Released: 28th January 2021
Genre: Non-Fiction, Historical, Society, Political
Number of Pages: 216
What does the British empire mean in modern times? To some, it’s something that only receives a brief mention in history classes; to others it’s the guiding star on how Britain is better than every other nation on the planet. Grappling with and coming to some kind of understanding about our past has been a thorny issue for many years now. Sathnam Sanghera has written one of the most deep and fascinating books on the topic in recent years.
He uses his family’s background in immigration as a springboard to create a wide-reaching and incredibly engaging discussion which packs in many important facts and perspectives across its relatively compact length. This comprises major case studies including India, the scramble for Africa and Britain’s role in the Atlantic slave trade. The finer details are very explicit and unfiltered; the British empire robbed and brutalised entire cultures from the late 1700s all the way through to the aftermath of World War Two. Yet Sathnam balances out this grim subject matter with equally well written explanations. In the novel’s concluding chapters, he makes compelling arguments as to why the UK can’t discuss or fully understand its own history.
Numerous sources, events and think pieces are cited throughout the book as Sanghera establishes why the empire is perceived the way it is. Competition between nationalist and progressive thinking is a consistent theme throughout with the two sides being addressed regularly. The author himself disagrees with the former, but it’s never forced on the reader. Instead, the information is presented with a highly authentic lens, with use of more recent events to contextualise the differing opinions.
Recommended?
YES: Empireland is a truly excellent book. Capably researched and very well argued, Sathnam Sanghera’s deconstruction of the British Empire and how it affects every element of the nation is laid out with the utmost professionalism. From real history to societal outcomes, every chapter is filled with succinct and engaging detail. If nothing else, it should be mandatory reading along with other modern efforts to come to terms with our history. Get yourself a copy as soon as possible, I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.
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