Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
This book uncovers a forgotten campaign of the First World War, the fight to dominate South America. Propelled by the fear of British businessmen, Britain created a complex economic war against local Germans, with the aim of permanently overturning German dominance in lucrative avenues of international trade. By utilizing archives in Britain and South America, Dehne produces a lively account of the way the campaign was conducted on both sides of the Atlantic.
This book will persuade anyone interested in the First World War that the conflict must be examined beyond the battlefields of Europe. It comprises a significant contribution to the new field of the history of globalization, and it will appeal to anyone interested in the economic, diplomatic, and imperial history of the twentieth century. Suggesting new reasons for the emergence of anti-foreign populism in South American states, it will also be of interest to Latin American history students.
In every respect this is an excellent piece of work. Dehne deepens our understanding of
the First World War through scholarly analysis of one of its most neglected aspects. He
challenges us to think widely about the nature of that war, the way it was fought, and the
long lead up to it. He helps us to see the conflict in South America in the broadest way
possible, and against broad historiographical debates. Dehne describes his aim in the
following terms:
In short, this book globalizes a war that took place in what has been recognized as an early era
of globalization. In doing so, it integrates the hitherto disparate histories of the First World
War, particularly the economic war, with those of imperialism, dependency, and national
identity. (p. 5)
In this the author has amply succeeded. This book is a good and important one.
Acknowledgments
Maps
Introduction
1. The rise of the Anglo-German antagonism in South America, 1900-14
2. “What sort of patriotism is this?” Demanding changes to the British war, August 1914-December 1915
3. The British government redefines Germanness
4. The “ceaseless vigil”: Compiling the Statutory Blacklist
5. Fighting a “constructive” war
6. Cloaks, Turks, the Octopus, and other Undesirables: Travails of the trade warriors in South America
7. How the economic war shaped South American engagement in the World War
8. Attempting to bring Greater Britain into the post-war
Conclusion: Remembering the Great War in South America
Bibliography
Index