ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book inspects the relationship between imperialism and late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century political consciousness. It discusses the sorts of imperial-mindedness which emerged in British politics during this period. Ruling an empire was inextricably linked to key questions in British politics like the allocation of resources and the decision to go to war. In trying to make the Empire a guiding principle of government, imperialists met with a lot of resistance from party officials who believed that colonial policy was best left to the experts and mandarins in Whitehall. One of the facet of 'Imperial Britain' is to be found in the manifestations of empire in British popular culture. The work of John Mackenzie, general editor of the influential Manchester University Press Studies in Imperialism series, is particularly important here.