The Imperial Frontier in the Tropics, 1865–75: A Study of British Colonial Policy in West Africa, Malaya and the South Pacific in the Age of Gladstone and Disraeli

THIS book attempts to bridge a gap which exists between general and theoretical works about imperialism and those area studies and national histories which are now making it possible to see western expansion in perspective. I have, it is true, written 'from within the blinkers of imperial history' (as one distinguished Africanist would say), but I have tried, so far as I can, to measure up to the requirements of the regional experts. The result is a series of 'case-studies' concerning British expansion in West Africa, Malaya and the South Pacific which attempts to fit certain remote and widely scattered experiments into the wider story of mid-Victorian imperialism. I wish to acknowledge most gratefully the generous help given by many people. Her Majesty the Queen granted permission for me to consult the Royal Archives at Windsor. Lord and Lady Brabourne lent me the Brabourne Diaries and Miss Cecilia Goodenough lent Commodore Goodenough's Journal. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: The Imperial Frontier in the Tropics....Pages 1-12 Front Matter....Pages 13-16 Influences at Home....Pages 17-45 The Mid-Victorian Colonial Office....Pages 46-74 Front Matter....Pages 75-79 Contradictory Aims in West Africa: the Cardwell Policy, 1864–5....Pages 80-103 Contradictory Aims in West Africa: the Failure of the Cardwell Policy, 1865–73....Pages 104-151 Relations with the Malay States, 1867–71....Pages 152-184 Intervention in the Malay States, 1871–3....Pages 185-210 Evolving a Policy in the South Pacific, 1855–71....Pages 211-239 Decisions about the South Pacific, 1872–3....Pages 240-266 Front Matter....Pages 267-272 West Africa after the Ashanti War, 1874–6....Pages 273-290 The Beginnings of British Political Control in Malaya, 1874–6....Pages 291-316 The Annexation of Fiji, 1874....Pages 317-336 Informal Empire in the South Pacific, 1874–7....Pages 337-356 Front Matter....Pages 357-357 Techniques of Informal Empire....Pages 359-371 Conclusion: Mid-Victorian Imperialism: a Pragmatic Approach to Empire....Pages 372-385 Back Matter....Pages 387-421