R. F. Holland – författare

First published in 1984. These essays have been collected to mark the retirement of Freddie Madden. The contributors have, at various times, been associated with him either as pupils or colleagues during his four decades at Oxford. Their articles, in the diversity of subject-matter and time-span which they encompass, reflect the catholic historical sympathy which was always Freddie Madden's hallmark as a historian; whilst their coherence around the central theme of the growth and demise of Western empire testify to the vitality of that imperial historiographic tradition which was the preeminent concern of his activities both as teacher and scholar.

Scholars have recently begun to pay renewed attention to the economics of empire, focusing in particular on the requirements of metropolitan Britain's economy and on the activities of imperial businesses. Within this broad field, financial questions, not least the subject of investment overseas or the 'export of capital', have long had a prominent place, and have been equally affected by the development of new appraoches. The consensus as to the volume and direction of Britain's overseas investments is being vigorously challenged. Technological advances have encouraged on a greatly enlarged scale the compilation and analysis of information about British investments and shareholdings abroad. The gradual easing of restrictions on business records has increased facilities for the study, especially, of imperial and colonial banking. Work on the financial policies of central governments is revealing much of interest to students of twentieth-century colonial rule and decolonization. This collection of essays brings together a selection of the latest research on these and other themes, and, for comparative purposes, includes examples of recent continental work.

First Published in 1988. These essays have been written to mark the retirement of Ronald Robinson as Beit Professor of the History of the British Commonwealth at the University of Oxford. The contributors have all at various times worked closely with ‘Robbie’ as pupils, colleagues and friends. They offer this volume to him with their thanks and great affection, both in recognition of his immense contribution to the revival and development of imperial or commonwealth history, and in the conviction that he has still much to offer all scholars in the field.

Bringing together for the first time leading historians of European decolonization, this book is a landmark in the comparative analysis of the fall of the European empires, viewed both as a problematic of European policy-making and as a formative experience in the development of new states.

Bringing together for the first time leading historians of European decolonization, this book is a landmark in the comparative analysis of the fall of the European empires, viewed both as a problematic of European policy-making and as a formative experience in the development of new states.

First Published in 1988. These essays have been written to mark the retirement of Ronald Robinson as Beit Professor of the History of the British Commonwealth at the University of Oxford. The contributors have all at various times worked closely with ‘Robbie’ as pupils, colleagues and friends. They offer this volume to him with their thanks and great affection, both in recognition of his immense contribution to the revival and development of imperial or commonwealth history, and in the conviction that he has still much to offer all scholars in the field.