As the previous volumes in this series have shown, Britain's system of unfederal government had, by 1840, passed a cultural crossroads. There had been a parting of the ways in which the old representative system that had provided rule for colonies (including those in America and the Caribbean) in earlier centuries was being superseded. In this fourth volume Madden and Fieldhouse focus on those colonies in North America, Australasia, and South Africa where British subjects had settled in considerable numbers, and where the restrictions of the old system had been outgrown and representative and responsible government was developing toward full self-government. This fourth volume illustrates the larger themes in the evolution of self-government in these colonies.

The book examines the theme of self-government through four separate sections. Section I approaches the issue from the British viewpoint, surveying diverse concepts of the empire, the changes in imperial institutions, and attitudes toward trade, defense, and legal uniformity. Section II examines the evolution of, and later developments in, responsible government in these settled colonies, and Section III looks at the extension of self-government beyond the confines of internal domestic affairs. Finally, Section IV concentrates on the experiments in federal government among the contiguous groupings of colonies in North America, Australasia, and South Africa. The book also includes a preface with background and historical data, a note on primary and secondary sources, a listing of Secretaries of State from 1839 to 1903, and a comprehensive index. As with all the books in this series, this volume will be an important reference source for courses in British history as well as in the history of colonization. It will also be a valuable addition to university, research, and public libraries.