This series delves into the intricate and multifaceted relationship between an island nation and the wider world. Spanning from the sixteenth century to the present day, it explores the profound mutual influences that shaped global history. The collection goes beyond a simple recounting of overseas impact, investigating how international events and trends, in turn, affected developments within Britain itself. It offers a nuanced perspective on interconnected histories, moving beyond the sole focus on imperial narratives.
By 1940 going to the movies was the most popular form of public leisure in Britain's empire. This book explores the social and cultural impact of the movies in colonial societies in the early cinema age.
Linking two defining narratives of the twentieth century, Sutton’s comparative study of Hong Kong and Cyprus – where two of the empire’s most effective communist parties operated – examines how British colonial policy-makers took to cultural and ideological battlegrounds to fight the anti-colonial imperialism of their communist enemies in the Cold War. The structure and intentional nature of the British colonial system grants unprecedented access to British perceptions and strategies, which sought to balance constructive socio-political investments with regressive and self-defeating repression, neither of which Britain could afford in the Cold War conflict of empires.
The End of Empire in the Anglophone Caribbean, 1947-1969
The book delves into the tensions between the British government and Caribbean nationalists, exploring issues such as regional integration, the Cold War, immigration policies, and financial aid. It examines the complex dynamics leading up to the independence of Jamaica, Trinidad, and other Anglophone Caribbean territories, highlighting the historical context and the struggles for autonomy and self-determination in the region.
In this fresh and controversial account of Britain's end of empire, Grob- Fitzgibbon reveals that the British government developed a successful strategy of decolonization following the Second World War based on devolving power to indigenous peoples within the Commonwealth.