Hydrology and Empire: The Nile,Water Imperialism and the Partition of Africa

Why did the British march up the Nile in the 1890s? The answers to this crucial question of imperial historiography have direct relevance for narratives and theories about imperialism, in general, and the partition of Africa in the nineteenth century, in particular. They will also influence our understanding of some of the main issues in the modern history of the whole region, including state developments and resource utilisation. This article presents an alternative to dominant interpretations of the partition of Africa and the role of British Nile policies in this context. It differs from mainstream diplomatic history, which dominates this research field, in its emphasis on how geographical factors and the hydrological characteristics of the Nile influenced and framed British thinking and actions in the region. Realising the importance of such factors and the specific character of the regional water system does not imply less attention to traditional diplomatic correspondence or to the role of individual imperial entrepreneurs. The strength of this analytical approach theoretically is that it makes it possible to locate the intentions and acts of historical subjects within specific geographical contexts. Empirically, it opens up a whole new set of source material, embedding the reconstruction of the British Nile discourse in a world of Nile plans, water works and hydrological discourses.     

Religion in an Age of Empire: The Salvation Army and British Imperialism, 1878–1914

Debates about the British Empire continue to rage, especially those concerned with its impact on domestic affairs during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The degree to which empire mattered to average Britons at home has tended to generate polarised responses from historians. Some have sought to downplay its overall significance, whereas others have been prone to argue that its effects on society were widespread. The present article speaks into this debate by examining one notable British organisation — the Salvation Army — which came into being in the second half of the nineteenth century. While a number of scholars have addressed the imperialist implications of Army work in the colonies, much less work has been done to scrutinise the empire's influence on Salvationists within Britain itself. Looking at three characteristics frequently associated with imperialist ideology — militarism, racial othering, and devotion to the monarchy — this article contends that the Salvation Army's relationship to the British Empire was remarkably dynamic and complex during the timeframe under review. Demonstrating that Salvationist thinking and practice could both help and hinder the aims of imperialism, it points to the need for more balanced and nuanced approaches to the study of the empire in the metropole.     

Domesticating the Frontier: Gender,Empire and Adventure Landscapes in British Cinema, 1945–59

Before 1945, films of the empire genre, produced in Hollywood as well as Britain, celebrated the masculinity of the British adventure hero, and promoted an imperial world view. This article explores the significance of the incorporation of white women into empire films in the late 1940s and 1950s, focusing on three films from different moments in the period. What are the range of meanings assigned to white femininity in these films, and their significance to the politics of race and gender? How is the white woman represented in relation to colonised women and men? In addressing these questions the article considers shifts in the gendering of the empire genre as part of an attempt to address a range of anxieties – about the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the rise of American power, and the collapse of boundaries between colonisers and colonised.