Colonial captivity during the First World War : internment and the fall of the German empire, 1914-1919 / Mahon Murphy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Murphy, Mahon, author.

Series:

Studies in the social and cultural history of modern warfare.

Studies in the social and cultural history of modern warfare

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1914-1918--Prisoners and prisons, British.

World War, 1914-1918.

Prisoners of war--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Prisoners of war.

Prisoners of war--Germany--History--20th century.

Imperialism--History--20th century.

Imperialism.

World War, 1914-1918--Influence.

Germany--Colonies--Africa--History--20th century.

Germany.

Germany--Colonies--Asia--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 245 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Summary:

With the outbreak of war in 1914, an estimated 30,000 German civilians in African and Asian colonies were violently uprooted and imprisoned. Britain's First World War internment of German settlers seriously challenged the structures that underpinned nineteenth-century imperialism. Through its analysis of this internment, this book highlights the impact that the First World War had on the notion of a common European 'civilising mission' and the image of empire in the early twentieth century. Mahon Murphy examines the effect of the war on a collective European colonial identity, perceptions of internment in the extra-European theatres of war, and empires in transition during war. Policymakers were forced to address difficult questions about the future rule of Germany's colonies and the nature of empire in general. Far from a conflict restricted to European powers, the First World War triggered a worldwide remaking of ideas, institutions and geopolitics.

Contents:

Part I. Empire, internment and the First World War

Internment in the First World War and the global context

The geography of internment

Part II. The experience of internment

Rum, solitary and the lash: violence against prisoners of war

Der krieg ist kein afternoon tea! Identity and internment

The propaganda of internment: presenting the colonial conflict to Europe

Part III. Global connections

The British empire and the global internment system

The end of German colonial rule: repatriation

Conclusion.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 15 Sep 2017).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-108-51434-0

1-108-51583-5

1-108-50689-5

1-108-51732-3

1-108-52477-X

1-108-28453-1

1-108-51881-8