At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 16 empires of varying size and reach. At the end of the century, there was just one: the United States. How did this happen and what role did Britain play in smoothing America’s path to global hegemony?
The voice of the British monarch carried considerable weight in imperial India. Its slow silencing mirrored the retreat of Britain from the subcontinent.
Two imperial ventures, in the same Middle East town a century apart, reveal the similarities – and differences – in the exercise of power.
For five centuries the legend of a Christian priest king, in Asia or in Africa, sustained the hopes of Europeans in their struggle with Islam. Those who joined the search for Prester John were looking for a man who was not there.
Though much of the West has withdrawn from empire, one of the world’s rising powers offers the latest twist on imperialism.
Japan’s vast Asian empire became home to more than a million female settlers, who told their stories in an effort to keep in contact.
Sweet it may be, but sugar's story is a bitter one, embracing slavery, decay and obesity.
The foundations of modern India were laid by the British governor-general, Warren Hastings. But he paid a heavy personal price.
The Lord Protector’s move on Jamaica transformed Britain’s early empire.
An extensively researched, hard-hitting reassessment of British rule in India pulls no punches, but does not tell the whole story.
