A. J. Christopher - Böcker

The Atlas of States: Global Change 1900 2000 provides an informative and comprehensively illustrated survey of the independent states of the twentieth century. The period witnessed unprecedented political changes as globalisation and the destructive powers of contending ideologies led to the continual transformation of state patterns in extensive sections of the world. Political leaders sought to harness the forces of nationalism, communism, imperialism, fascism etc., in an attempt to redraw the world map and in the process political structures of considerable antiquity were overthrown and fragmented. This did not preclude the resurrection of states destroyed in earlier eras. Recent turmoil in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has exposed historic peoples seeking to regain their own states, whether sovereign or not. In the course of the twentieth century the number of sovereign independent states almost quadrupled, despite the demise of some and the transitory nature of others. Most new states had pre-independence forebears, whether styled colonies, provinces, kingdoms or states . The pattern of non-independent states is thus significant as providing pointers to possible future independent states and The Atlas of States seeks to address this topic. By means of a series of clear maps and informative text, the author seeks to demonstrate the uncertain and ever-changing world in which we live, providing a comprehensive background from the past century in order to more clearly see the future in the new millennium.

This title, originally published in 1988, examines the network of states and the political and economic systems which bound the British Empire together. This book examines each country and how the empire made its mark in the shape of urban form, public buildings and rural land patterns. An overall assessment of the Imperial heritage is attempted as a pointer to the unity which existed between the many diverse lands for a brief period in their history.

This title, originally published in 1988, examines the network of states and the political and economic systems which bound the British Empire together. This book examines each country and how the empire made its mark in the shape of urban form, public buildings and rural land patterns. An overall assessment of the Imperial heritage is attempted as a pointer to the unity which existed between the many diverse lands for a brief period in their history.

There have been few more remarkable events than the European colonisation and decolonisation of Africa. Often within a single lifespan countries were conquered, reorganised, settled and then granted independence. Colonial Africa (1984) examines the impact this had on the landscape of Africa. The period of colonial contact between Europe and Africa had been lengthy, beginning in the early fifteenth century; yet for much of the continent the colonial period was relatively short, from the 1880s to the 1960s. European intervention in the nineteenth century was motivated by new demands of the European economy, resulting in the conquest of virtually the entire continent. As a result various groups of colonists arrived in Africa and each tried to impose a particular imprint upon the landscape. The colonial powers each had their own styles which are most evident in the architecture bequeathed to independent Africa. This is a clear account of the way that historical attitudes have dictated the appearance and geography of modern Africa.