In this reassessment of British imperialism, Willie Thompson examines the underlying social, economic and political forces that facilitated expansion during the key period of 1870-1914. Thompson emphasizes that the British Empire was first and foremost established by predatory methods to fulfill the financial goals of imperial power without regard to the welfare of indigenous people.Thompson examines how technology, including the rapid advances in communications and military technique, enabled a deeper penetration of existing colonies and the acquisition of new colonies in Africa and Asia. Alongside this, he evaluates Britain's reaction to changes in the international political arena, including the imperial expansion of other European nations. New international relationships established by the British Empire - such as those with the semi-autonomous settlement colonies, such as Australia, and the wholly subordinated African territories, as well as Britain's quasi-colonial arrangements with China and the Ottoman Empire - are all considered in depth. Finally, he examines the impact of this new imperial ideology on British society.

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