Colonial Empires and Armies 1815-1960

by Kiernan, V. G.

• ISBN13: 9780773517677
• ISBN10: 0773517677
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-02-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ

Summary

V.G. Kiernan examines the manner in which the wars were conducted and their impact not only on the conquered societies but also on the societies which launched them. Kiernan addresses the ideology of empire - the concept of the civilizing mission, the triumph of civilization over barbarism - that the missionary organizations ardently supported. In reality, material profit was the prime motive, and he argues that colonialists and their propagandists did much to work up the nationalist rivalries and hatred which exploded in World War I. Interweaving brilliant sketches of imperial and colonial life with analysis of the changing balance of economic and political power, Kiernan concludes by describing how the colonial liberation movements turned the tables in the aftermath of World War II.

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface	v	(6)
Author's Preface	xi
1. EUROPE AND THE WORLD IN 1815	11	(4)
2. THE EUROPEAN ARMIES	15	(22)
i. Introductory	15	(2)
ii. The British army	17	(6)
iii. Royal and Company forces in India	23	(3)
iv. Foreign armies	26	(6)
v. Arms and the men	32	(5)
3. INDIAN WARS	37	(20)
i. Conquest completed	37	(6)
ii. India expanding	43	(4)
iii. The Mutiny	47	(4)
iv. The new Indian army	51	(6)
4. BRITAIN AND RUSSIA: WARS OF THE BORDERLANDS	57	(16)
i. The Caucasus and the first Afghan War	57	(6)
ii. Central Asia and the second Afghan War	63	(5)
iii. The watch on the Indian frontiers	68	(5)
5. WARS IN NORTHERN AFRICA	73	(11)
6. WARS IN BLACK AFRICA	84	(20)
i. Kingdoms and republics	84	(10)
ii. Tribes and villages	94	(10)
7. WARS OF TWO OCEANS	104	(7)
i. The British in the Pacific	104	(3)
ii. The Dutch in the Archipelago	107	(2)
iii. The French in Indochina	109	(2)
8. REBELLIONS	111	(12)
i. European settlers	111	(4)
ii. Non-European peoples	115	(4)
iii. European solidarity and the Boxer Rebellion	119	(4)
9. A CENTURY OF WAR	123	(23)
i. Advance of military technology	123	(6)
ii. Food, drink, health	129	(3)
iii. The soldier's vocation	132	(6)
iv. Native troops, and the cost of conquest	138	(3)
v. The resistance	141	(5)
10. CIVILIZATION AND BARBARISM	146	(21)
i. The civilizing mission, and religion	146	(7)
ii. Doctrines of colonial war	153	(7)
iii. Realities of colonial war	160	(7)
11. EUROPE AND ITS CONQUESTS	167	(12)
i. Publicity and the public	167	(6)
ii. Political consequences	173	(6)
12. THE GREAT WAR	179	(12)
i. The colonial background of 1914	179	(4)
ii. Colonial forces and campaigns	183	(8)
13. CHALLENGE AND RESPONSE: 1919-45	191	(17)
i. New empire problems	191	(3)
ii. New technology	194	(7)
iii. Imperialism and fascism	201	(4)
iv. The Second World War	205	(3)
14. THE DISMANTLING OF THE EMPIRES	208	(19)
i. A new era	208	(5)
ii. Wars of liberation against France	213	(7)
iii. Black Africa	220	(7)
15. EPILOGUE	227	(4)
NOTES	231	(24)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	255	(16)
INDEX	271