European Colonialism since 1700

The only textbook to survey the major Atlantic, Asian and African empires of Europe, from 1700 through decolonization in 1945.

James R. Lehning (Author)

9780521741712, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 29 August 2013

320 pages, 11 b/w illus. 4 maps
22.7 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.52 kg

'Lehning's work is one of the few examples of a near-complete analysis of the complex parameters of European colonial conquest and rule that takes into account the growing complexities of the historiography, including the scope of gender, race, and concepts of freedom and citizenship in European colonial rule.' Jacob Ivey, H-War

This masterful synthesis provides a much-needed, complete survey of European colonialism from 1700 to decolonization in the twentieth century. Written by an award-winning author, this advanced undergraduate and graduate level textbook bridges, for the first time, the early modern Atlantic empires and the later Asian and African empires of 'high imperialism'. Viewing colonialism as a phenomenon of contact between Europe and the rest of the world, the author takes an 'entangled histories' approach, considering the surprising ways in which the imperial powers of Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands displayed their identities in colonial settings, as much as in their imperial capitals. The author illuminates for students the common themes of colonial government, economic development and cultural contact across empires, and reveals the ways in which these themes played out, through contrast of the differing development, structure and impact of each empire.

1. Introduction
2. The European empires in the early eighteenth century
3. The restructuring of the Atlantic empires
4. The new empires in Oceania and Asia
5. Africa and the Middle East
6. Imperial Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
7. Decolonisation and postcolonial Europe.

Subject Areas: Colonialism & imperialism [HBTQ], History: earliest times to present day [HBL], European history [HBJD]