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.

The Colonial World: A History of European Empires, 1780s to the Present provides the most authoritative, in-depth overview on European imperialism available. It synthesizes recent developments in the study of European empires and provides new perspectives on European colonialism and the challenges to it. With a post-1800 focus and extensive background coverage tracing the subject to the early 1700s, the book charts the rise and eclipse of European empires. Robert Aldrich and Andreas Stucki integrate innovative approaches and findings from the 'new imperial history' and look at both the colonial era and the legacies it left behind for countries around the world after they gained independence. Dividing the text into three complementary sections, Aldrich and Stucki offer an original approach to the subject that allows you to explore: - Different eras of colonisation and decolonisation from early modern European colonialism to the present day - Overarching themes in colonial history, like 'land and sea', 'the body' and 'representations of colonialism' - A global range of snapshot colonial case studies, such as Peru (1780), India (1876), The South Pacific (1903), the Dutch East Indies (1938) and the Portuguese empire in Africa (1971) This is the essential text for anyone seeking to understand the nature and complexities of modern European imperialism and its aftermath.

This volume offers annotated texts with biographical and historical introductions of four previously unpublished travel journals from the period 1775-1874. The first of these is the journal of a participant in a Spanish expedition sent from Mexico to explore the north-west coast of America. From the outset, difficulties plagued the voyage. Bodega's ship, a small schooner named Sonora, was not designed for open-ocean voyaging. A landing party was attacked and killed; midway into the voyage the Sonora became separated from her flagship; and later she was nearly capsized by a massive wave. Bodega's journal records the voyage's travails, hardships, discoveries, and eventual return. Next comes the journal of Commander Stokes, who served in command of HMS Beagle, under Captain P. P. King during the survey of the Straits of Magellan in 1827. This is an account of a detached operation, in very difficult weather conditions, in the western part of the strait. It is introduced by remarks on the expedition and the hydrographic history of the strait from its discovery to the inception of the survey and supplemented by remarks from Captain King's account and also that of the clerk, Macdouall. The third text is the journal of a young midshipman in HMS Chanticleer, a small vessel commanded by Henry Foster, RN, who had recently been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for his scientific work in the Arctic. The voyage of 1828-31 was to make observations in the South Atlantic to determine the shape of the Earth and to ascertain the longitudes of a number of ports. Kay's lively diary describes the Chanticleer's encounters with warships of the Brazilian navy, largely manned by Englishmen. He records his struggle to take observations at Deception Island during gales and snowstorms, and near Cape Horn in fierce squalls and constant chilling rain, nevertheless remaining cheerful in the company of his fellow midshipmen. The final piece is the diary of Jacob Wainwright.

Spanning two and a half centuries, from the earliest contacts in the 1540s to the crumbling of Spanish power in the 17908, Storms Brewed in Other Men's Worlds is a panoramic view of Indian peoples and Spanish and French intruders in the early Southwest. The primary focus is the world of the American Indian, ranging from the Caddos in the east to the Hopis in the west, and including the histories of the Pueblo, Apache, Navajo, Ute, and Wichita peoples. Within this region, from Texas to New Mexico, the Comanches played a key, formative role, and no less compelling is the story of the Hispanic frontier peoples who weathered the precarious, often arduous process of evolving coexistence with the Indians on the northern frontier of New Spain. First published in 1975, this second edition includes a new preface and afterword by Elizabeth A. H. John, in which she discusses current research issues and the status of the Indian peoples of the Southwest.