| The Decline, Revival and Fall of the British Empire John Gallagher (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), 211 pages This book serves as a posthumous dedication to the British imperial historian John Gallagher by his friend and former colleague Dr. Anil Seal. In a useful preface, Dr. Seal states that the reason for the compilation of former lectures and essays by his mentor revolves around their impact and importance for the field. Without the myth breaking insight of Professor Gallagher, Seal believes the field of British imperial history would remain a domain dominated by the inherently flawed orthodox school of formal empire. Gallagher revitalized the field. A total of four essays grace the pages of this compendium on British expansionism. While each could stand alone, the first three interconnect to lead the reader slowly and intricately from decline, to revival and, finally, the fall of the British Empire. Seal points out the three-pronged approach used by Gallagher to connect his essays and lectures on the decline of British imperialism. Political protest overseas, domestic constraints and international pressure combined to share responsibility for the end of the world’s greatest expansionist regime. In Gallagher’s first essay on “The Imperialism of Free Trade” he debunks the orthodox school of British expansionism by arguing that informal influence of the mid 19th century retains an even higher importance than its formal counterpart. After all, successful British expansion focused upon the creation of free markets for goods produced by the domestic industrial sector. If this could be accomplished without the aid of force, the country, and its taxpayers, would enjoy a marked advantage. In line with his reasoning, Gallagher posits that treaties of free trade proved the most common technique for promoting British expansion. The orthodox school, which focuses on formal imperialism, quickly meets its Waterloo in Gallagher’s essay on “The Partition of Africa.” As Gallagher points out, the use of formal imperialism (free markets by force of arms) became necessary in the wake of proto-nationalisms in Egypt and Sudan. The central importance of India to British expansionism forced Britain to engage in formal imperialism in these regions. While Africa proved unimportant to the end of the empire, it did act as a harbinger for challenges that free market expansionism would face and, consequently, be vanquished by. In the end, Gallagher’s book of essays addresses the importance of this man in reinventing and reinvigorating his field. For anyone studying British imperial history today, this book should be mandatory reading. |
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