A Wider Patriotism:
Alfred Milner and the British Empire
J Lee Thompson
Empires in Perspective
978 1 85196 891 6: 234x156mm: £60.00/$99.00
978 1 85196 545 8
When Alfred Milner (1854–1925) was knighted, he took as his motto Communis Patria, ‘patriotism for our common country’. By this he meant the wider patriotism of the British Empire, the furthering of which he made his life’s work.
This is the first study of Milner to take his politics, or ‘constructive’ imperialism as its primary theme. His career is examined as a whole, from the genesis of his imperial ideology at Oxford, through his time as High Commissioner in South Africa during the Boer War, to his days as Minister of War during the final seven months of the First World War.
Famously, Milner propagated his ideas through his ‘kindergarten’, a group of like-minded young male acolytes. In this fascinating book, J Lee Thompson also discovers a group of young female supporters of his vision.
This book is based on extensive primary research in archives in the UK, North America and South Africa.
Sample pages
Readership
Empire Studies, South African History, Twentieth-Century History
Contents
Part I: A Question About Which I Have Never Been Able to See the Other Side
1 Introduction: Alfred Milner and the idea of Empire
2 Projecting a ‘Sane and Sober’ Imperialism: Milner and Press
3 England Abroad: Cromer and Egypt
Part II: Civilian Soldier of the Empire
4 Chamberlain and South Africa
5 Lord High Executioner: Imperial Administrator and Politician
6 Cecil Rhodes and Milner
7 The Most Important Question: Race in South Africa
8 A Kindergarten to Rule the Country
Part III: Constructive Imperialism
9 Tariff Reform and Imperial Defence
10 Constructive Imperialism
11 The Essential Link: Canada and the Empire
12 New Jesuits of Empire: The Round Table
Part IV – Imperialism on the Anvil
13 The Great War
14 An Imperial Peace
15 The Colonial Office and Egypt Again
16 Conclusion: A Wider Patriotism
Reviews
'Thompson traces Milner's struggles to deal with public opinion as expressed in the political press, and he sets Milner's administrative talents against his inability to compromise his imperial aims...recommended'
– C Curran, CHOICE
'we can thank Thompson for providing us with the 'behind the scenes' details of many of Milner's ideas and relationships, shorn of proto-imperialist bombast.'
– Christopher Prior, 20th Century British History
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