Waves across the south : a new history of revolution and empire
Sivasundaram, Sujit2020
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Starting from the ocean and from the forgotten histories of ocean-facing communities, this is a new history of the making of our world. After revolutions in America and France, a wave of tumult coursed the globe from 1790 to 1850. It was a moment of unprecedented change and violence especially for indigenous peoples. By 1850 vibrant public debate between colonised communities had exploded in port cities. Yet in the midst of all of this, Britain struck out by sea and established its supremacy over the Indian and Pacific Oceans, overtaking the French and Dutch as well as other rivals. Cambridge historian Sujit Sivasundaram brings together his work in far-flung archives across the world and the best new academic research in this remarkably creative book. Too often, history is told from the northern hemisphere, with modernity, knowledge, selfhood and politics moving from Europe to influence the rest of the world. This book traces the origins of our times from the perspective of indigenous and non-European people in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. From Aboriginal Australians to Parsis and from Mauritians to Malays, people asserted their place and their future as the British empire drove unexpected change. The tragedy of colonisation was that it reversed the immense possibilities for liberty, humanity and equality in this period. Waves Across the South insists on the significance of the environment; the waves of the Bay of Bengal or the Tasman Sea were the context for this story. Sivasundaram tells how revolution, empire and counter-revolt crashed in the global South. Naval war, imperial rivalry and oceanic trade had their parts to play, but so did hope, false promise, rebellion, knowledge and the pursuit of being modern.
Waves across the south : a new history of revolution and empire / Sujit Sivasundaram.
Sivasundaram, Sujit, author
London : William Collins, 2020.London : William Collins, 2020.©2020.
xx, 468 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 361-442) and index.
Winner of the 2021 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding
9780007575565 (paperback)
909.097249096
English
Ocean and civilization -- HistoryIslands of the Pacific -- History -- 19th centuryIndian Ocean Region -- History -- 19th centuryPacific Area -- Colonization -- HistoryIndian Ocean Region -- Colonization -- HistoryGreat Britain -- Colonies -- Oceania -- History -- 19th centuryGreat Britain -- Colonies -- Asia -- History -- 19th centuryFrance -- Colonies -- Asia -- History -- 19th centuryNetherlands -- Colonies -- Asia -- History -- 19th centurySouth Asia -- History -- 19th century
371088
Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
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Brighton Library | Adult Non Fiction - History | 9096 SIV | Available |