Caroline Elkins

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Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest last week at Windsor Castle, home to monarchs for the past thousand years. What was not laid to rest with the Queen’s internment was an important question: What does the future look like for countries of the Commonwealth, where the British monarch remains the head of state?

Charles III is the King today of 14 “realms” outside of the British Isles. In some of those realms, such as Australia, Canada and Jamaica, there are now calls to jettison the monarchy and instead install a republic, just as Barbados did last year.

A related question is also surfacing now: What is the legacy of the British Empire writ large?…  Seguir leyendo »

Una manifestación en Londres en la Plaza del Parlamento en 2020Credit...Isabel Infantes/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“Declaro ante todos ustedes que dedicaré toda mi vida, sea esta larga o corta, a su servicio y al servicio de esta gran familia imperial a la que todos pertenecemos”. Se cuenta que la princesa Isabel lloró cuando leyó su discurso por primera vez. Esas palabras, pronunciadas cuando cumplió 21 años, y retransmitidas por la radio en 1947 desde un jardín repleto de buganvillas en Ciudad del Cabo, proclamaban la futura encarnación del Reino Unido y su imperio y la Mancomunidad de Naciones en la joven integrante de la realeza.

En aquel momento, las demandas de independencia surgían por todo el Imperio de la posguerra.…  Seguir leyendo »

'Africans make up stories." I heard this refrain over and again while researching imperial history in Kenya. I was scarcely surprised when it came from former settlers and colonial officials living out their days in the country's bucolic highlands. But I was concerned to find that this position took on intractable proportions among some historians.

At the time of decolonisation, colonial officials destroyed and removed tons of documents from Kenya. To overcome this, I collected hundreds of oral testimonies and integrated them with fragments of remaining archival evidence to challenge entrenched views of British imperialism.

My methods drew sharp criticism. Revising the myths of British imperial benevolence cut to the heart of national identity, challenging decades-old scholarship and professional reputations.…  Seguir leyendo »