British Empire

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  

  Irish President Attacks 'Feigned Amnesia' over British Imperialism

  “I am struck by a disinclination,” he says, “in both academic and journalistic accounts to critique empire and imperialism. Openness to, and engagement in, a critique of nationalism has seemed greater.

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  11/12/2020
  

  The National Trust is under Attack Because it Cares about History, not Fantasy

  by Peter Mitchell

  Britain's historic preservation agency has become the target of conservative politicians who have interpreted the Trust's commissioning of a report evaluating the relationship of its projects to slavery as an attack on the nation's historical identity.

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• 11/1/2020
  

  From a Victorian to a Twenty-First Century Understanding of Why History Matters

  by Priya Satia

  "Churchill was the apotheosis of the historically-minded statesman, committed to the idea of history as progress in which the role of great men was to suppress ordinary moral compunctions about destructive events that forwarded it."

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• SOURCE: The New Yorker
  10/26/2020
  

  Misremembering the British Empire

  Priya Satia's new book “Time’s Monster” joins a dense body of scholarship analyzing liberal justifications for empire. 

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  10/14/2020
  

  The Real Black History? The Government Wants To Ban It

  by Priyamvada Gopal

  Tory attacks on "victim narratives" in the history curriculum defend entrenched power and ignore the fact that Black British histories are about the power of protest and activism to make social change. 

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• SOURCE: TIME
  8/19/2020
  

  We Can't Tell Kamala Harris' Story Without the British Empire. We Can't Tell America's Without It Either

  by Priya Satia

  As Kamala Harris vies for the Vice Presidency, a complete recounting of her formation requires recognizing her as both a quintessentially American politician—because of, not despite, her being a child of immigrants—and part of a global story of the former British empire.

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• SOURCE: Barrons
  7/22/2020
  

  Row Over 'Misrepresentation' Of Slavery In UK Citizenship Test (Agence France Presse)

  Nearly 200 historians on Wednesday denounced what they said was the "misrepresentation of slavery and empire" in the history section of Britain's citizenship test, calling for it to be corrected.

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• SOURCE: The Times (London)
  7/23/2020
  

  Historians blast BBC for ‘unbalanced’ News At Ten report on Churchill

  Historians have criticised a BBC News report on Tuesday about Churchill’s role in the Bengal Famine, which killed three million people in 1943 and 1944. The report arguably blamed Churchill's racism without considering other material factors that lead to 3 million deaths. 

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• SOURCE: Photographic Museum of Humanity
  7/22/2020
  

  When Monuments Become the Narrative (review)

  "Leopold’s Legacy" by Oliver Leu is the most timely of books. It details how Belgian monuments to empire sustain narratives that abdicate responsibility, divert blame, and ultimately deny Belgium’s role in the mutilation and murder of millions of people.

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  6/24/2020
  

  Britain's Persistent Racism Cannot Simply Be Explained by its Imperial History

  by David Edgerton

  It played its part, but empire does not explain all of Britain’s record of elitism, exploitation and discrimination.

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  6/12/2020
  

  A Statue Was Toppled. Can We Finally Talk About the British Empire?

  by Gurminder K. Bhambra

  Protesters who dumped Edward Colston's statue into Bristol harbor have forced a long-overdue discussion of how the British Empire conquered and governed in the past and set the stage for racial divisions in contemporary Britain. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  5/12/2020
  

  Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt (Review)

  An attack by the pirate Henry Every on a ship owned by the Grand Mughal of India jeopardized the toehold the British East India Company had gained in India. The British government's response helped launch imperial rule. 

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• 1/26/20
  

  History & Law: GW History Professor Jennifer Wells Discusses How Her Study of Law Has Informed her Career in History

  by Mark Detlor

  "I’m more much analytical as a result of law and try to immediately make an assertion and back it up with evidence when I write; I think it’s a very effective way of writing but I’m not sure that I would have mastered it had I not gone to law school."

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• SOURCE: The New York Times
  October 2, 2019
  

  History Museum Explores Germans’ View of Britain

  by The Associated Press

  As Brexit looms, one of Germany’s main history museums is examining Germans’ views of the British, complete with a countdown clock that may be reset if Britain’s departure from the European Union is delayed.

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• 9/8/19
  

  Hindus-Muslim clash 72 years after Britain left India

  by B. Z. Khasru

  In light of India's recent decision to annex the Muslim-majority Kashmir state, it's important to understand the region's history. 

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  9/4/19
  

  The Original Evil Corporation

  by William Dalrymple

  The East India Company, a trading firm with its own army, was masterful at manipulating governments for its own profit. It’s the prototype for today’s multinationals.

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• SOURCE: The Conversation
  11-2-18
  

  The British Empire is still being whitewashed by the UK’s school curriculum

  by Deana Heath

  Why this must change.

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• 11/18/18
  

  The Classic Story of America’s Triumph as a World Power after WW2 Overlooks This One Fact

  by Derek Leebaert

  The British Empire stood in the way. Not until the late 1950s did the US finally become a superpower.

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• SOURCE: YouGov UK
  7-26-17
  

  The British Empire is 'something to be proud of'

  By three to one, British people think the British Empire is something to be proud of rather than ashamed of – they also tend to think it left its colonies better off, and a third would like it to still exist.

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  9-12-16
  

  Report in the UK: Claims that the history of the British empire is not being widely taught in schools are false

  The former education secretary’s claim that much history teaching was informed by post-colonial guilt is not supported by data, according to British Education Research Association study.