<p>Dreams of a "tropical Canada" that included the West Indies occupied the thoughts of many Canadians over a period spanning nearly forty years. From the expansionist fever of the late nineteenth century to the redistribution of German territories immediately following the First World War, Canadians of varying backgrounds campaigned vigorously for Canada-West Indies union. Their efforts generated a transatlantic discourse that raised larger questions about Canada's national trajectory, imperial organization, and the state of Britain's Empire in the twentieth century. </p><p>This dissertation explores the key ideas, tensions, and contradictions that shaped the union discourse over time. Race, nation and empire were central to this discourse. Canadian expansionists' efforts to gain free access to tropical territory, consolidate British possessions in the Western hemisphere, and negotiate the terms under which West Indians of color would enter the Canadian federation reflected and perpetuated logics that were simultaneously racial, national, and imperial. </p><p>Canada-West Indies union campaigns raise important questions about the processes at work in the ideological and material formation of the Canadian "nation" in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Employing a wide range of public and private manuscript material, diaries, travelogues and newspapers, this dissertation argues that Canadians' expansionist aspirations in the West Indies were inextricably connected to a national vision. To the campaign's advocates, acquiring colonial satellites - particularly in tropical regions - was a defining feature of nation-state formation.</p> / Dissertation

This thesis divides Taiwan's impact on the Bush administration's Mainland China policy into three stages. The first period was from January 1989, when George Bush entered the White House, to June 3, when the Tiananmen Massacre took place in Beijing. The second period was from June 1989 to July 1991. The third period was from July 1991 to the end of 1992. Through examining the Bush administration's Mainland China policy, this thesis argues that Taiwan's impact on the administration's China policy evolved a tract from unimportant to important in the years between 1989 and 1992. It further argues that Taiwan has become an independent factor, whose China policy was not under the control of the United States. Sometimes it undermined American Mainland China policy.

Peu de personnes se rappellent de la présence de la France en Inde. Quelques parties de l’Inde sont restées françaises jusqu’en 1954. À cette date, l’Inde française, consistant de quatre petits établissements (Pondichéry, Yanaon, Karikal et Mahé), était en pleine décadence et éclipsée par d’autres colonies françaises, plus grandes, plus lucratives et plus importantes pour la Métropole. L’Indochine et l’Algérie ne sont que deux exemples. Toutefois, les Français n’étaient pas disposés à abandonner leurs possessions en Inde sans résistance. Le présent mémoire cherche à expliquer la valeur des possessions françaises en Inde et les raisons de la fin de la tutelle française. Le titre du mémoire indique qu’un certain changement a eu lieu dans la politique française vis-à-vis de ses possessions en Inde. L’étude commence par un résumé de la situation politique et économique de l’Inde française depuis la fin de la dernière occupation anglaise en 1814 jusqu’à la fin de la Première Guerre mondiale. L’année 1920 est choisie comme point de départ de la période visée par le mémoire. Portant sur les années 1920, le premier chapitre examine l’hégémonie du parti Gaebelé qui a eu toutes les caractéristiques d’une dictature. Indifférentes à la vie politique de l’Inde française, les autorités métropolitaines étaient surtout attirées par le commerce que la colonie offrait dans la production de tissus et l’exportation d’arachides. Après la chute du parti Gaebelé, l’Inde française a été plongée dans une longue période d’agitation, un thème clé du deuxième chapitre sur les années 1930. Inconscientes de la réalité politique, les autorités métropolitaines ont toujours accordé la priorité au commerce. Durant les années 1940, l’Inde française n’a jamais arrêté de se rapprocher de l’Inde britannique. Ce rapprochement a aussi persisté lorsque l’Inde britannique est devenue l’Union indienne en 1947. Soudainement, les Français ont senti le besoin de réaffirmer leur position d’autorité en Inde française. Le commerce est passé au second plan au profit d’une série de réformes politiques. Toutefois, ce brusque changement de politique fut trop tardif. Le quatrième chapitre, centré surtout sur la période de 1950 à 1954 et vu à travers l’exemple d’Édouard Goubert, a souligné la méconnaissance des autorités métropolitaines des réalités qui confrontaient l’Inde française. Lorsque Goubert a cessé de servir comme porte-parole et principal allié du gouvernement français en Inde, les possessions françaises en Inde furent rattachées une par une à l’Union indienne. Rétrospectivement, les faits économiques, vitaux pour le début du mémoire, sont quasiment absents de deux derniers chapitres. Se retrouvant face à la menace de perdre leurs possessions en Inde, les Français ont compris que l’Inde française était précieuse pour des raisons autres que le commerce. Un accent particulier fut mis pour souligner ces avantages culturels et politiques. De petite taille, les possessions françaises étaient importantes pour l’ordre et la stabilité dans les autres colonies de l’Empire. Parallèlement, elles représentaient des points d’appui pour l’expansion de la culture française dans l’immense sous-continent indien. / Few people today can relate to the presence of the French in India. That said, a few cities in India remained under the control of the French until 1954. By then, French India, consisting of four cities (Pondicherry, Yanaon, Mahe, and Karikal) had reached its irrevocable point of decline, overshadowed by other French colonies that were larger, more lucrative and more important to France. Indochina and Algeria are but two examples. Even so, it must be stated that the French were reluctant to abandon their possessions in India without any resistance. This particular thesis seeks to explain the value of the French possessions in India and the reasons that led to their demise. The title of the thesis suggests that a certain change occurred in the politics of the French vis-à-vis their possessions in India. The thesis commences with a summary of the political and economic situation in French India from the end of the last British occupation in 1814 until the end of World War I. The year 1920 was chosen as a starting point for this thesis. Focusing on the 1920’s, the first chapter examines the hegemony of the Gaebelé party which had all the characteristics of a dictatorship. Indifferent to the political climate in French India, politicians in Paris felt most attracted by the colony’s commerce, especially its production of textiles and exports of oleaginous plants. After the fall of the Gaebelé party, French India plunged into a long period of turmoil and political unrest. This is a key theme of the second chapter analyzing the 1930’s. Unaware of the political realities, authorities in Paris continuously prioritized the colony’s commerce. During the 1940’s, French India never stopped drawing closer to British India. This connection persisted after the independence of British India in 1947. Suddenly, the French felt an urge to reaffirm their position of authority in French India. The colony’s commerce fell second to a series of political reforms. Nevertheless, the timing of this abrupt shift was too late. The fourth chapter, centered on the period from 1950 to 1954, confirms the lack of awareness of the French authorities in Paris for the realities confronting French India. The example of Edouard Goubert is a case in point. As soon as Goubert ceased to serve as the main spokesperson and ally of the French government in French India, the remaining French possessions were incorporated one by one to India. In retrospect, facts concerning the colony’s commerce and economy, while being vital in the beginning, are hardly mentioned in the last two chapters of the thesis. Faced with the very real threat of losing their possessions in India, the French understood that French India was valuable for reasons other than commerce. A particular emphasis was placed on the cultural and political value of French India. Small in area, French India was significant in maintaining order and stability in the other colonies of the French Empire. Simultaneously, the French possessions in India represented starting points for the expansion of French culture in the vast Indian sub-continent.

From the campaign waged by Revolutionaries like Bar&egrave;re and the Abb&eacute; Gr&eacute;goire against those regional languages they referred to pejoratively as 'patois', to the educational policies of Jules Ferry a century later, successive governments of France engaged in a broadly successful struggle to force the French to speak French. Inverting the logic of cultural nationalists like Herder, who claimed a shared language as the legitimate basis of national polities, French legislators sought to impose French as a common language on a linguistically diverse population that had already been constituted as a state. Recent historical work has shown the particular significance of such projects during the Napoleonic period. Historians have begun considering how far the Napoleonic regime was characterized by cultural imperialism. While the ideological nature of such projects- the 'view from the centre', so to speak- is now well understood by historians, this thesis is concerned with the practice of Napoleonic imperialism in one sphere of action: language. By focusing on the practice of linguistic imperialism under Napoleon this thesis makes an important contribution to understandings of the cultural politics of the period as well as Napoleonic state-building policies more generally.

Since John Ruskin and William Morris's protestations against mass production in the nineteenth century, critics of mass consumption thought that it not only reduced the necessity, but also the desire, to make things for personal use and enjoyment. The history of leisure painting in art societies and adult education, and of the amateur artist’s consumption of art materials and self-help literature, shows that, on the contrary, affluence both inspired and facilitated a quest for self-actualisation amongst the rank and file. Creative activities such as drawing and painting served this quest at little financial cost to the individual. Following the Second World War, a significant increase in the take-up of leisure painting was encouraged by the state as part of the broader postwar settlement. The pursuit of personal wellbeing through creative activity was regarded as a public good, of benefit not only to individuals but also to the communities of which they were a part. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, state support for recreational pursuits such as leisure painting was pared back: in the shift from collectivist social democracy towards individualist market liberalism, personal enjoyment was recast as a private affair for which the consumer must pay. Painting continued to grow in popularity, supported by expanding consumer markets in self-help literature and affordable art materials. Yet while consumerism sustained the popularity of amateur art-making, the ways in which amateur artists participated in the arts changed. Personal creativity emerges here as an inherently social activity: the private experience of creativity is mediated and structured by society. Consumerism was not bad for personal creativity per se, but the replacement of a communitarian approach with a consumerist model restricted the breadth and reach of creative aspiration nurtured as part of the postwar settlement. By the end of the century, most amateurs were painting alone.

A clash of generations occurred in the 1960s Probation Service when increasing numbers of university graduates entered the profession. They have been described as permissive by historians because they prioritised the welfare of the offender. This was in contrast to their older, and relatively untrained, colleagues for whom a reform project was premised on the disciplining of character. Due to a lack of sources, however, it remains unclear how these two generations differed in their attempts to persuade magistrates over sentencing outcomes. Fortuitously, a rare cache of over 2,000 Social Enquiry Reports (SERs) survives in the records of the City’s Justice Rooms. Written by probation officers from across the Metropolitan London area, the reports represent a cross section of the capital’s diverse population. Using a number of techniques including oral and secondary sources, this thesis identifies members of both generations and examines the way that they persuaded magistrates. Sorting the SERs into types of offender, the thesis shows that both generations ultimately persuaded magistrates by subtly indicating in reports whether or not the offender and their families conformed to conventional gender norms. The main reason why SERs by the permissive university graduates closely resembled those written by their older colleagues was due to their common perception of magistrates as being socially conservative. Regardless of how liberal or not Britain became in the sixties, the courtroom was not considered to be a place where a rethink of morality had occurred. The university graduates therefore invoked normative character ideals in SERs because they believed it was likely to be the best way to achieve the desired outcome in court. Finally, as responses to offending were shaped by gender ideologies rather than the nature of the offence or previous convictions, the concept of the probation officer as ‘the burglar’s mate’ is rendered problematic.

Thesis advisor: Paul G. Spagnoli / On October 5, 1789, several hundred women first converged on the Parisian municipal government, then marched undeterred on Versailles to demand the king's aid in relieving the dire bread shortage in the city. By the end of the next day however, the women returned triumphantly to the capital not only with bread, but with the entire royal family, the National Guard, and National Assembly's promise to relocate to Paris as well. This revolutionary journée is referred to as the October Days, and this thesis seeks to address its spontaneous and premeditated origins. I argue that although the journée was not the result of an overarching conspiracy, its themes and actions had precursors in the early months of the Revolution and the years before. Also, by undertaking a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the ensuing judicial investigation of the movement, I have attempted to provide a grounding for the October Day's most important primary source through which some of the journée's most controversial aspects can be examined. Finally, I argue that this judicial inquiry significantly contributed to the polarization of the National Assembly as le peuple forced the political elites to take sides over the investigation. Thus, between October 5, 1789 and October 1, 1790 le peuple continued its struggle to reinforce the sovereignty with which it had been endowed. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2007. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: History. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Considering the prominent role India has played in the United Nations since independence, it is important to remember that its involvement in international organizations predates the advent of the U.N. by over 25 years. An original signatory to the Treaty of Versailles (1919), India became a founding member of the League of Nations. As a non-sovereign part of the British Empire and the League's only colonial member, however, India faced a set of unique problems in its interaction with the League; its role was, as a result, both complex and anomalous. / This dissertation analyzes India's membership of the League from its entry in 1919 to the outbreak of the Second World War. In addition to examining changes in India's status in the British Empire during the First World War and detailing its entry into the League at the Paris Peace Conference, the work surveys the various influences on India's League policy. The work also explores the background of India's League delegates. Although appointed by the British Government of India and traditionally seen, therefore, as mere collusionists, most were actually moderate nationalists operating outside the Gandhi-Nehru fold. They saw collaboration with the British in India's League affairs, despite obvious restrictions, as beneficial to India in developing its international persona. / Despite clear limitations, India's role in the League was significant. Membership of the League offered Indians the opportunity of dispelling Eurocentric misperceptions about India and of showing that Indians were fully capable of grappling with complex global issues. India's involvement in League work, particularly in the areas of opium and slavery suppression, public health, and intellectual cooperation, was of demonstrable benefit to the country as a whole. India's League membership also provided an initial testing ground for its, and Pakistan's, later membership in the United Nations, and as a training ground for a future cadre of Indian and Pakistani diplomats. Finally, India's presence at Geneva helped secure for it an important status in the international system, giving it, and Pakistan, a comparative advantage over other newly independent countries in the post-Second World War period. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-07, Section: A, page: 2105. / Major Professor: Bawa Satinder Singh. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

American concern for South Africa during the Boer War focused on how the war affected wider American interests, and especially a budding rapprochement with Britain. It was not related to commercial or other interests intrinsic to the region. The Boer War could have evolved into a world war, and could have involved the United States, even emboldened a European power to attack the United States. The McKinley and Roosevelt administrations realized the danger, and sought to develop a sound working relationship with Britain that would not be attacked by a contentious and still largely anti-British public and Congress. Inept diplomatic representation in Southern Africa and agitation by Boer envoys and sympathizers in America further complicated matters. / Guided by Secretary of State John Hay, the United States emerged from this diplomatic cauldron unscathed. Mr. Hay was accused of subordinating the interests of his own country to Britain. In reality, he consistently pressed Britain for concessions, which the British made to garner American diplomatic support in response to the pressures of an enormous war effort little appreciated today. Hay achieved the essence of successful diplomacy: The United States attained its goals peacefully and with the gratitude of the British Empire. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-11, Section: A, page: 4047. / Major Professor: Thomas M. Campbell, Jr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

This study examines the roles of Herschel Brickell, Samuel Guy Inman, Carleton Beals, and Waldo Frank in interpreting United States-Latin American relations between 1910 and 1970. As a group these alternative intellectuals stood out in their efforts to portray the realities of Latin America to North American readers. / This work deals with an important yet neglected aspect of American intellectual culture in the first half of the twentieth century. It attempts to link the goals of the members of the group of alternative intellectuals and the historical problem of asymmetry in studies of United States-Latin American relations. Through the four intellectuals the following topics are explored: Progressivism, the intersection of literature and history in Latin America and in the United States, the role of book reviewing in bringing about closer hemispheric relations, the part played by the Division of Cultural Relations in the United States Department of State, and the contributions of certain United States journalists in treating subjects neglected by scholars of United States-Latin American relations. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-08, Section: A, page: 3163. / Major Professor: Valerie J. Conner. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.