Envisioning Empire : The New British World From 1763 to 1773

"Examining the pivotal period between the end of the Seven Years' War and the dawn of the American Revolution, Envisioning Empire reinterprets the development of the British Empire in the 18th century. With exceptional geographical scope, this book provides new ways of understanding the actors and events in many imperial arenas, including West Africa, North America, the Caribbean, and South Asia. While 1763 has long been seen as marking a turning point in British and British-colonial history, Envisioning Empiretreats this epochal year, and the decade that followed, as constituting a discrete 'moment' in Imperial history that is significant in its own right. Exploring the programs and plans that sought to incorporate the vast new territories and millions of new subjects into the British state and imperial system, it demonstrates how the period between the end of the Seven Years' War and the beginning of the American Revolution was one of contested ideas about the future of British overseas expansion. By examining these competing imperial visions and designs from the perspective of Britain's new subjects as well as from that of British ministers, Envisioning Empire both illuminates and complicates the boundaries that have been drawn between the first and second British empires and reveals how the Empire was being conceived, discussed, and debated during an era of rapid transformation"--Bloomsbury Collections. Examining the pivotal period between the end of the Seven Years' War and the dawn of the American Revolution, Envisioning Empire reinterprets the development of the British Empire in the 18th century. With exceptional geographical scope, this book provides new ways of understanding the actors and events in many imperial arenas, including West Africa, North America, the Caribbean, and South Asia. While 1763 has long been seen as marking a turning point in British and British-colonial history, Envisioning Empire treats this epochal year, and the decade that followed, as constituting a discrete 'moment' in Imperial history that is significant in its own right. Exploring the programs and plans that sought to incorporate the vast new territories and millions of new subjects into the British state and imperial system, it demonstrates how the period between the end of the Seven Years' War and the beginning of the American Revolution was one of contested ideas about the future of British overseas expansion. By examining these competing imperial visions and designs from the perspective of Britain's new subjects as well as from that of British ministers, Envisioning Empire both illuminates and complicates the boundaries that have been drawn between the first and second British empires and reveals how the Empire was being conceived, discussed, and debated during an era of rapid transformation. Examining the intervening period between the end of the Seven Years' War and the emergence of the American Revolution, Envisioning Empire rethinks the conception of the British Empire in the 18th century. With exceptional geographical scope, this book shines new light on actors and events in many imperial arenas, including West Africa, North America, the Caribbean and South Asia. 1763 has long marked a turning point in British Imperial History, but Envisioning Empire examines this pivotal year, and the following decade, in its own terms and as a discrete but significant 'moment' when the First British Empire made way for the Second. Exploring the incorporation of vast territorial lands and millions of new subjects into the British state and imperial system, it demonstrates how the years between the end of the Seven Years' War and the beginning of the American Revolution saw major historical shifts in the evolution of Britain's Empire. Looking at the competing imperial visions and conceptions put forward during this defining decade, it discusses how the Empire was conceived, discussed and debated during an era of transformation.