The British Empire: its Structure and Spirit by Eric A Walker

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to edges and corners. Stamp on title page. Dust jacket in poor condition and is now enclosed in protective cover. Fold out map at back is partially torn. Binding is still very good.

In this book, first published in 1943, the author describes the spirit and structure of the British Empire from the beginning and notes that it been shaped most directly by the events from 1914 onwards.

Walker focuses on how the "spirit" and flexible nature of British governance shaped a highly decentralised, maritime superpower. He traces its evolution from a Western-facing colonial network in the Americas to an Eastern-facing commercial empire centred around India, Africa, and Australasia.

The book argues that the empire survived and expanded because of its fluid, decentralised structure and the shift from direct colonial rule to "indirect rule" and trusteeship, exploring how British institutions were adaptively integrated into diverse global territories.

Eric A Walker is a fellow of St John's Collage and Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History in the University of Cambridge.