John Darwin's comprehensive history of the British Empire as a geopolitical project — from the 17th century to decolonization — emphasizing contingency, geopolitics, and the empire's dependence on circumstances beyond British control.
The empire as a geopolitical project: Britain's global power was never simply a product of economic or military superiority but of careful exploitation of geopolitical opportunities. Contingency: the empire could easily have failed at several points. The 'Britannic' world: the empire as a network of settler states, trading posts, and indirect control. A major reinterpretation of British imperial history that avoids both triumphalism and simple condemnation.
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