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Little Wars of Empire is a group biography of British veterans who experienced multiple wars across the British empire. Throughout the nineteenth century, Britain was constantly at war in its colonies, defending against anti-colonial resistance or trying to expand its influence. The veterans of these wars did not disappear once they were over, and many of them went on to later experience World War I.
By using personal sources such as letters, diaries, and photograph albums, this book works to show how colonial violence and British military history depend upon one another, and argues that colonial war fundamentally shaped the British experience of empire. This was true for all kinds of British veterans, from British Army soldiers and officers to nurses and military families, whose experiences demonstrate the central place of colonial violence to British life.
Introduction
1 War and the colonial careerist: colonial war as professional success in the lives of British army officers
2 Point and shoot: the violence and ambivalence of soldiers’ photography
3 The working class at war: family memory and the erasure of empire
4 White aprons in dirty wars: the professionalization of military nursing in Britain’s colonial conflicts
5 Little wars in the family tree: multi-generational service in the British family
Conclusion