Empire and Globalisation
Networks of People, Goods and Capital in the British World, c.1850–1914

A revisionist account of imperial history that sets out a new interpretation of economic activity in the British Empire.

Gary B. Magee (Author), Andrew S. Thompson (Author)

9780521727587, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 11 February 2010

314 pages, 13 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.51 kg

'… a book which provides a great example of how the British World approach functions. A notable feature of the book is the exhaustive historiographical detail that is interwoven throughout the narrative and that positions the British World framework within the broader terrain of British imperial history.' Jared van Duinen, Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History

Focusing on the great population movement of British emigrants before 1914, this book provides a perspective on the relationship between empire and globalisation. It shows how distinct structures of economic opportunity developed around the people who settled across a wider British World through the co-ethnic networks they created. Yet these networks could also limit and distort economic growth. The powerful appeal of ethnic identification often made trade and investment with racial 'outsiders' less appealing, thereby skewing economic activities toward communities perceived to be 'British'. By highlighting the importance of these networks to migration, finance and trade, this book contributes to debates about globalisation in the past and present. It reveals how the networks upon which the era of modern globalisation was built quickly turned in on themselves after 1918, converting racial, ethnic and class tensions into protectionism, nationalism and xenophobia. Avoiding such an outcome is a challenge faced today.

Introduction
1. Reconfiguring empire: the British world
2. Networks and the British world
3. Overseas migration
4. Markets and consumer cultures
5. Information and investment
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Colonialism & imperialism [HBTQ], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], British & Irish history [HBJD1]