Possessing the World

Bouda Etemad is Professor of History at the Universities of Geneva and Lausanne, and the author of De l’utilité des empires. Colonisation et prospérité de l’Europe, XVIIIe-XXe siècle (Armand Colin 2005).

“Etemad’s work is refreshing…Controversial and difficult as [it] may be, his approach and efforts at working cautiously through available data to propose findings that make imperative the rethinking of a historiography is reason enough to make this book a valuable addition to the comparative studies of colonialism and world history.”   ·  Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History“Since the publication of [the French edition], Bouda Etémad’s book has remained an insider tip…The English version, one can only hope, will awake it from its slumber…Etémad’s greatest achievement lies in his attempt to prove colonial military history with figures….The human costs of invasion and colonization…can be discussed more comprensively on the basis of this book.”   ·  Historische Zeitschrift“…historians will be grateful for the hard work that Etémad has done….Some books are made to be read. This one is meant to be consulted, judiciously, by historians seeking specific statistical information. As such, it is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the European colonial empires.”  ·  Journal of World History“…this book represents a valiant attempt to bring quantitative methodology to a statistically slippery and emotively complex subject, and serves as a very useful corrective to technological determinism in explaining European colonialism.”  ·  H-Net Reviews

• IntroductionPART I: TOOLS OF EMPIRE AND HUMAN COST OF THE COLONIAL CONQUESTSChapter 1. Mortality and Numbers of the First Europeans in the TropicsOverseas NecropolisesWhite Man’s Solitude in the TropicsChapter 2. Malaria, Quinine and Colonial ConquestsThe American Phase: The ‘Fever Tree’The Asian Phase: The Greatness and Misery of the Plantation SystemThe African Phase: Quinine and Colonial ConquestsChapter 3. The Use of Indigenous Troops in Colonial ConquestsAsia and Africa Conquered by… ThemselvesAn Attempt at QuantificationOn Good Human Resources ManagementEmpires at Bargain PricesChapter 4. European Losses During the ConquestsTypology and Assessment of LossesWeapons Technologies and European LossesTransportation, Communications and the Cost of EmpireChapter 5. Indigenous Losses During the ConquestsMilitary LossesCivilian LossesBalance Sheet and PerspectivePART II: COLONIAL AREAS AND POPULATIONS A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EMPIRESChapter 6. Measuring the Land and Counting HeadsThe Limitations of the Key CriteriaComparative Sizes of the Colonial EmpiresCounting HeadsMeasuring the LandChapter 7. The Rate and Scale of ColonisationPeriodicityMajor TrendsRegional DifferencesList of the Colonial PowersChapter 8. Comparative Portraits of the Empires I: 1760–1830The Spanish and Portuguese Colonies: The First ModelsThe Metamorphosis of the English DomainThe French Domain: A Fragile StructureThe Dutch Domain: From the Trading Empire to the Java WarChapter 9. Comparative Portraits of the Empires II: 1830–1880British Colonisation: Two Tiers‘New’ and ‘Old’ French ColoniesJava and the Cultivation SystemChapter 10. Comparative Portraits of the Empires III: 1880–1938The Old Empire Builders: Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, PortugalThe New Colonisers of Africa: Belgium, Germany, ItalyThe Non-European Colonisers: Japan and the United StatesChapter 11. The Decolonisation PeriodDefinitionThe Causes of DecolonisationDecolonisation UnderwayAfter DecolonisationConclusionAppendixesSourcesBibliographyIndex of PlacesIndex of Names