British Empire

New Research Shows British Industrialization Drew Ironworking Methods from Colonized and Enslaved Jamaicans

A process for producing wrought iron from scrap had been credited to Henry Cort. But Cort likely adopted it from a Jamaican works operated by 76 Black metallurgists, including enslaved workers. 

British Universities are Researching Ties to Slavery. Conservative Alumni Say "Enough"

Historian Nicolas Bell-Romero found that influential Cambridge backers were happy to learn of the links between the university and famous abolitionists, but not on the university's historical links to an imperial elite that benefitted from the slave trade, part of a broad battle about the politics of British history. 

Ayahs, Amahs and Empire: The History of Domestic Care Work under Colonialism

by Julia Laite

The history of domestic and child care work has become increasingly robust, but museums and public exhibitions have struggled to find ways to represent the work and experiences of women, many from south Asia, who traveled with white colonial families to perform this labor, putting marginalized people in charge of the empire's children. 

Why More of the Anglophone World Wants to Ditch the British Crown

“There is a growing gap between Britain’s perception of its own empire and how it’s perceived everywhere else,” said William Dalrymple, a prominent historian of British India. “And that gap keeps growing.”

Where to Look for the Evidence of Colonial Violence

by Erik Linstrum

The British government's efforts to conceal potentially embarrasing records as decolonization accelerated in the 1950s and 1960s means that historians need to know where to look for contemporary evidence of the violence of colonization and counterinsurgent tactics. 

Review: Lingering Ghosts of British Empire

by Priya Satia

Journalist Sathnam Sanghera insists that British education needs to renew a focus on empire to allow students to understand the global significance of empire and colonialism in the present, particularly as contemporary Brits debate the merits of a multicultural society. 

The Pugilistic Pastor: Nigel Biggar and the Imperial History Wars

by Dane Kennedy

The recent "Colonialism" won’t win over many historians, but it isn’t meant to. Its target audience is right-wing ideologues, whose grievances and opinions it both echoes and enhances.

Brits Don't Need to Compare Refugee Policy to Nazis—British History is Cruel Enough

by Priyamvada Gopal

"As its government demonises undocumented people seeking shelter today, it is worth remembering that Britain has historically been more a refugee-making country than a refugee-taking one."

How Barbados's Reparations Movement Found the International Spotlight

The availability of clear records tying British families – like that of actor Benedict Cumberbatch – to Caribbean slavery has made the movement for reparations in Barbados and other island nations very visible, if not yet successful. 

The Ostensibly Apolitical Nature of the Royals Explains Americans' Obsession

by Suzanne Schneider

The Royals appeal to an American fantasy of power without politics, in which civility and decorum conceal the process of determining a society's winners and losers. 

Andrew Roberts Blows Up on MSNBC Over Queen's Link to Colonialism

The British historian and host Ali Velshi butted heads over the mentioning of colonialism and its part in the late Queen's legacy. 

Not All Roads Lead to Kashmir

by Andrew Howard

A recent tragedy on a historically contentious railway route shows that decisions about infrastructure development are made with symbolic and emotional considerations as well as pragmatic ones.

Review Essay: The Bloody Business of the British Conquest of Nigeria

by Adewale Maja-Pearce

Self-serving stories of the civilizing mission of British Christianity paper over the brutality of colonialism. 

You Can't Teach "Pros and Cons" When it Comes to Empire

by Priya Satia

Far from encouraging critical thinking, the "balance sheet" approach to teaching historical atrocities like slavery or imperialism flatters the mythologies created by the powerful to excuse violence against others, says a historian of empire and parent of a high school student. 

The British Empire Was Worse Than You Probably Think

Historian Elizabeth Elkins's new book on the British Empire "contends that Britain’s use of systematic violence was no better than that of its rivals. The British were simply more skilled at hiding it."

We, The Abuser State

by Jules Gill-Peterson

Texas's announcement of a policy defining some support for transgender youth as "child abuse" echoes the abuses of colonial authorities on gendered minority groups. 

Barbados Declares Republic, Rejects Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State

Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced last year that the nation of 300,000 would become a republic by Tuesday, the 55th anniversary of its independence.

Records of 320,000 Punjab Soldiers from Great War Uncovered`

The records have the potential to fill gaps in understanding and even dispel popular myths and misunderstandings about the participation of South Asian troops in the British military in World War 1. 

Britain's Financial Hub Confronts its Involvement with Slavery

"Lloyd's and the Bank of England have each hired a historian to delve into their roles in the slave trade and are planning on publicizing the results in the next year."

The US Repeated Mistakes of the Past in Afghanistan

by Ali A. Olomi

"By flooding Afghanistan with payoffs, bribes and aid, the British created a system of endemic corruption in which local chieftains and favorable bureaucrats would enrich themselves while the rest of the country remained relatively poor."