Geographies of Empire: European Empires and Colonies c.1880-1960: 42 (Cambridge Studies in Historical Geography, Series Number 42)
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 7/2/2009
EAN 9780521740555, ISBN10: 052174055X
Paperback, 692 pages, 24.7 x 17.4 x 4 cm
Language: English
How did the major European imperial powers and indigenous populations experience imperialism and colonisation in the period 1880-1960? In this richly-illustrated comparative account, Robin Butlin provides a comprehensive overview of the experiences of individual European imperial powers - British, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian, German and Italian – and the reactions of indigenous peoples. He explores the complex processes and discourses of colonialism, conquest and resistance from the height of empire through to decolonisation and sets these within the dynamics of the globalisation of political and economic power systems. He sheds new light on variations in the timing, nature and locations of European colonisations and on key themes such as exploration and geographical knowledge; maps and mapping; demographics; land seizure and environmental modification; transport and communications; and resistance and independence movements. In so doing, he makes a major contribution to our understanding of colonisation and the end of empire.
1. Geography, imperialism and colonialism
concepts and frameworks
2. Chronologies, spaces and places
3. Numbers and movements of people
4. Patterns and shadows on the land
5. Empire, exploration and geographical knowledge
6. Geographical societies and imperialism
7. The mapping of empires and colonies
8. Geographies of the 'Civilizing Mission'
9. Environmental interactions
10. The arteries of empire
transport and communications
11. Towns and cities
12. Economic geographies of empire and colony
13. The endings of empire
decolonization
14. Conclusion.
'Professor Butlin's new book is ambitious in scope and rich in historical and geographical detail. It showcases for a wide audience historical and cultural geographies of late 19th and 20th Century imperialism and colonialism that have afforded new insights into postcolonial, gender and indigenous perspectives. With its encyclopaedic coverage of the spatial aspects of European empires and colonies and its novel approach to the historiographical basis of writing about imperialism and colonialism, the book is a welcome addition to scholarship on European High Imperialism.' Cheryl McEwan, Durham University