The Age of Imperialism reached its peak in the late nineteenth century. The British Empire was the foremost colonial power, and the keystone was India. However, even at its peak, the British Raj was beset by internal rivalries and fears of external threats. In 1875, British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli chose as viceroy Lord Robert Bulwer-Lytton, diplomat and poet, the son of an old friend, but someone with no Indian experience. Lytton accepted reluctantly-and never enjoyed it. He was under the thumb of the Secretary of State for India, the shrewd and ambitious Third Marquess of Salisbury, during most of his four years in India. During his viceroyalty, Lytton had to deal with shifting British policies, a major famine, the freedom-loving people of Afghanistan, an entrenched civil service, and a rising generation of patriotic Indians. In the 1880 elections, Disraeli's Conservatives were defeated by Gladstone's Liberals, and Lytton resigned.
Autorentext
Edwin Hirschmann is professor emeritus at Towson University.
Inhalt
Chapter 1: Conscripting a Poet
Chapter 2: Instructing and Dispatching a Viceroy
Chapter 3: The Rise of Racism
Chapter 4: Reaching India and Taking Charge
Chapter 5: The Imperial Assemblage: Lytton's Crescendo
Chapter 6: Famine
Chapter 7: "The Most Dangerous Man in India"
Chapter 8: Internal Problems
Chapter 9: Careers, Protests, and Clashes
Chapter 10: The Vernacular Press and Its Adversaries
Chapter 11: Russophobia
Chapter 12: The Rift with Salisbury
Chapter 13: The Second Anglo-Afghan War
Chapter 14: Resignation and Resentment
Chapter 15: Pursued from India
Chapter 16: Afterwards