History 226

The British Empire

Bruce Kinzer

This mid-level survey course will examine the history of the British Empire from its origin in the sixteenth century through its dissolution in the twentieth. The British Empire, whose beginnings were modest, would by the close of the nineteenth century encompass something like thirteen million square miles and a population of nearly 400 million. Well before the end of the twentieth century this empire, the largest the world had ever seen, virtually ceased to exist. Its story, from inception to extinction, is a remarkable one. The forces shaping the British Empire were both endogenous and exogenous. Internal imperatives, global imperial competition, and developments on the periphery impelled the empire forward and ultimately brought about its demise. This course will seek to grasp the changing characteristics of the British Empire and try to explain the dynamics influencing its rise and fall.

Instructor’s Office: Seitz House, #03. Office Hours: Monday, 9:30-Noon; Wednesday, 9:30-Noon; Thurs, 9:30-11:00. Office Phone: 5318. Home Phone: 393-0341. E-Mail Address: kinzerb@kenyon.edu.

Responsibilities of Students—attend class (participation in the course presupposes regular attendance) and contribute to discussions; complete the reading assignments; take quizzes; sit mid-term and final examinations; compose and submit three short papers. Any student with a disability bearing upon the carrying out of assigned course work should contact the Office of Disability Services at Ex. 5453. The Coordinator of Disability Services is Erin Salva (salvae@kenyon.edu). She will review your concerns with a view to determining what accommodations are appropriate. All information and documentation of disability remain confidential.

Grading Scheme

Participation 15%

Quizzes 15%

Mid-Term Exam (Wed., Oct. 12) 15%

Final Exam 25%

Three Papers 30 (10% each)

Books Required for HIST 226

Trevor Lloyd The British Empire1558-1995

Linda Colley Captives: Britain, Empire, and the World, 1600-1850

David Cannadine Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire

James Morris Pax Britannica: The Climax of an Empire

George Orwell Burmese Days

Reading Assignments—Assignments should be completed by the beginning of class on Friday of each week.

Week I Lloyd, Preface, pp. 1-61; Colley, pp. 1-41

Week II Colley, pp. 42-134

Week III Lloyd, pp. 62-84; Colley, pp. 137-202

Week IV Lloyd, pp. 85-111; Colley, pp. 203-238

Week V Colley, pp. 241-307

Week VI Lloyd, 112-137; Colley, pp. 308-346

Week VII Lloyd, pp. 138-170; Colley, pp. 347-379

Week VIII Cannadine, The Whole Thing

Week IX Lloyd, pp. 171-252

Week X Morris, The Whole Thing

Week XI Lloyd, pp. 253-312

Week XII Orwell, The Whole Thing

Week XIII Lloyd, pp. 312-346

Week XIV Lloyd, pp. 347-380

Instructions for Papers: Each paper should be approximately 1500 words in length. Parenthetical citations should be provided for quotations, ideas, and assertions derived from your sources.

First Paper, due at the beginning of class on Monday, Sept. 26.

Using the relevant sections of Lloyd and Colley, briefly explain the divergent outcomes experienced by Britain in the Seven Years War and the American War of Independence.

Second Paper, due at the beginning of class, Friday, Nov. 4.

Using the relevant sections of Lloyd and Morris, briefly explain what was “new” in the “New Imperialism” of the late nineteenth century.

Third Paper, due at the beginning of class, Monday, Dec. 5.

Using Orwell’s Burmese Days, along with the relevant sections of Lloyd and Cannadine, briefly examine the sources of Britain’s declining imperial morale between Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and the onset of the Second World War in 1939.

Academic Honesty and Questions of Plagiarism: Please review carefully the section on “Academic Honesty and Questions of Plagiarism” in the Kenyon College Course of Study for 2005-2006 (pp. 26-29).