Editors’ Introduction: Networks in Imperial History

Abstract

Over the course of the last two decades Imperial history has undergone a revival. Inspired by the ‘cultural turn’ and the rise of Global history, Imperial historians have moved away from accounts that focus on a metropolitan centre and a colonial periphery. Instead historians have advocated a decentred approach to the study of empire, which emphasises the importance of playing close attention to the multiple networks of capital, goods, information and people that existed within and between empires. While these networked understandings of empire have added much to our understanding of imperialism, the articles in this special issue argue that historians must remain sensitive to the specifics of the imperial experience, the limits of imperialism’s global reach, and the way in which imperialism could lead to new forms of exclusion and inequality.