The British Empire radically altered the modern world. At its height, it governed over a quarter of the human race and encompassed more that a fifth of the globe. As well as providing the British people with profits and a sense of international purpose, the Empire afforded them the opportunity to create new lives for themselves through emigration and settlement. For those it dominated and controlled, the Empire often represented arbitary power, gunboat diplomacy, the disruption of local customs and government by a distant administration. This study analyzes the British imperial experience from the American Revolution to the present day. It examines the ways in which Empire affected both rulers and ruled, and the roles of significant personalities - from Queen Victoria to Nelson Mandela, Cecil Rhodes to Mahatma Gandhi.
- ISBN10 0006379745
- ISBN13 9780006379744
- Publish Date 17 March 1997 (first published 4 March 1996)
- Publish Status Transferred
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint Fontana Press
- Edition New edition
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 544
- Language English
- URL http://harpercollins.co.uk