The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns' Epic Defense of the British Empire
The British Empire, one of the most powerful forces in history, was also one of the most humane. Yet at its twilight, few were willing to defy the anti-colonial reaction that condemned millions to despotism under the regimes that replaced it. Sir Alan Burns was among them.

In this lively and provocative work of history, Bruce Gilley vindicates Sir Alan’s view that decolonization was poorly managed and too swiftly executed, a view based not on imperialist nostalgia but on a sober assessment of the ravages of the twentieth century.

Gilley demonstrates that Burns understood the benefits of colonial rule and correctly foretold the chaos that accompanied its rapid dissolution.

Relying on previously unavailable documentation from Burns’s family, The Last Imperialist dethrones the revisionist historians and shatters their unbalanced accusations against European colonialism. This is history writing at its most courageous.

"Bruce Gilley has had to endure the most vituperative attacks for arguing that the European empires conferred benefits as well as imposed costs. . . Now, with this absorbing biography . . . Bruce Gilley has written a compelling as well as courageous work." —Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
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The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns' Epic Defense of the British Empire
The British Empire, one of the most powerful forces in history, was also one of the most humane. Yet at its twilight, few were willing to defy the anti-colonial reaction that condemned millions to despotism under the regimes that replaced it. Sir Alan Burns was among them.

In this lively and provocative work of history, Bruce Gilley vindicates Sir Alan’s view that decolonization was poorly managed and too swiftly executed, a view based not on imperialist nostalgia but on a sober assessment of the ravages of the twentieth century.

Gilley demonstrates that Burns understood the benefits of colonial rule and correctly foretold the chaos that accompanied its rapid dissolution.

Relying on previously unavailable documentation from Burns’s family, The Last Imperialist dethrones the revisionist historians and shatters their unbalanced accusations against European colonialism. This is history writing at its most courageous.

"Bruce Gilley has had to endure the most vituperative attacks for arguing that the European empires conferred benefits as well as imposed costs. . . Now, with this absorbing biography . . . Bruce Gilley has written a compelling as well as courageous work." —Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
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The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns' Epic Defense of the British Empire

The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns' Epic Defense of the British Empire

by Bruce Gilley
The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns' Epic Defense of the British Empire

The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns' Epic Defense of the British Empire

by Bruce Gilley

Hardcover

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Overview

The British Empire, one of the most powerful forces in history, was also one of the most humane. Yet at its twilight, few were willing to defy the anti-colonial reaction that condemned millions to despotism under the regimes that replaced it. Sir Alan Burns was among them.

In this lively and provocative work of history, Bruce Gilley vindicates Sir Alan’s view that decolonization was poorly managed and too swiftly executed, a view based not on imperialist nostalgia but on a sober assessment of the ravages of the twentieth century.

Gilley demonstrates that Burns understood the benefits of colonial rule and correctly foretold the chaos that accompanied its rapid dissolution.

Relying on previously unavailable documentation from Burns’s family, The Last Imperialist dethrones the revisionist historians and shatters their unbalanced accusations against European colonialism. This is history writing at its most courageous.

"Bruce Gilley has had to endure the most vituperative attacks for arguing that the European empires conferred benefits as well as imposed costs. . . Now, with this absorbing biography . . . Bruce Gilley has written a compelling as well as courageous work." —Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781684512171
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Publication date: 09/21/2021
Pages: 256
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Bruce Gilley is a professor of political science at Portland State University, a member of the board of the National Association of Scholars, and the author of four books. His 2017 article “The Case for Colonialism” drew international attention after he received death threats in response. A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Oxford, Gilley resides in Portland, Oregon.

Table of Contents

List of Figures viii

Abbreviations Used in Notes ix

Part I Foundations 1

1 The Fate of Lesser Persons 3

2 A Judge of Rum 13

3 My Old Mahammedan Sergeant 29

4 Koko Town 51

5 The Bootleggers' Ball 65

6 River Diving on the Benue 89

7 Our Man in Belize 105

Part II The Sea We Fear 127

8 Fifty Ships That Saved the World 129

9 The Ju-Ju Murder 157

10 Lake Success 193

11 The Wildest Schemes 215

12 Probably Bloodshed 239

13 Who Heeds How They Perished? 257

14 The Burns Challenge 269

About the Author 273

Index 275

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