Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
This book looks at the mainsprings of imperial expansion and illustrates the grain of truth in J.R.
Seeley's famous phrase in The Expansion of England: 'We seem to have conquered and peopled half the world in a fit of absence of mind.' Peter Riviere gives a vivid account of how the British Empire at the zenith of its power was dragged reluctantly, and with little thought and no clear policy, into a minor border dispute with Brazil which was solved only after sending a boundary commission and an expeditionary force.
Centred on the Indian village of Pirara on the border between northern Brazil and British Guiana, in a remote territory in the interior, the story of the Anglo-Brazilian border dispute reveals much about the varied and conflicting motivations of imperial expansion. Zealous Protestant and Catholic mission activity, attempts to end slavery, and the overwhelming motivation to establish links and to define and control imperial boundaries were key aspects of the dispute.
This is a beautifully written and vivid anthropological and historical narrative, with acute analysis of imperial expansion, based upon extensive fieldwork and Foreign Office, Colonial Office and missionary society records.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Subjects
History, Boundaries, British, Foreign relationsPlaces
Brazil, Guyana, Pirara (Guyana), Pirara, Great BritainShowing 1 featured edition. View all 1 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
Absent-minded imperialism: Britain and the expansion of empire in nineteenth-century Brazil
1995, Tauris Academic Studies, In the U.S.A. and in Canada distributed by St. Martin's Press
in English
1850439133 9781850439134
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-187) and index.
Classifications
External Links
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?History
- Created April 1, 2008
- 8 revisions
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?
July 16, 2024 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
February 16, 2024 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
July 28, 2023 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
November 18, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
April 1, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from Scriblio MARC record |