Decolonisation and the British Empire, 1775-1997

This book analyzes the ideas and policies that governed the British experience of decolonization. It shows how the British political tradition with its emphasis on experience over abstract theory was integral to the way in which the empire was regarded as being transformed rather than lost. This was a significant aspect of the relatively painless British loss of empire. D. George Boyce places the process of decolonization in its wider context, tracing the 20th century domestic and international conditions that hastened decolonization.

D. George Boyce is Professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Wales, Swansea.

Introduction: Experience and Empire * The Expansion of England * North America, 1775-1850: Lessons from History * Rationalism and Empire, 1850-1914 * Pillars of Empire: Ireland and India * The Context of Empire 1939-1957 * The Concept of Empire from Attlee to Churchill, 1945-1955 * Pillars of Empire: The Middle East * The Concept of Empire from Eden to Macmillan, 1956-1963 * Pillars of Empire: Africa * Empire, Race and Citizenship * The Contraction of England * Conclusion: Experience and De-Colonization
Introduction: Experience and Empire * The Expansion of England * North America, 1775-1850: Lessons from History * Rationalism and Empire, 1850-1914 * Pillars of Empire: Ireland and India * The Context of Empire 1939-1957 * The Concept of Empire from Attlee to Churchill, 1945-1955 * Pillars of Empire: The Middle East * The Concept of Empire from Eden to Macmillan, 1956-1963 * Pillars of Empire: Africa * Empire, Race and Citizenship * The Contraction of England * Conclusion: Experience and De-Colonization