The impact of imperial power on the periphery and Britain
Key issue(s)
jingoism, indifference, exhibitions, school texts and national identity, youth organisations, the arts (music hall, theatre, etc.)
jingoism, indifference, exhibitions, school texts and national identity, youth organisations, the arts (music hall, theatre, etc.)
Kâtip Çelebi. Map of the British Isles, c 1850-1900. MS 139868 (soas manuscript number), SOAS Library.
Emphasis is to be placed in the idea of shared meanings for Empire – but also how resistance or indifference could be expressed; some distinctions between ‘elite’ culture and popular culture is also necessary.
Need to question the degree to which working people especially had much knowledge or awareness of Empire
Need to question the degree to which working people especially had much knowledge or awareness of Empire
Internet Resources
John Mackenzie: a leading historian who has promoted the study of imperial culture(s) especially during the period 1850-1950. See for example: Propaganda and Empire (Manchester University Press 1984); Museums and Empire (MUP 2009); Imperialism and Popular Culture (MUP 1986); and Encyclopaedia of Empire (four volumes, Wiley-Blackwell 2016).
Other key texts to introduce the concept of contested imperial cultures and the difficulties of a hegemonic vision within the metropole of the role and value of empire include: The Absent-Minded Imperialists: Empire, Society, and Culture in Britain by Bernard Porter OUP 2006). (“Bernard Porter, a leading imperial historian, argues that the empire had a far lower profile in Britain than it did abroad. He argues that though Britain was an imperial nation in this period, she was never a genuine imperial society.”) Porter contradicts Mackenzie’s view that the empire was important to ordinary working people in the metropole.
David Cannadine, Ornamentaism: How the British saw their Empire (Allen Lane 2001), and a review of this book.
The Empire Project by John Darwin (CUP 2011). “The British Empire, he argues, was much more than a group of colonies ruled over by a scattering of British expatriates until eventual independence. It was, above all, a global phenomenon. Its power derived rather less from the assertion of imperial authority than from the fusing together of three different kinds of empire: the settler empire of the 'white dominions'; the commercial empire of the City of London; and 'Greater India' which contributed markets, manpower and military muscle.”
John Mackenzie: a leading historian who has promoted the study of imperial culture(s) especially during the period 1850-1950. See for example: Propaganda and Empire (Manchester University Press 1984); Museums and Empire (MUP 2009); Imperialism and Popular Culture (MUP 1986); and Encyclopaedia of Empire (four volumes, Wiley-Blackwell 2016).
Other key texts to introduce the concept of contested imperial cultures and the difficulties of a hegemonic vision within the metropole of the role and value of empire include: The Absent-Minded Imperialists: Empire, Society, and Culture in Britain by Bernard Porter OUP 2006). (“Bernard Porter, a leading imperial historian, argues that the empire had a far lower profile in Britain than it did abroad. He argues that though Britain was an imperial nation in this period, she was never a genuine imperial society.”) Porter contradicts Mackenzie’s view that the empire was important to ordinary working people in the metropole.
David Cannadine, Ornamentaism: How the British saw their Empire (Allen Lane 2001), and a review of this book.
The Empire Project by John Darwin (CUP 2011). “The British Empire, he argues, was much more than a group of colonies ruled over by a scattering of British expatriates until eventual independence. It was, above all, a global phenomenon. Its power derived rather less from the assertion of imperial authority than from the fusing together of three different kinds of empire: the settler empire of the 'white dominions'; the commercial empire of the City of London; and 'Greater India' which contributed markets, manpower and military muscle.”
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Empire Exhibitions: emphasise both the message that is being conveyed and the reception of that message (especially in a wider context).
It might be interesting to compare with how Empire is represented in museums today (see http://www.empiremuseum.co.uk/). Discuss how difficult it is to assess reaction/response Discuss schooling (and also the limited social range of elites entering colonial civil service jobs).
Often maps are used in the context of how imperial visions were extended into the national education system. The idea of jingoism needs to be balanced out against the notion of apparent indifference to the empire – but also the increasing inequalities that were experienced in Britain during these years. |
Internet Resources Victorian Britain
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Internet Resources
Exhibitions and Museums
The British Library has a very good site with information about an early progenitor of the Empire Exhibition – The Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851.
The Open University page on the 1924 British Empire Exhibition.
There are some interesting visual records of some of the Empire exhibitions. If you go on YouTube and search for British Empire Exhibitions, there are some archived news reels from the 1924 and 1938 exhibitions.
Benjamin Britten and Edward Elgar are also often referenced in relation to the development of cultures of empire: Elgar’s Empire March was composed for the 1924 Exhibition.
Music Hall
Maps
The Historical Atlas of British Empire has a good range of low res images that can be used for reference, and some good side notes.
Education
Exhibitions and Museums
The British Library has a very good site with information about an early progenitor of the Empire Exhibition – The Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851.
The Open University page on the 1924 British Empire Exhibition.
There are some interesting visual records of some of the Empire exhibitions. If you go on YouTube and search for British Empire Exhibitions, there are some archived news reels from the 1924 and 1938 exhibitions.
Benjamin Britten and Edward Elgar are also often referenced in relation to the development of cultures of empire: Elgar’s Empire March was composed for the 1924 Exhibition.
Music Hall
- The Victoria and Albert Museum has a lot of background material about the history of Music Hall, which may help to place the jingoistic reputation in context.
- The V&A also has some interesting articles on ‘Empire’ in various forms, including how contemporary artists have reacted to the idea of empire in their own art .
- The British Library also has a music hall timeline.
- See also http://www.victorianweb.org/mt/musichall/scott1.html
Maps
The Historical Atlas of British Empire has a good range of low res images that can be used for reference, and some good side notes.
Education
- A very good primary source to reference is Marshall’s Our Empire Story (1908), which was popular in schools – in particular the chapter on ‘The Mutiny – Delhi’ would give useful insights into imperial representations of this even that would add to discussion of this as a Depth Study (link to case 1).
- A well known article on the education of the imperial civil service is:
The Education of a Ruling Caste: The Indian Civil Service in the Era of Competitive Examination’ C. J. Dewey, The English Historical Review, Vol. 88, No. 347 (Apr., 1973), pp. 262-285.
