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librarianonparade's review
4.0
The life of a governor of one of the British Empire's many, varied and far-flung colonial outposts was very far from easy, as this fascinating book illustrates. Quite apart from the obvious cultural divides, governors had to deal with tropical diseases, cold, heat, monsoons, droughts, famine, friction between natives of different races, creeds and castes, European merchants and planters, the British colonial administration, the military, and very often their own families. Some found themselves governing established and orderly administrations in the 'white' colonies, such as Australia and Canada, where luxury and decadence were the order of the day. Others found colonies that lacked almost any semblance of order or indeed what they might recognise as 'civilisation' - no towns or cities, no amenities, no railways, hospitals, schools, and few roads.
Life as a colonial governor could make or break not just a career but the very soul of a man. For some of the individuals examined in this book it was a chance to truly make a difference, whether in hindsight for good or evil; some rose to the challenge and some failed miserably, driven to the edge of madness. Most were men who by and large believed whole-heartedly in the good the Empire could do, men of a striking paternalistic attitude, some of whom built cities and civilisations from the ground up, and some who came very close to knocking a few down.
Williams rarely touches on the dark side of colonialism, and barring a few asides here and there, there is very little comment of the morality of the Empire itself. This book is not the place to find a damning commentary on western imperialism and empire-building. But it does shed a little light on the - I hesitate to use the phrase 'unsung heroes', since that is an immensely debatable and contentious issue - men who formed the backbone of the British Empire and made it what it was, for better or worse.
Life as a colonial governor could make or break not just a career but the very soul of a man. For some of the individuals examined in this book it was a chance to truly make a difference, whether in hindsight for good or evil; some rose to the challenge and some failed miserably, driven to the edge of madness. Most were men who by and large believed whole-heartedly in the good the Empire could do, men of a striking paternalistic attitude, some of whom built cities and civilisations from the ground up, and some who came very close to knocking a few down.
Williams rarely touches on the dark side of colonialism, and barring a few asides here and there, there is very little comment of the morality of the Empire itself. This book is not the place to find a damning commentary on western imperialism and empire-building. But it does shed a little light on the - I hesitate to use the phrase 'unsung heroes', since that is an immensely debatable and contentious issue - men who formed the backbone of the British Empire and made it what it was, for better or worse.
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