Empire: The Rise and Decline of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power (review)

The British Empire has begun to draw considerable attention once again in the past few years. Oxford University Press issued an updated history of the British Empire under William Roger Louis's supervision, and other recent books address specific aspects of imperial history. Empire also provides a framework for discussing globalization, humanitarian intervention, and other current policy issues. Niall Ferguson connects these two strains in an overview of the British Empire's history and legacy. Written as a companion to a television series, the book vividly presents an updated Whig interpretation of imperial history as a dynamic force that spread liberal democracy and free enterprise beyond Europe. Ferguson further contends that Britain's role policing the globe and implementing humanitarian reform in backward societies provides a model for the United States today.

While acknowledging the case against imperialism, Ferguson denies that the British Empire brought more harm than good. It facilitated the export of capital and British institutions, such as common law, rules of land tenure, and the idea of liberty, that created a very different world from the one shaped by France or the Netherlands. Ferguson opens the story by noting that Britain's empire began as an economic phenomenon with settlements across the Atlantic and trading posts in West Africa and India. Britons who came as traders or pirates stayed on as planters or administrators. Settlement colonies transferred British institutions beyond the metropolis, and the challenge of governing overseas territories accelerated the process. Tensions between imperial governance and the practice of representative government peaked with the American War of Independence, which created both the United States of America and a changed attitude toward ruling the colonies that remained. New acquisitions and the East India Company's increasing role administering Bengal gave the question of governance new importance. Humanitarian movements, particularly the campaign against slavery, changed British policy and its impact on other societies. Abolishing the slave trade, and slavery itself, imposed reform on other societies while ending a lucrative sector of Britain's economy. Missionary work drove the exploration of Africa by David Livingston and shaped colonial policy. Campaigns in India against suttee, infanticide, and the thuggee cult imposed Western values on an Eastern society. Gunboat diplomacy and the development of an elite civil service to administer colonies solidified British rule despite the Indian Mutiny and other revolts. Britain reached the apex of its power with self-governing dominions and colonies under direct rule along with an informal empire defined by trade and investment. The British Empire's main challenge in the twentieth century came from rivals in Europe rather than disaffection among its own peoples. The world wars exhausted Britain's resources despite vital military contributions from its empire. Efforts to educate native elites toward self-government brought increasing demands for autonomy that led to decolonization in the 1950s and beyond. Ferguson concludes by urging Americans to draw on Britain's imperial past as a guide for policing the globe today. While the political recommendations Ferguson draws from history remain open to question, he offers an engaging survey of the subject. Empire provides a solid introduction to the field that is particularly useful for undergraduate teaching.