From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, Australian settler colonists mobilised their unique settler experiences to develop their own vision of what ‘empire’ was and could be. Reinterpreting their histories and attempting to divine their futures with a much heavier concentration on racialized visions of humanity, white Australian settlers came to believe that their whiteness as well as their Britishness qualified them for an equal voice in the running of Britain’s imperial project. Through asserting their case, many soon claimed that, as newly minted citizens of a progressive and exemplary Australian Commonwealth, white settlers such as themselves were actually better suited to the modern task of empire. Such a settler political cosmology with empire at its center ultimately led Australians to claim an empire of their own in the Pacific Islands, complete with its own, unique imperial governmentality.

Barbaric Intercourse tells the story of a century of social upheaval and the satiric attacks it inspired in leading periodicals in both England and America. Martha Banta explores the politics of caricature and cartoon from 1841 to 1936, devoting special attention to the original Life magazine. For Banta, Life embodied all the strengths and weaknesses of the Progressive Era, whose policies of reform sought to cope with the frenetic urbanization of New York, the racist laws of the Jim Crow South, and the rise of jingoism in the United States. Barbaric Intercourse shows how Life's take on these trends and events resulted in satires both cruel and enlightened. Banta also deals extensively with London's Punch, a sharp critic of American nationalism, and draws from images and writings in magazines as diverse as Puck,The Crisis,Harper's Weekly, and The International Socialist Review. Orchestrating a wealth of material, including reproductions of rarely seen political cartoons, she offers a richly layered account of the cultural struggles of the age, from contests over immigration and the role of the New Negro in American society, to debates over Wall Street greed, women's suffrage, and the moral consequences of Western expansionism.

As Queen Elizabeth II became the only British Monarch to rule for seventy years, she marked the historic moment with a simple message, promising to continue her lifetime of service. But while her Jubilee day was quiet, it was merely the start of a year long celebration that would see millions around the world join the royal party. Jubilees have become regular events in The Queen’s long reign but they are a relatively modern idea which only really took hold in the reign of King George III. Initially rejected by many as a frivolity, the first royal Jubilee became a huge success. It was a beguiling mix of pageantry, religious devotion and popular celebrations including street parties that has been copied in the Jubilees that followed. Queen Victoria enjoyed two successful celebrations, including Britain's first Diamond Jubilee, which helped re-establish her popularity and consolidate the Monarchy. King George V turned to the joy of a Jubilee to re-invigorate his country as it recovered from war and economic woes. In the reign of his granddaughter, Elizabeth II, Jubilees have been transformed into modern media events celebrated globally. In A History of British Royal Jubilees, we trace the ever evolving story of these popular celebrations, bringing each of them to life and looking at how they changed the image of royalty and the country itself. This is the story of how Jubilee celebrations have become vital to the success of Britain’s Royal Family and to its place at the heart of a nation.

John C. G. Röhl's acclaimed life of Kaiser Wilhelm II, from his birth in 1859 to his accession to the throne in 1888.