A reassessment of the history and role of the British empire is timely. It is the aim of The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire to present to general readers in a clear and accessible way the findings of historians of empire over recent years.

The book serves both as a full survey of the chronological development and impact of the British empire in history for readers wanting a basic introduction and grounding in the subject, and also as a challenging account from various perspectives of the implications of the empire in the areas it touched.

It reveals how many features of the modern world were shaped by the experience of empire, and its chapters deal with questions of politics, economics, art, language and culture, and the formation of nations.

Academically authoritative, The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire follows its subject from the American Revolution to the last stages of empire in the late twentieth century. With striking illustrations drawn from the wealth of paintings, engravings, and photographs that survive from the period, the book assesses the consequences of the empire both for the people the British ruled and for the British themselves.