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Arguing about Empire analyses the most divisive arguments about empire between Europe's two leading colonial powers from the age of high imperialism to the post-war era of decolonization. Focusing on the domestic contexts underlying imperial rhetoric, Arguing about Empire adopts a case-study approach, treating key imperial debates as historical episodes to be investigated in depth. The episodes in question have been selected both for their
chronological range, their variety, and, above all, their vitriol. Some were straightforward disputes; others involved cooperation in tense circumstances. These include the Tunisian and Egyptian crises of 1881-2, which saw
France and Britain establish new North African protectorates, ostensibly in co-operation, but actually in competition; the Fashoda Crisis of 1898, when Britain and France came to the brink of war in the aftermath of the British re-conquest of Sudan; the Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911, early tests of the Entente Cordiale, when Britain lent support to France in the face of German threats; the 1922 Chanak crisis, when that imperial Entente broke down in the face of a threatened attack on
Franco-British forces by Kemalist Turkey; World War Two, which can be seen in part as an undeclared colonial war between the former allies, complicated by the division of the French Empire between De Gaulle's
Free French forces and those who remained loyal to the Vichy Regime; and finally the 1956 Suez intervention, when, far from defusing another imperial crisis, Britain colluded with France and Israel to invade Egypt -- the culmination of the imperial interference that began some eighty years earlier.
Arguing about Empire analyses the most divisive arguments about empire between Europe's two leading colonial powers from the age of high imperialism to the post-war era of decolonization. Focusing on the domestic contexts underlying imperial rhetoric, Arguing about Empire adopts a case-study approach, treating key imperial debates as historical episodes to be investigated in depth. The episodes in question have been selected both for their
chronological range, their variety, and, above all, their vitriol. Some were straightforward disputes; others involved cooperation in tense circumstances. These include the Tunisian and Egyptian crises of 1881-2, which saw
France and Britain establish new North African protectorates, ostensibly in co-operation, but actually in competition; the Fashoda Crisis of 1898, when Britain and France came to the brink of war in the aftermath of the British re-conquest of Sudan; the Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911, early tests of the Entente Cordiale, when Britain lent support to France in the face of German threats; the 1922 Chanak crisis, when that imperial Entente broke down in the face of a threatened attack on
Franco-British forces by Kemalist Turkey; World War Two, which can be seen in part as an undeclared colonial war between the former allies, complicated by the division of the French Empire between De Gaulle's
Free French forces and those who remained loyal to the Vichy Regime; and finally the 1956 Suez intervention, when, far from defusing another imperial crisis, Britain colluded with France and Israel to invade Egypt -- the culmination of the imperial interference that began some eighty years earlier.
Introduction: Arguing about Empire
1: Tunisia, 1881 - Egypt, 1882
2: Fashoda, 1898
3: The Rhetoric of the Moroccan Crises
4: The Chanak Crisis, 1922
5: World War as Imperial Crisis I: Changing Partners, 1939-1941
6: World War as Imperial Crisis II: Allies in Conflict,
1941-1945
7: Suez, 1956
Conclusion
Martin Thomas is Professor of Imperial History and Director of the
Centre for the Study of War, State, and Society at the University
of Exeter. He has written widely on the history of European
decolonization and French international politics. His most recent
books are Violence and Colonial Order (2012) and Fight or Flight:
Britain, France, and their Roads from Empire (2014). Richard Toye
is Professor of Modern History at the University of Exeter, and
has
been described by the New York Times as 'one of Britain's smartest
young historians'. He is a specialist in the history of rhetoric
and is the author of numerous articles and several books, including
Rhetoric: A
Very Short Introduction (2013) and The Roar of the Lion: The Untold
Story of Churchill's World War II Speeches (2013).
Thomas and Toye offer a well-informed analysis of the in?uence of
French and British domestic politics on their origins, unfolding,
and resolution.
*David Todd, Journal of Modern History*
Martin Thomas and Richard Toye unite their vast collective
knowledge about French and British imperialism to give scholars and
students of imperialism a fresh global perspective on the ways that
politicians, journalists, and political commentators have talked
about empire.
*Jessica Lynne Pearson, History*
Arguing about Empire ... is by no means the pure discursive history
that its title might seem to imply. It seeks not only to
reconstruct arguments about empire, but also to connect them with
imperial realities and practical political decision-making ...
Thomas and Toye do an excellent job of explaining what was at stake
in each of their case study crises, how they unfolded, and how they
related to one another.
*Alex Middleton, 20th Century British History*
Martin Thomas and Richard Toye have written a remarkably ambitious
and excellent study which examines the intersections of imperial
rhetoric between the French and British Empires during the late
nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
*Warren Dockter, H-Diplo*
Arguing about Empire is an ambitious volume that illuminates
important intersections between the French and British empires and
between French and British imperial rhetoric.
*Christina Carroll, H-Empire*
This book confirms the depth of the rivalry between the United
Kingdom and France and their interdependence as opposing empires
... Highly recommended.
*CHOICE*
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