Heather Streets-Salter and Trevor R. Getz, "Empires and Colonies in the Modern World" (Oxford UP, 2015)

Summary

Heather Streets-Salter's and Trevor R. Getz's new book Empires and Colonies in the Modern World (Oxford University Press, 2015) takes on world history 1450-present through the sweeping events and human experiences of empires, imperialism, and colonialism. More than just a history of one or more empires, this volume ties together the development of global commerce, shared ideas about race and gender, and the political development of the international system in which we live. It is also a guide to major debates about political and economic history: What is an empire? What were the global origins of sixteenth century European overseas empires? How and why did the 'new imperialism' happen? Are there empires in the world today? Yet it is also a book that focuses in on culture and society and the lasting legacies of colonialism to be found in migration patterns, intellectual thought, ecology, consumption, and belief. An intellectual volume engaged with cutting-edge research, it is also an accessible chronicle that connects English Puritans, the Ottoman Empire, and the Qing Dynasty with American politics, struggles in the Modern Middle East, and Chinese foreign policy today.

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