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History 3355
The British Empire 1500 to 2000
Instructor: Karl Ittmann
530 AH, 713 743-3102
Email Kittmann@uh.edu
Office Hours W, Th 2:00-2:50pm and by appointment
Learning Outcomes:
This course will examine the history of the British Empire from 1500-2000. We will examine
the rise and fall of the greatest territorial empire in recent world history. This course will have
three interwoven themes
1) The relationship between domestic developments within Great Britain and the process of
imperial expansion and contraction.
2) The place of the Empire in a larger European and global context.
3) The impact of the Empire upon colonized regions and peoples.
In addition to learning the history of the British Empire, you will reinforce your critical
analytical and writing skills by exposure to a broad array of historical writings and primary
sources from the time period of the course and through the preparation of two essay exams and a
series of short-essays.
Texts
T.O. Lloyd, The British Empire 1558-1995
Additional articles and other readings will be on reserve.
Grading: Midterm (30%), final (40%) 3 short essays (10% each, 30% total)
Midterm October 18th Time and location TBA
Final Exam December 6th Time and location TBA
Class Schedule:
Week 1 August 25-29th The Origins of the British Empire (Lectures 1-2)
Lloyd, 1-53
David Armitage, “Making the Empire British: Scotland in the Atlantic World 1542-1707,” Past
and Present, 155, 1997, 34-63
Week 2 August September 1-5th Constructing the First Empire (Lectures 3-4)
Lloyd 53-84
H.V. Bowen, War and British Society, 1-57
Week 3 September 8-12th The Atlantic World (Lectures 5-6)
Patrick O’Brien, “Inseparable Connections,” in OHBE, v. 2, 53-77
David Richardson, “The British Empire and the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1660-1807” in OHBE, v. 2
440-464
Jack Greene, “Empire and Identity from the Glorious Revolution to the American Revolution,”
in OHBE, v.2, 208-230
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Week 4 September 15-19th The American Revolution and the Second British Empire
(Lectures 7-8)
Lloyd 85-137
C.A. Bayly, “The First Age of Global Imperialism, c. 1760-1830,” Journal of Imperial and
Commonwealth History, 26(2), 1998, 28-47
Stephen Conway, “Britain and the Revolutionary Crisis, 1763-1791,” in OHBE, v. 2, 325-346
Week 5 September 22-26th Industry and Empire (Lecture 9-10)
Cain and Hopkins, "Gentlemanly Capitalism and British Overseas Expansion- Part I 1688-1850,
Economic History Review 39(4), 1986, 501-525
Cain and Hopkins, “Gentlemanly Capitalism and British Overseas Expansion- Part II: New
Imperialism, 1850-1945,” Economic History Review, 40(1), 1987, 1-26
J.T. Ward, "The industrial revolution and British imperialism, 1750-1850," Economic History
Review, 47(1), 1994, 44-65.
1st Writing Assignment Due September 29th
Week 6 September 29th-October 3rd India under The Raj (Lectures 11-12)
Rajat Ray, “Indian Society and the Establishment of British Supremacy, 1765-1818, in OHBE,
v.2, 508-529
David Washbrook, “India 1818-1860: Two Faces of Colonialism”, in OHBE, v.3, 395-421
Week 7 October 6-10th Reform and Renewal (Lectures 13-14)
Lloyd 138-218
Week 8 October 13-17th The Age of New Imperialism (Lectures 15-16)
Lloyd 219-252
Patrick O’Brien, “The Costs and Benefits of British Imperialism 1846-1914,” Past and Present,
120, 1988, 163-200
Andrew Porter, "’Cultural Imperialism’ and Protestant Missionary Enterprise, 17801914,“Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 25(3), 1997, 367-391
Midterm October 18th Time and location TBA
Week 9 October 20-24th The Edwardian Empire (Lectures 17-18)
Lloyd 253-276
John Mackenzie, “Empire and Metropolitan Cultures,” in OHBE, v.3, 270-293
Week 10 October 27th-31st War and Empire (Lectures 19-20)
Lloyd 276-292
Robert Holland, “The British Empire and the Great War, 1914-1918,” in OHBE, v. 4, 114-137
2nd Writing Assignment Due November 3rd
Week 11 November 3rd-7th The Inter-War Empire (Lectures 21-22)
Lloyd 292-312
Howard Johnson, 'The West Indies and the Conversion of the British Official Classes to the
Development Idea,' Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 15, 1, (1977), 55-83
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Week 12 November 10-14th The Second World War (Lectures 23-24)
Lloyd 312-320
Keith Jeffery, “The Second World War,” in OHBE, v.4, 306-328
J.M. Lee, '"Forward Thinking" and War: The Colonial Office during the 1940s,' Journal of
Imperial and Commonwealth History, 6, 1 (1977), 64-79.
Week 13 November 12-16th
Week 13 November 17th-21st The Post War Empire (Lectures 25-26)
Lloyd 321-346
John Kent, “Bevin’s Imperialism and the Idea of Euro-Africa,” in M. Dockrill and John Young,
eds., British Foreign Policy, 1945-56, 47-76
Week 14 November 24-28th Decolonization (Lecture 27)
Lloyd 347-406
Wm. Roger Louis and Ronald Robinson, “The Imperialism of Decolonization,” Journal of
Imperial and Commonwealth History, 1994, 22(3), 462-511.
Week 15 Review
3rd Writing Assignment due December 1st