British Imperialism and Australian Nationalism: Manipulation, Conflict and Compromise in the Late Nineteenth Century
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British Imperialism and Australian Nationalism: Manipulation, Conflict and Compromise in the Late Nineteenth Century
| Author(s) | Martin, Ged |
|---|---|
| Abstract | There was, of course, no such thing as ‘British imperialism’. Imperialists certainly abounded, people who thrilled at the thought of a world-wide empire and schemed to have it extended. But ‘imperialism’, that self-propelled lawn-mower roaming the world to create level playing fields for capitalism – the sooner historians discard this nonsensical notion, the better. Luke Trainor disagrees, he divides his coverage of the British-Australian relationship between 1880 and 1900 into three periods, each organized into chapters and sub-sections, mostly terminating with analytic reflections. In addition, an introduction and conclusion discuss theory. The core of the book covers 1887 to 1894, exploring nationality, gender and race. The ‘characteristic form’ of the late nineteenth-century ‘process of imperialism’ was the ‘extension of empire and rule of indigenous peoples’, expressed in ‘competitive annexation of territory’. Trainor aims at the ‘integration of the different facets of imperialism’, to offer an interpretation ‘broader than that suggested by classic theories’. We variously encounter social and political imperialism, imperialism as discourse, rhetoric and slogan. Some chapter summaries make only passing reference to the theme, claiming, for instance, that Australian federation ‘was hijacked by imperialism’ or that there was ‘a clash of imperialism and nationalism’ in the later 1880s. (Among Australian historians, ‘nationalism’ has never had much content, and Trainor wisely confines himself to a brief allusion to the Boers and the Philippines in order to claim that the anaemic Australian pastiche ‘scarcely needs explanation’.) It is not always easy to be sure which ‘particular notion of British imperialism’ was in play. By the early 1880s, British governments backed an Australian federation. Since the federation campaign was a Victorian drive to extend its high tariff wall around the continent, this was presumably not the ‘imperialism of free trade’. Nor is it clear how the decision in 1886 of the governor of New South Wales to commute the death sentences on five of the nine men guilty of a horrific gang rape represents an ‘intersection of imperialism, nationalism and gender’, not least since Lord Carrington acted on ministerial advice. Similarly, the London dock strike of 1889 and the antipodean Maritime strikes of 1890 were related events, but hardly – as Trainor claims – an interconnected process of ‘working-class co-operation across the globe’ against ‘British imperialism’. Trainor discerns mischief in the low-key British campaign to persuade the Australian colonies to contribute to the costs of naval defence. ‘Not all concealment is ideology but the concept does involve a deception whereby some contradictions are obscured and with them, the class interests they serve,’ he pronounces. ‘There are inversions involved whereby “defence” means attack and “defence forces” can be directed inwards against those who pay for them.’ It seems odd that ‘imperialism’ sought to con the Australians into paying for naval forces, which were not very easily ‘directed inwards’, rather than an inter-colonial army, a much more effective force for upholding ruling-class interests against outback miners and shearers. Trainor offers a serious attempt to discuss a key period of Australia’s history within the discourse of ‘imperialism’. |
| IssueNo | 445 |
| Pages | 247-249 |
| Article | Access to Article |
| Source | English Historical Review |
| VolumeNo | 112 |
| PubDate | February 1997 |
| ISBN_ISSN | 0013-8266 |
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