Scotland, Empire and Decolonisation in the Twentieth Century: (Studies in Imperialism)

This volume represents one of the first attempts to examine the connection between Scotland and the British empire throughout the entire twentieth century. As the century dawned, the Scottish economy was still strongly connected with imperial infrastructures (like railways, engineering, construction and shipping), and colonial trade and investment. By the end of the century, however, the Scottish economy, its politics, and its society had been through major upheavals which many connected with decolonisation. The end of empire played a defining role in shaping modern-day Scotland and the identity of its people. Written by scholars of distinction, these chapters represent ground-breaking research in the field of Scotland’s complex and often-changing relationship with the British empire in the period. The introduction that opens the collection will be viewed for years to come as the single most important historiographical statement on Scotland and empire during the tumultuous years of the twentieth century. A final chapter from Stuart Ward and Jimmi Østergaard Nielsen covers the 2014 referendum.

Table of Contents:
Introduction – John M. MacKenzie and Bryan S. Glass Part I: Migration, diaspora, identities 1. Initiatives, impediments and identities: Scottish emigration in the twentieth century – Marjory Harper 2. Applying the diasporic lens to identity and empire in twentieth-century Scotland – Graeme Morton 3. The strange case of jute – Gordon T. Stewart 4. Scots in early twentieth century British Columbia: class, race and gender – Michael E. Vance Part II: Anti-colonialism, the military, decolonisation and nationalism 5. Anti-colonialism in twentieth-century Scotland – Stephen Howe 6. Beating retreat: the Scottish military tradition in decline – Stuart Allan 7. Newspapers and empire: bringing Africa to the Scottish public – Bryan S. Glass 8. David Livingstone, the Scottish cultural and political revival and the end of empire in Africa – John M. MacKenzie 9. 'Cramped and restricted at home?': Scottish separatism at empire's end – Jimmi Østergaard Nielsen and Stuart Ward Index

About the Author :
John M. MacKenzie is Emeritus Professor of Imperial History at the University of Lancaster, UK, Honorary Professor at the University of St. Andrews, Honorary Professor at the University of Aberdeen, and Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Edinburgh