Ruling the World
Freedom, Civilisation and Liberalism in the Nineteenth-Century British Empire

Reveals how the British Empire's governing men enforced their ideas of freedom, civilization and liberalism around the world.

Alan Lester (Author), Kate Boehme (Author), Peter Mitchell (Author)

9781108444897, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 January 2021

510 pages
22.9 x 15 x 2.3 cm, 0.63 kg

'Ruling the World breathes new life into the history of British imperial administration.' Alex Middleton, University of Oxford

Ruling the World tells the story of how the largest and most diverse empire in history was governed, everywhere and all at once. Focusing on some of the most tumultuous years of Queen Victoria's reign, Alan Lester, Kate Boehme and Peter Mitchell adopt an entirely new perspective to explain how the men in charge of the British Empire sought to manage simultaneous events across the globe. Using case studies including Canada, South Africa, the Caribbean, Australia, India and Afghanistan, they reveal how the empire represented a complex series of trade-offs between Parliament's, colonial governors', colonists' and colonised peoples' agendas. They also highlight the compromises that these men made as they adapted their ideals of freedom, civilization and liberalism to the realities of an empire imposed through violence and governed in the interests of Britons.

Introduction
Part I. 1838: The Year of Freedom: 1. Setting the scene for emancipation
2. Managing expectations
3. Political freedom
4. Settler liberties
5. Free trade, famine and invasion
6. Steam and opium
Conclusion to Part I: An empire of freedom?
Part II. 1857: The Year of Civilization: 7. Setting the scene: Hubris and crisis
8. 'A struggle of life and death'
9. A new imperial government
Conclusion to Part II: An empire of civilization?
Part III. 1879: The Year of Liberalism: 10. Liberal fathers and sons
11. Imperialism
12. Imperial wars and their aftermaths
Conclusion to Part III: A liberal empire?
Appendix. Cast of characters.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], British & Irish history [HBJD1], General & world history [HBG]