This volume adopts a distinctive thematic approach to the history of British imperialism from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, bringing together leading scholars representing an unusually wide range of historical approaches to the British Empire. The contributors tackle the core themes in the history of the British Empire, including economics, religion, ideology, migration, the state, foundations of empire, decolonization, colonial knowledge, and imperial culture and identities. The essays trace the trajectory of their subject and explore how current understandings of issues have developed, examining key debates among historians. The British Empire is essential reading for all students and scholars of imperial and colonial history. Contributors: Tony Ballantyne, John Darwin, Andrew Dilley, Elizabeth Elbourne, Kent Fedorowich, Eliga Gould, Catherine Hall, Stephen Howe, Sarah Stockwell, Andrew Thompson, Stuart Ward, and Jon Wilson.