Empire: The British Imperial Experience From 1765 To The Present

By the middle of the 18th century, writes English historian Denis Judd, the British empire extended around the world, so that truly, as the adage had it, the sun never set on it. Yet within years that empire began to unravel, beginning with the loss of the American colonies. (The colonies, Judd opines, were not as badly treated by the crown as they professed to have been). He examines the battles, stratagems, and intrigues that helped extend British rule so far afield, drawing into his account the contributions of the great men and women of imperial history as well as the not so great ones. The latter group, in Judd's view, misjudged the tides of popular sentiment and lost the crown many friends through violence and reaction. The historian closes his study with the election of Nelson Mandela to the presidency of South Africa, and with the arguable observation that the British did their best in governing their far-flung holdings.