This work is an examination of British imperial policy and attitudes towards the original inhabitants in the American colonies, New South Wales and the Cape colony of South Africa. A comparative study of the formative phase in this area of policy, it covers the period between the mid-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, examining and comparing the development of policy in each of the three geographical regions and tracing the legal and intellectual context within which this policy took shape. It suggests an important shift of attitude towards indigenous peoples in the course of the period covered - a change that had a major impact on political perceptions and policy formation.

Edmund Burke's seminal speech is fully reproduced here. It was made at a time of dissent and unrest in the what were American colonies at the time of his speech. The colonies were rebellious and angry about the imposition of taxes by the British. He argues that conciliation would be a wise course in order to avoid worse trouble.

A major new account of one of the leading philosopher-statesmen of the eighteenth century Edmund Burke (1730–97) lived during one of the most extraordinary periods of world history. He grappled with the significance of the British Empire in India, fought for reconciliation with the American colonies, and was a vocal critic of national policy during three European wars. He also advocated reform in Britain and became a central protagonist in the great debate on the French Revolution. Drawing on the complete range of printed and manuscript sources, Empire and Revolution offers a vivid reconstruction of the major concerns of this outstanding statesman, orator, and philosopher. In restoring Burke to his original political and intellectual context, this book overturns the conventional picture of a partisan of tradition against progress and presents a multifaceted portrait of one of the most captivating figures in eighteenth-century life and thought. A boldly ambitious work of scholarship, this book challenges us to rethink the legacy of Burke and the turbulent era in which he played so pivotal a role.