Reflecting on the British World

This book is an acknowledgement and celebration of Professor Carl Bridge’s key contributions to the British World approach to history. His pioneering work was first published in several co-authored essays which appeared in 2003. Much of this grew out of a series of conferences held worldwide, starting in London in 1999 and culminating in Bristol in 2007. Scores of articles and book chapters have been produced – too numerous to mention here. At the nucleus of the project is Professor Bridge, who has encouraged a newer and younger generation of scholars – some of whom have contributed to this volume – to continue investigating the British World as a theoretical construct in the fields of British imperial and settler colonial history, with a particular focus on Australia. This book will appeal to scholars and students of the history of the British World, British imperial history, the history of the First World War, the history of Australian foreign policy, and the history of Australian national identity and culture.

'As the editors of this collection point out, twenty years ago Carl Bridge, then head of the Australian Studies Centre in London, helped to turn what was little more than an hypothesis about the importance of the British World into a field of studies. At the very heart of Bridge’s concept of the field was the belief that there existed a number of intricate and overlapping networks that had been created by British migration and settlement abroad, particularly to what ultimately became known as the British self-governing Dominions. A number of essays in this collection focus on this theme and show the importance of a comparative approach to the study of Britain’s relations with its overseas Dominions. Some of the essays also focus on the significant contribution that Bridge has made to understanding the impact of the First World War on the evolution of the British-Dominions relationship, the intertwining of British and Australian politics, diplomacy and statecraft, and how autobiographical studies can assist in defining the nature of the Anglo-Australian identity in the British World. A number of the contributors also grapple with what they see as the limits and weaknesses in the British World approach, but none of them deny that this is now a robust and important field of study. The book is thus a fitting acknowledgment and tribute to the work of Carl Bridge.' —Professor Phillip Buckner, Emeritus Professor of History, University of New Brunswick

'Professor Carl Bridge was a key figure in the establishment of what has become known as British World history. At its best, British World history sheds new light on the complex interactions between Britain and its former settler colonies, interrogating the nature, impact, and persistence of ‘Britishness’. This collection draws together a stimulating group of essays – and historians – inspired by Bridge’s work, offering fresh perspectives on the ‘culture, diaspora, and identity’ at the heart of this very particular imperial formation.' —Dr. Felicity Barnes, Senior Lecturer in History, Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland