British Empire

Leigh Gardner is Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Research Associate at the University of Stellenbosch. Her research examines the long-run development of African economies from the nineteenth century onwards, focusing particularly on the role of states and Africa's interactions with the global economy.Tirthankar Roy is Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His research spans three major areas: South Asian history and development, colonialism, and environmental change, with a particular focus on how the region has interacted with these transformative global forces.

• 1 IntroductionPart I Origins2 A Theory of Origin3 Emergence: Settlers and Planters (Mainly) in the Atlantic4 Consolidation: India5 Expansion: Africa, Asia and the PacificPart II Colonial Economies6 Trade and Investment7 Growth and InequalityPart III Colonial States8 Structure of Colonial States 9 Financing of Colonial States10 Colonial Development PoliciesPart IV Decolonisation11 The Global Forces12 The Actors13 The Process14 LegaciesNotesReferencesIndex

"It's hard to think of an institution that has had more impact on the modern world than the British Empire. This is just one of many reasons to enjoy and learn from this brilliant and definitive synthesis."James Robinson, University of Chicago"This clear and accessible text is written by two of the leading specialists on Africa and India. The book ranges across continents and centuries, addresses the key questions, and guides readers through the answers that have been proposed. The subject is vast and the literature of equal size. Gardner and Roy provide a welcome and reliable entry to one of the most important movements in world history."Antony G. Hopkins, University of Cambridge"Kudos to Gardner and Roy for this lively and smart reading of the economics that fuelled (and dismantled) the British Empire. Clearly written and exhaustively researched, this book makes a strong case for understanding the Empire not as a unified monolith marching to a firm plan but a complex and diverse phenomenon with a long-reaching afterlife."Philippa Levine, Queen Mary University of London and University of Texas at Austin"Gardner and Roy have written a fascinating survey of the emergence of the British Empire from its beginnings in the Atlantic region to its global height, spanning large parts of both Asia and Africa, and its eventual demise in the years from 1947 to the 1960s. They draw on the large literature on the economic history of the Indian continent, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and Africa to which they themselves have made substantial contributions, and examine both the successes and failures of British rule over a large part of the world. The result is not just a valuable literature survey but also an important contribution to the growing debate on the legacies of empire across the global economy, which teachers and students should find very useful."Anne Booth, SOAS University of London