This dissertation traces the complex ways in which non-European military cultures - often designated as 'savage' - and the expeditions undertaken against them - regularly conceptualised as 'savage warfare' - were understood in the Victorian imagination. It addresses how these understandings shifted across time in relation to developments such as imperial expansion; cultural and intellectual shifts including the rise of evolutionary theory; and the practical issues that emerged in response to the undertaking of wars where such opponents were met on the field of battle. It is distinctive in working at the intersection of nineteenth-century intellectual, cultural, imperial and military history, and utilises a wide range of sources. The nineteenth century was a unique period during which this eclectic and differentiated debate - which both explored and contributed to the construction of ideas on 'savagery' - arose due to the proliferation of cross-cultural knowledge and the development of periodical culture. As members of the armed forces were on the front-line of cross-cultural interactions, the military context shines a light on the richness of this discourse and helps to frame a complex debate about the boundaries between 'civilisation' and 'savagery'. While understandings of 'savagery' that embodied assumptions of ruthlessness, bloodthirstiness, and a lack of moral understanding can be traced in British perceptions of 'savage' warriors during this period, this dissertation argues that the designation of a warrior culture as 'savage' was not uncontested, nor did it preclude the admission of 'civilised' characteristics, or criticisms with regard to British conduct in 'savage' wars. By uncovering the competing discourses on how 'savage' warriors were perceived during this period, this dissertation reinforces critiques of the 'cultural determinist' notion that military cultures are fixed; emphasises the lack of coherence with regard to British perceptions of 'savage' warriors, thus contributing to scholarship that has identified the inconsistent nature of 'orientalism'; and challenges conventional periodisation of the development of colonial racism and anti-humanitarianism during the nineteenth century.

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The north eastern region in India represents a legacy of uneven imperial state formation inherited by the Indian nation state. My doctoral dissertation examines British imperialism in the nineteenth century, as it operated in “non-British” spaces of the north east frontier of colonial India. I focus on the historical production and cooption of the Khasi and Jaintiah hills, into a frontier space of the British Empire. I analyse the interconnections between physical transformations, colonial structures of law, and colonial knowledge that produced inhabitants of the autonomous polities, north east of Bengal into “hill tribals”. Law provided a foundational framework through which colonial commercial and military advancement into non-British territories such as the Khasi hills was achieved. The most profound implication of colonial processes was on ruler-subject relations, which accompanied the reconstitution of space and inhabitants’ conceptions of self. The dissertation traces both spatial and imaginative transformations that stripped the groups occupying the Khasi and Jaintiah hills of a political identity. The Khasi tribal subject’s relationship to the governing structures was navigated, and negotiated using a reconstituted notion of custom. This project is more than a history of tribal minorities in India. It addresses the crisis of colonial sovereignty in colonial frontiers, and the nature of imperialism in non-British territories. The dissertation also addresses how the hills and its peoples have long resisted incorporation and integration into totalizing histories of colonial modernity, capitalism and nationalism. Social identities of the diverse communities in the north east of India are articulated through, what I have called narratives of continuity that are both constitutive of and framed against colonial knowledge systems. Critical of the “naturalisation of the association between history and western modernity” and the consequent binaries of past and present, this dissertation analyses indigenous narratives, and the articulation of distinct pasts often inhered in the present. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2013-10-02 21:24:20.595

British relations with the United States during the period 1895 to 1902 shifted from an attitude defined by suspicion and hostility to one of friendship. The relationship endured three main trials; the Venezuelan boundary crisis, the Spanish-American War, and simultaneous colonial struggles; the United States in the Philippines and Great Britain in South Africa. What developed was a greater mutual understanding, laying foundations for the enduring special relationship of the twentieth century. Public opinion was critical to the development of the relationship with the United States, especially in view of existing suspicions and conflicting interest groups in both countries. Great Britain, with her naval power and the vast resources of the British Empire, was undoubtedly the most powerful nation-state for much of the nineteenth century, and had stood in 'Splendid Isolation' secure in the knowledge that each threat to her supremacy could be met in turn. However, in the latter years of the century, over-stretched from her imperial possessions, Britain faced more serious threats to her security and increasing demands for a formal relationship with a power with similar interests, the United States was advanced as that partner. The Spanish-American War was a brief but successful war for the United States of America, eclipsing the bad memories of the civil war. A renewed belief in the republic was instilled, and with it an end to the isolationist characteristic of American foreign policy from the time of Washington's farewell address. The Spanish-American War was also a turning point in the relations between the United States and Great Britain. This has prompted several historians to examine why the two nations, over a relatively short period, managed to settle their differences. Most studies of Anglo-American relations at the turn of the century have centred upon the diplomatic overtures. Others examining public opinion have focused upon the reaction of the London press. While providing valuable insight into opinion prevalent in the capital of the British Empire they neglect to examine British attitudes outside of the centre, in particular in Scotland. Scottish public opinion, within the larger British context, towards the Spanish-American War and American Imperialism, provides an insight into the growth of Anglo-American relations from a new perspective.

In this thesis, I plan to investigate the role of the landscape in Thomas Southerne's play Oroonoko. Most scholarship on Oroonoko focuses on the relationship between Southerthne's play and Aphra Behn's novella of the same name. In particular, the scholarly conversation has focused on the way that Southerne white-washed Aphra Behn's character Imoininda. While this distinction is notable, my research, instead, will focus on the way these bodies—both white and black, colonizer and colonized—are framed by 18th century gardening rhetoric. This rhetoric provided naturally conceived tools for nurturing these bodies. I plan to argue that the language of the natural world used in the play demonstrates the role of landscape in the formation of British national identity. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / English / MA; / Thesis;

This thesis is a reassessment of British foreign policies from the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 until the Treaties of Locarno in 1925. It initially argues that much of the historiography of this period is unbalanced in its judgement of the different governments because it views them from a teleological perspective that fails to differentiate this period from the inter-war years as a whole. The problem with this approach is that the rise of Hitler and the causes of the Second World War became so dominant in such analyses that most issues within these years have only been judged within that wider context. The thesis argues that an assessment of the foreign policies between 1919 and 1925 must take greater account of all the diplomatic, military and economic difficulties in the years after the Great War, and also recognise the degree of stability achieved by the end of 1925. The difficulties included the expansion of the British Empire as a result of Versailles, ongoing financial and economic problems including wartime debts, the complexities of the Irish negotiations, and the major European issues that had not been resolved at Versailles. Britain was still a great power and its foreign policies are analysed both as an imperial power, including the newly acquired territories in the Middle East, and as a major European power. After an analysis of primary and secondary sources, it is argued that despite all the difficulties, and the seeds of long-term decline in imperial matters, British foreign policies contributed to greater stability in international affairs by the end of 1925. This is especially true of the achievements at Locarno in respect of Germany's western borders and in establishing Germany as an equal diplomatic partner. There were also no obvious new diplomatic hostages to fortune. Whether Britain and other powers could build on this greater stability after 1925 is a different issue, but that should not detract from recognition of the achievements during these six years.

This thesis extends the current scholarship of the social impact of the First World War by analysing the influence of the contribution of the Indian soldiers on the Western Front on civilian and military perceptions of Indian people and how this varied between those who encountered Indian soldiers in person and those who did not. The work sits on the historiographical boundary of the First World War, Empire and the social history of Britain in the post war years and makes use of newspapers, first person accounts and manuscript sources. The impact upon the civilian population is analysed by examining the manner in which Indian people were represented in the media in the years before the war and comparing this with later representations in the years during and after the war. The work of Porter and Mackenzie and the ongoing debate about the significance of the Empire to the British people is used to ground the argument. The thesis finds that, despite an increased awareness and interest in India and its people during the war, the public soon settled into a pre-war apathy towards its Empire. The military chapters briefly examine the history of the Indian Army and its time in France and the changes made by the British Army to facilitate the service of the Indian soldiers in Europe. It discusses the negative view of the Indian Corps which has been perpetuated by historians during the twentieth century and provides contradictory arguments against a number of these assertions. The thesis concludes that, while the Indian Corps' time in France positively impacted on British civilian and military opinion of Indian people, those who directly encountered them formed the most favourable views.

During the nineteenth century, defence was a major issue in Victoria and Australia, as indeed it was in other British colonies and the United Kingdom. Considerable pressure was brought to bear by London on the self-governing colonies to help provide for their own defence against internal unrest and also possible invasions or incursions by nations such as France, Russia and the United States. / From 1851 until defence was handed over to the new Australian Commonwealth at Federation in 1901, the Victorian colonial government spent considerable energy and money fortifying parts of Port Phillip Bay and the western coastline as well as developing the first colonial navy within the British Empire. Citizens were invited to form volunteer corps in their local areas as a second tier of defence behind the Imperial troops stationed in Victoria. When the garrison of Imperial troops was withdrawn in 1870, these units of amateur citizen soldiers formed the basis of the colony’s defence force. Following years of indecision, ineptitude and ad hoc defence planning that had left the colony virtually defenceless, in 1883 Victoria finally adopted a professional approach to defending the colony. The new scheme of defence allowed for a complete re-organisation of not only the colony’s existing naval and military forces, but also the command structure and supporting services. For the first time an integrated defence scheme was established that co-ordinated the fixed defences (forts, batteries minefields) with the land and naval forces. Other original and unique aspects of the scheme included the appointment of the first Minister of Defence in the Australian colonies and the first colonial Council of Defence to oversee the joint defence program. All of this was achieved under the guidance of Imperial advisors who sought to integrate the colony’s defences into the wider Imperial context. / This thesis seeks to analyse Victoria’s colonial defence scheme on a number of levels – firstly, the nature of the final defence scheme that was finally adopted in 1883 after years of vacillation, secondly, the effectiveness of the scheme in defending Victoria, thirdly, how the scheme linked to the greater Australasian and Imperial defence, and finally the political, economic, social and technological factors that shaped defence in Victoria during the second half of the nineteenth century.