This is the first history of the British railway system written from a modern economic perspective. It uses conterfactual analysis to construct an alternative network to represent the most efficient alternative rail network that could have been constructed given what was known at the time - the first time this has been done.

To commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of its closure, Chris Barber offers a fascinating insight into the history behind this picturesque railway line.

How did those responsible for creating Britain's nineteenth-century settler empire render colonization compatible with humanitarianism? Avoiding a cynical or celebratory response, this book takes seriously the humane disposition of colonial officials, examining the relationship between humanitarian governance and empire. The story of 'humane' colonial governance connects projects of emancipation, amelioration, conciliation, protection and development in sites ranging from British Honduras through Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales, New Zealand and Canada to India. It is seen in the lives of governors like George Arthur and George Grey, whose careers saw the violent and destructive colonization of indigenous peoples at the hands of British emigrants. The story challenges the exclusion of officials' humanitarian sensibilities from colonial history and places the settler colonies within the larger historical context of Western humanitarianism.

In 1838, William Ellis of the LMS published a History of Madagascar―considered a key primary source for nineteenth-century Malagasy history. Four years later, David Griffiths, longest serving member of the Madagascar Mission, published Hanes Madagascar (“History of Madagascar”) in Welsh. Campbell’s study explores the intriguing relationship between these works and their authors. It analyses the role of Griffiths; presents evidence that much of Ellis’ History derived from Griffiths’ research; and presents the first ever translation of Hanes Madagascar (with extensive annotations). This study suggests that the tensions arising from the different cultural perceptions of Welsh and English missionaries moulded the destiny of the Madagascar mission. It will hopefully inspire re-evaluation of other missions and their relationship to British imperial policy.