sweeping extrapolations and conclusions. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. The book's focus is decidely on the causes and effects of various events, and their place in the vast course of history that the Empire occupied. Events are covered in enough detail to allow James to continue his "big picture" story, but not in enough to detail to satiate an interested scholar. Thus, the book is a fantastic background for anybody who is either completely unversed in English imperial history, or for readers wanting solid background knowledge to accomodate further, more detailed readings. But, as a background, this book is incredibly detailed. The book's accounts span some 400 years of British history, in which the nation evolved from a fairly mediocre European island power into one of the most dynamic and influential economic and military machines that the world has ever known. The people, the events, and the stories that contributed to this rise to power are all brought to live with stunning truth through James' writing. The book is divided into clear, understandable chapters that are well-written and researched. James does not force didactic revisionist theories on us. He presents a clear, eloquent, interesting, and objective account of the British Empire, and leaves the reader with a deep and poigant understanding of the implications of the Empire's history. This is an absolute must for not only those new to British history, but for the learned scholar who seeks a well-rounded, intriguing look into the vast span of Britain's imperial history.

Lawrence James takes a straight factual narrative of the empire, neither going the neo-imperialist apologist route nor the leftist postmodernist road, equally emphasizing its achievements and darker moments. He does have an interesting style in introducing some of the chapters, and that is by describing the paintings that symbolized Britain at a certain point. He also uses poems, popular songs, and novels of the time to describe the sentiments at the time. At 629 pages, covering from 1600 up to 1993, it's quite a hefty read and may require a few sittings, but for a one volume work of the largest empire to last for a long time, it's effective.James's focus is primarily economic and political, with the sociological aspects on the British left and anti-colonialists given quite coverage beginning in the 19th century. But the story's the same. England's empire was created for her need of goods from the New World, but really took off during its series of global wars against France and its allies beginning with the Nine Years War (1689-97) up to the American War For Independence (1775-1783). The reason was twofold, to prevent France from gaining a foothold in the New World and to outcompete France and Spain in its maritime trade network. And England won because of its banking system, which allowed for deficit spending, and its constitutional monarchy with Parliament having the powers of the purse, established with the Glorious Revolution that unseated James II.The competition/antagonism with France over trade in Africa and India was refired in the 19th century, with Britain using its superior navy to establish its commercial hegemony. Yet there was another mission, and that was to civilize, to eliminate heathen practices (such as sati (widows immolating themselves on their late husband's pyre) in India, and introduce education and other British institutions in those faraway places. But that couldn't have been done with British work ethic, integrity, and a "dedication to the general welfare of mankind." Britain came out on top because of "native inventiveness and application of its people", "Britain's manufacturing industry", and "naval supremacy." Imperialism in itself is bad regardless of the country, as it leads to racism compared to the Germans and French, but the British were better than those countries given that they had a government that was the envy of all nations, although they retaliated in force only when attacked, e.g. Gordon, the Sepoy Uprising.The rise of the leftist intellectuals who became more egalitarian and anti-imperialist couldn't have happened without the 1832 Parliamentary Reform Act, which gave the vote to the middle class, leading to a more democratic Britain. Many were Liberals or Radicals, and they contributed to the eventual fall of the Empire. Counter to that were the more conservative Tories, imperialists to the core, and who espoused jingoism, "a clamorous, pugnacious and intestinally inspired patriotism," som

I just knocked off "Rise and Fall of the British Empire" and was impressed. James tackles a big subject-this was the empire on which the sun never set-and gives as good a one-volume narritive as can probably be given. It was interesting to see the Revolution from the other side of the pond. One can get a good grasp of the Imperial mindset, which makes you think that Britain was the most reluctant imperial power in history. There were two things that I wish he would have addressed more. The first would be more about Guyana. The second would be why did the British never seriously consider closer political ties with the white dominions-especially at an early stage-with an eye on eventual intigration with Great Britain, something like how territories in the United States eventually could become full states? I inferred that the British were just happy to get excess population off the islands, and that by the time they desired closer political bonds, the dominions had already started to carve out their own identities. But other than that, I think that this was a great book, I couldn't put it down.