First published in 1988 by Croom Helm
This edition first published in 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
1988 A. J. Christopher
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-0-8153-5278-5 (Set)
ISBN: 978-1-351-02850-9 (Set) (ebk)
ISBN: 978-0-8153-9955-1 (Volume 2) (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-17152-6 (Volume 2) (ebk)
Publishers Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.
Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.
THE BRITISH EMPIRE AT ITS ZENITH
Frontispiece: Victoria, Queen-Empress, Port Elizabeth, Cape of Good Hope. In common with many towns and cities throughout the British Empire, the citizens of Port Elizabeth erected a statue in honour of Queen Victoria. It stands outside the new Municipal Library opened in the year of her death, while to the right is the Collegiate Church of St Mary the Virgin, founded in 1825, when she was six years of age. The influence of Church and state, symbolised by the Crown, impressed itself upon colonial towns and farms, whose main lineaments were drawn in the course of her lifetime.
The British Empire at its Zenith
A. J. CHRISTOPHER
1988 A.J. Christopher
Croom Helm Ltd, Provident House,
Burrell Row, Beckenham, Kent BR3 1AT
Croom Helm Australia, 4450 Waterloo Road,
North Ryde, 2113, New South Wales
Published in the USA by
Croom Helm
In association with Methuen, Inc.
29 West 35th Street,
New York, NY 10001
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Christopher, A.J.
The British Empire at its zenith.
1. Great Britain Colonies History 19th century 2. Great Britain Colonies History 20th century I. Title
325.320941 JV1011
ISBN 0-7099-3418-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Christopher, A.J.
The British empire at its zenith.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Great Britain Colonies History 20th century. 2. Great Britain Colonies Administration History 20th century. 3. Great Britain Politics and government 19101936. I. Title.
DA16.C424 1988 325.34109 87-27620
ISBN 0-7099-3418-1
Filmset by Mayhew Typesetting, Bristol, England
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Biddles Ltd, Guildford and Kings Lynn
The year 1987 marked a number of important anniversaries. One hundred years ago Queen Victoria commemorated her golden jubilee, the first of a long line of royal pageants continuing to the present day. Ten years later the celebrations for her diamond jubilee presented the greatest spectacle Imperial Britain ever launched. The diamond jubilee did not however mark the height of British economic and political power. In territorial terms the Empire attained its maximum extent as a result of the First World War, which in many ways was a crippling factor. In terms of relative economic strength the zenith of British power had passed after the mid-nineteenth century, as other European powers and the United States underwent industrialisation. The year also marked the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the proclamation on 1 January 1877 of Queen Victoria as Empress of India. While in August 1947 the Jewel in the Crown was removed with the Empires demise.
Whatever the year which marks the Imperial zenith of economic, military or political power, the citizens and servants of the Empire continued to build and to develop the colonies and dominions. Indeed the monumental creation of New Delhi, inaugurated in 1931, may be regarded as the zenith of the Imperial impress upon the landscape. In Gavin Stamps (1981: 372) terms New Delhi is one of the greatest things the British have ever done. The creation of a new Indian capital no less than the new dominion capital at Canberra, inaugurated four years earlier, marked the height of an Imperial concept in town planning, only to be shattered by the Great Depression and the Second World War, which finally bankrupted Great Britain and led to Imperial disintegration. This may be in line with the observation that empires in decline often undergo a resurgence of cultural vigour before the end.
The physical impress of British planning upon other continents and countries is immediately noticeable as the inhabitant of, or visitor to, the ex-British possessions is aware. In a period ranging from a few decades to several centuries British administrators, settlers, traders, clerics and others built and organised other countries around the world in the image of England. Exact reproductions were rare owing to environmental and social differences between the British Isles and the colonies. Nevertheless, the impress is to be discerned to a greater or lesser extent and forms the theme of this volume.
The range of material available to the researcher is vast and what follows can be no more than an overview with specific examples. Other examples, other frameworks could have been employed, but the emphasis has been placed upon the overall unity of the Imperial experience and the influence which is brought to bear upon the landscapes of other continents. Thus colonies lightly touched by direct intervention appear infrequently, while India and the mid-latitude dominions dominate the volume, as they dominated Imperial planning prior to the 1930s.
Research was undertaken in part while a Sabbatical Visitor at Mansfield College, Oxford, and as Lady Davis Visiting Professorial Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Both institutions provided academic environments conducive to sustained research and writing. In addition the author consulted numerous archives, libraries, societies, companies and institutions, notably in London at the British Library, Public Record Office, Guildhall Library, Royal Geographical Society, Royal Commonwealth Society, India Office Library and United Africa Company. Additional fieldwork and research were undertaken in various parts of the late British Empire, more especially India, Canada, Kenya, South Africa and Malta. Financial assistance from the University of Port Elizabeth and the Human Sciences Research Council is gratefully acknowledged. Also at the University of Port Elizabeth, Mrs Anna Bouwer and Mrs Dulcy Dangers performed their typing tasks with their usual expertise. Finally I wish to express my appreciation of the constant support given by my wife Anne, in the fieldwork, research and editing involved in this work.
