The Colonial Empires

The nineteenth century was Europe's colonial century. At the beginning of the period, the only colonial empire that existed was the British Empire. By the end of the century the situation was completely different and Europe's colonial possessions had come to constitute a large part of the world. The French had acquired an immense colonial empire and the Dutch had extended their control over Indonesia. Germany and Italy, unified only in the latter half of the century, had claimed their place under the sun. Even the tiny Kingdom of Belgium had acquired a huge colonial territory in Africa: the Belgian Congo. This is the first book to describe the whole process of colonization from conquest to pacification, and to analyze it in the light of administrative, cultural and economic developments. The European Colonial Empires discusses a uniquely long period instead of merely focussing on the shorter, accepted age of classical imperialism. Wesseling argues that European colonial expansion can be understood only by putting it into this long-term perspective and by comparing the differences between the colonies in Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Caribbean. This book redresses the balance that privileges the British colonial and imperial experience. It emphasizes the continental European experience while relating developments to the British enterprise.

Discusses colonies before 1815 including Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, and British colonies in the Americas and the events leading to their disolution. Then discusses colonies of the British, French, Dutch, Russians, Portuguese, Belgians, Germans and Americans in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific

This volume provides a multidimensional assessment of the diverse ends of the European colonial empires, addressing different geographies, taking into account diverse chronologies of decolonization, and evaluating the specificities of each imperial configuration under appreciation (Portuguese, Belgian, French, British, Dutch).

This book explores the theme of violence, repression and atrocity in imperial and colonial empires, as well as its representations and memories, from the late eighteenth through to the twentieth century. It examines the wide variety of violent means by which colonies and empire were maintained in the modern era, the politics of repression and the violent structures inherent in empire. Bringing together scholars from around the world, the book includes chapters on British, French, Dutch, Italian and Japanese colonies and conquests. It considers multiple experiences of colonial violence, ranging from political dispute to the non-lethal violence of everyday colonialism and the symbolic repression inherent in colonial practices and hierarchies. These comparative case studies show how violence was used to assert and maintain control in the colonies, contesting the long held view that the colonial project was of benefit to colonised peoples.

Prize-winning historian Robert Gildea dissects the legacy of empire for the former colonial powers and their subjects.

First published in 1989. On the eve of the First World War, almost 72 million square kilometres of territory and more than 560 million people were under colonial rule. By 1980 the European colonial empires had disappeared from the map. Concentrating in particular on the British Commonwealth and the French colonial empire, the author shows how economic and political changes in the mother countries, the awakening national consciousness of the African and Asian peoples, and the effects of two World Wars had all compelled Europe to decolonize. He argues that although a satisfactory new order in world politics and the global economy has not been achieved in the process, the dissolution of the empires came about with remarkably little bloodshed, thereby laying a solid foundation for the future. The author concludes by looking at the legacy of the decolonized world in the late 1980s. He examines the last bastion of European colonial domination (South Africa) and discusses the emerging new North-South relations.

A comprehensive account of how Europeans have used violence to conquer, coerce and police in pursuit of imperialism and colonial settlement

Decolonization is the term commonly used to refer to this transition from a world of colonial empires to a world of nation-states in the years after World War II. This work demonstrates that this process involved considerable violence and instability.