The British Empire gave rise to various new forms of British identity in the colonial world outside the Dominions. In cities and colonies; and in sovereign states subject to more informal pressures such as Argentina or China; communities of Britons developed identities inflected by local ambitions and pressures. As a result they often found themselves at loggerheads with their diplomatic or colonial office minders; especially in the era of decolonisation. The impact of empire on metropolitan British identity is increasingly well documented; the evolution of dominions' nationalisms is likewise well known; but the new species of Britishness which attained their fullest form in the mid-twentieth century have received significantly less attention.Settlers and Expatriates revisits the communities formed by these hundreds of thousands of Britons; as well as the passages home taken by some; and assesses their development; character; and legacy today. Scholars with established expertise in the history of each region explore the communalities that can be found across British communities in South; East and Southeast Asia; Egypt; and East and Southern Africa; and highlight the particularities that were also distinctive features of each British experience. These overseas Britons were sojourners and settlers; some survived in post-independent states; others were swept out quickly and moved on or back to an often uninterested metropolitan Britain. They have often been caricatured and demonized; but understanding them is important for an understanding of the states in which they lived; whose politics were at times a crucial part of British history and the history of migration and settlement.
#4223302 in Books Oxford University Press 2012-09-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.40 x 1.00 x 9.30l; 1.41 #File Name: 0197265219280 pages
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