Great Britain's geopolitical role has undergone many changes over the last four centuries. Once a maritime superpower and ruler of half the world, Britain now occupies an isolated position as an economically fragile island often at odds with her European neighbors.
Lawrence James has written a comprehensive, perceptive, and insighful history of the British Empire. Spanning the years from 1600 to the present day, this critically acclaimed book combines detailed scholarship with readable popular history.

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James's focus is primarily economic and political, with the sociological aspects on the British left and anti-colonialists given quite coverage beginning in the 19th century. But the story's the same. England's empire was created for her need of goods from the New World, but really took off during its series of global wars against France and its allies beginning with the Nine Years War (1689-97) up to the American War For Independence (1775-1783). The reason was twofold, to prevent France from gaining a foothold in the New World and to outcompete France and Spain in its maritime trade network. And England won because of its banking system, which allowed for deficit spending, and its constitutional monarchy with Parliament having the powers of the purse, established with the Glorious Revolution that unseated James II.

The competition/antagonism with France over trade in Africa and India was refired in the 19th century, with Britain using its superior navy to establish its commercial hegemony. Yet there was another mission, and that was to civilize, to eliminate heathen practices (such as sati (widows immolating themselves on their late husband's pyre) in India, and introduce education and other British institutions in those faraway places. But that couldn't have been done with British work ethic, integrity, and a "dedication to the general welfare of mankind." Britain came out on top because of "native inventiveness and application of its people", "Britain's manufacturing industry", and "naval supremacy." Imperialism in itself is bad regardless of the country, as it leads to racism compared to the Germans and French, but the British were better than those countries given that they had a government that was the envy of all nations, although they retaliated in force only when attacked, e.g. Gordon, the Sepoy Uprising.

The rise of the leftist intellectuals who became more egalitarian and anti-imperialist couldn't have happened without the 1832 Parliamentary Reform Act, which gave the vote to the middle class, leading to a more democratic Britain. Many were Liberals or Radicals, and they contributed to the eventual fall of the Empire. Counter to that were the more conservative Tories, imperialists to the core, and who espoused jingoism, "a clamorous, pugnacious and intestinally inspired patriotism," something briefly resurrected during the Falklands War.

It was only when the empire was declining after the heavy loss of life in WW1, that the empire began to tighten its fist in a desperate attempt to cling onto its holdings. The massacre at Amristar (1919), the callous way it treated Middle Easterners, was the empire's dark side. This desperation can be seen with the establishment of Empire Day and the indoctrination of schoolchildren to look up to the empire, aided by pulp hero adventures by imperialist ex-war correspondent G.A. Henty, who cranked out imperialist propaganda to brainwash the youth. But being bankrupt by WW2, rising nationalist movements led by Gandhi, Nasser, and Nkrumah, and being dependent on US-influenced anti-colonialist foreign policy and aid, led to the empire's collapse into the Commonwealth, "a surrogate empire."

Each section is titled with start and end dates. However, in some sections, there are topics that cover the same time period, so although it looks like one is going into a time loop, keep in mind that many things were going on. For example, James covers the Irish situation from 1919-1939, and then in the next chapter, covers Egypt from 1919-1942, the Middle East during that same time period, and then India. Then he covers British social and economic dynamics in separate chapters.

Conclusion: "Few empires have equipped their subjects with the intellectial wherewithal to overthrow their rulers. None has been survived by so much affection and moral respect."

18 of 20 found the following review helpful:

Rule Britannia!Sep 23, 1999

I just knocked off "Rise and Fall of the British Empire" and was impressed. James tackles a big subject-this was the empire on which the sun never set-and gives as good a one-volume narritive as can probably be given. It was interesting to see the Revolution from the other side of the pond. One can get a good grasp of the Imperial mindset, which makes you think that Britain was the most reluctant imperial power in history. There were two things that I wish he would have addressed more. The first would be more about Guyana. The second would be why did the British never seriously consider closer political ties with the white dominions-especially at an early stage-with an eye on eventual intigration with Great Britain, something like how territories in the United States eventually could become full states? I inferred that the British were just happy to get excess population off the islands, and that by the time they desired closer political bonds, the dominions had already started to carve out their own identities. But other than that, I think that this was a great book, I couldn't put it down.

20 of 24 found the following review helpful:

Well done, but whats the point?Jun 29, 2003
By Matthew Mesick
James' history of the British Empire occupies a precarious position. It is too short to provide the sort of depth required by a scholarly history and his attempt to record the 400 year rise and fall of the Empire leaves little room for the sorts of anecdotes and character development one finds in the best popular histories. He does manage to give the reader a rough sketch of the history of the Empire. It covers the basics: where the British possessions were along with how and when they were acquired(and lost). But because of the massive scale of the Empire there is little room for much else. Large parts of this book read like a list, but when James quits listing events and analyzes them he is both enjoyable and informative. He also does an excellent job integrating popular culture into his text. He includes quotations from plays, poems, and advertisements. James' writing is clear, lucid and enjoyable to read. However I gave it three stars because the book lacks focus. It is nice to read a history in which the author attempts, and largely succeeds, in being unbiased but James' aloof stance from the history makes it quite bland. Another major weakness of the work is that while he provides an adequate explanation for why the British were so successful in building thier Empire(technology and naval power) he offers little insight into the far more interesting question, why the Empire fell apart. Maybe the answer to that question is too obvious, but if it is he should have at least given a paragraph explaining it to dolts like me who read his book. He mentions several times that the fall was inevitable, and hints that it was the exposure to the British traditions of liberty and self-government that led to the fall, but he really skirts the issue of. Other helpful additions would have been a timeline and a biographical index of major figures. The book is well researched and provides a lot of information, but seems a bit pointless. I recommend it for someone wanting to know the basics about the Empire, but for anyone with more than an elementary understanding of the Empire it will not suffice.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

A Captivating Chronicle of the World's Greatest EmpireSep 29, 1998
By Simon Rowell
Although Lawrence James's opinions leak out a little as he deals with recent decades, this book covers the 400 years of British pre-eminence in the world with great discipline. It concentrates on what the British did (and why) without confusing the reader with unnecessary histories of other countries.

Emerging from the 650 pages of this book is the truth of how the Empire came about, and why it was inevitable and necessary that it should be dissolved. The legacy of the British Empire to the world in terms of culture, government and social structure are patiently chronicled.

The insights into British public opinion throughout the period of Empire by the analysis of newspapers, novels (and childrens' books) and movies were very interesting.

This is the sort of book that can be read selectively and as such would be an ideal text book for education in schools around the world, or at least in the countries that were directly effected by the subject matter.

The book has the capacity to make one want to talk at length about the rich topic of the Empire. Consequently I must stop (!), but I would encourage anyone who wants to know how the world arrived at its current form, to read this book.

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