A comprehensive survey of the entire history of the British empire, including a final chapter on 'The World After Empire'.

1. Colonies and Distant Monarchs 1558-1649; 2. Monarchs and their colonies 1649-1714; 3. Peace and War 1713-1763; 4. War and Survival 1763-1791; 5. The Stress of Revolution 1788-1826; 6. Expansion without Effort 1815-1854; 7. Victorian Stability 1848-1871; 8. Victorian Activity 1869-1890; 9. Victorian Imperial Enthusiasm 1883-1899; 10. Fighting and Reorganizing 1899-1922; 11. The Defeat of the Imperial Idea 1922-1945; 12. Independence by Degrees 1945-1960; 13. Independence at Once 1960-1983; 14. The World after the Empire

T.O. LloydProfessor of History, University of Toronto

`it must be said at once, and with considerable respect, that this is by far the best one-volume history of the empire so far written.' Times Literary Supplement |d 15/05/96