This course will examine the development of the British Empire from the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, via its greatest territorial extent in 1919 to its eventual decline and end in the years after World War II, and its final transformation into the Commonwealth of independent nations. We shall examine the material advantages that the Empire brought to Britain, and also scrutinize the burdens and anxieties that it imposed. It is important to realize what an extraordinary, complex, and huge organization the British Empire was. One quarter of the human race lived within its borders and it covered about the same amount of the globe. We shall proceed chronologically, but also look closely at particular themes and interactions. Not every single unit in this huge global organization will be assessed, but we will seek to uncover the basic historical truths overall about what happened and why.Lecture 1 The Edwardian Empire, 1901–1914
Lecture 2 Making the Most of Empire, 1901–1914
Lecture 3 The Empire and WWI, 1914–1919
Lecture 4 The 1924 Wembley Empire Exhibition: Empire, Trade, Unity, and Disunity
Lecture 5 Indian Nationalism and the British Raj, 1914–1939
Lecture 6 Sexuality and the British Empire
Lecture 7 The First Commonwealth: Dominion Status, the Self-Governing Colonies and Their Relations with Britain
Lecture 8 Sport and the British Empire
Lecture 9 The Empire-Commonwealth and WWII
Lecture 10 The Labour Government of 1945–1951 and the Empire-Commonwealth
Lecture 11 "Winston's Back!": Churchill, the Conservatives, and Empire, 1951–1955
Lecture 12 The Suez Crisis of 1956–1957 and the "Wind of Change," 1957–1963
Lecture 13 Labour Back in Power: The Wilson Government, 1964–1970
Lecture 14 Embracing the Commonwealth and Winding Down the Empire, 1970–Present