Items related to Captives: Britain, Empire and the World 1600-1850
Ranging over a quarter of a millennium and four continents, Captives uncovers the experiences and writings of those thousands of men and women who took part in Britain's rise to imperial pre-eminence, but who got caught and caught out. Using the tales of ordinary individuals trapped in extraordinary encounters, Linda Colley re-evaluates the character and diversity of the British Empire. Richly illustrated and evocatively written, Captives is both a magnificent and compelling work of history, and a powerful and original reappraisal of the significance of empire now.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
Linda Colley's Captives: Britain, Empire and the World, 1600-1850 looks at the history of British imperialism from an entirely novel perspective. Instead of concentrating on the familiar tales of those who got away with empire--emigrants, fortune-hunters, generals, missionaries and statesmen--she focuses on the narratives of those British men, women and children who were captured.
Review:
Colley points out that whether in the Islamic Mediterranean, tribal North America, or the Mughal states of India, the British overseas were always vulnerable to the mighty powers of other European and non-European empires. Many were taken prisoner, some sold into slavery and not a few literally went native--taking on the language, costume and religion of their captors.
Colley, author of the widely-read and hugely influential Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837, has discovered and recounts some hundred or so of these stories, many of them accompanied by sketches and illustrations. She uses this fascinating material not only to highlight the adaptive and cross-cultural manner in which the British interacted with other empires and peoples, but also to reflect on how, when and why the British were able to transcend their small island status and become an enduring global power.
Beautifully written and handsomely produced, Captives should be read with care. It is a most profound, original and erudite study of the British empire, with implications for how we think about race relations, Islam and the West, and the global reach of modern day America. --Miles Taylor
"One of the most exciting and original historians of her generation" (William Dalrymple Guardian)
"Brilliantly corrective, unpeeling the received view that the British Empire was a display of strength, confidence and inevitability" (Julian Barnes Times Literary Supplement)
"A sort of White Teeth version of early imperial history...a completely original intelligence" (Roy Foster Financial Times)
"A brilliantly illuminating study by one of Britain's most distinguished and adventurous historians" (Richard Gott New Statesman)
"The best non-fiction of my year" (Melvyn Bragg)
"Brilliantly corrective, unpeeling the received view that the British Empire was a display of strength, confidence and inevitability" (Julian Barnes Times Literary Supplement)
"A sort of White Teeth version of early imperial history...a completely original intelligence" (Roy Foster Financial Times)
"A brilliantly illuminating study by one of Britain's most distinguished and adventurous historians" (Richard Gott New Statesman)
"The best non-fiction of my year" (Melvyn Bragg)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherPimlico
- Publication date2003
- ISBN 10 0712698043
- ISBN 13 9780712698047
- BindingPaperback
- Rating
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