The strange death of the liberal empire
Subtitle: Lord Selborne in South Africa
By: David E. Torrance.
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Montreal; Buffalo
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 286
ISBN-13: 9780773513198
Subjects: Selborne, William Waldegrave Palmer, -- Earl of, -- 1859-1942; Imperialism; Colonial administrators -- Great Britain -- Biography; Colonial administrators -- South Africa -- Biography; South Africa -- History -- 1836-1909; South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1836-1909; Great Britain -- Colonies -- Africa -- History
Genres: Biography.
Description: David Torrance examines Lord Selborne's conception of empire and, by implication, the nature of British imperialism, focusing on the Chinese labour controversy, the self-government issue, the development of racial segregation, and the creation of the Union of South Africa. He reassesses the role of the imperial factor in shaping the state, economy, and society of twentieth-century South Africa.

Behind the debate over imperial policy, Torrance shows, were deep and bitter divisions that were inextricably linked to domestic tensions within Britain itself.
Notes: Originally published as the author's thesis (Ph. D.) Queen's University, 1987.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [259]-276) and index.
Table of contents: title: Map of Southern Africa, 1908; title: Introduction; title: Lord Selborne's early life and career; title: Abandoned by London : Selborne and the Chinese labour controversy; title: Bleak prospects : Selborne and the constitutional settlement; title: Brighter prospects : the labour crisis, imperial obstruction, and Afrikaner assistance; title: Exploitation, protest, and autocratic rule : Selborne and African policy; title: South African disunion : Selborne, the railway crisis, and constructive solutions; title: Selborne's Memorandum : the High Commissioner strikes back; title: The Union of South Africa; title: Conclusion; title: Epilogue; title: Appendix : Biographical notes