British Colonialism

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Recommended: The perspective of history

The study of British colonialism is a rather new field with much to discuss and a lot more to debate. The recent recognition of new nation-states that were once under the control of Britain was a growing phenomenon and one that continues to play a large role in today’s global politics. Since the rather recent period of these new nations, new study’s have been done into the history of a) the peoples that inhabited the land before Britain, b) the way Britain occupied and control and land, and now c) post-Britain. This is a growing topic in the historical field because seventy-five years ago there was no thought that Britain would relieve control of India or Nigeria. That is why post-British colonialism is important to today, because it is a new topic to discuss and argue. And along with this trend, comes the new age view on reading and interpreting history. Postmodernism is very new outlook on history and one that grows with every generation. It is that study of more than just events or great people; it is the study of the common people through their social, economic and political advantages. It’s the study of the common man through his diary, emails, letters, newspaper columns etc...British colonialism has only seen this method because of the majority of people who use it. Both topics are new which is why in the following historiographical essay, they come intertwined.

With the departure of a British run world, new fields of study began to open up, for instance, the study of India as a country instead of a “Crown Jewel.” This opened up a lot more areas of study within History as a field. One interesting topic that opened up was the study of the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879. A victory for the British, this war did not come without a p...

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...victory.

The study of the Anglo-Zulu war has come a long way since 1879. Although everything would have been clear in that time, historians have brought forth their own expertise and opinion as to why and how the war played out as it did. The historiography started out as pro-British literature but has evolved into looking at both sides of a conflict and analyzing every variable. These variables have been turned into books and journal articles but this is only recent and with the help of E.H. Carr. The Anglo-Zulu war has been written in a Carr voice and has focused on how and why the war occurred as it did, and not just the final outcome. The arguments and debates of the war still rage on, and in 2010 Ian Knight sets to release another book titled Zulu Rising: The Battle of Isandlwana 1879 which may start a new era into this history of the Anglo-Zulu War.

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