Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire

Read for my History Workshop (A class required for my History Major)

If I rated books I read for school Ornamentalism would do poorly. I have read David Cannadine before for this exact same class, and I disagree with his ideas of class. While I completely disagree with Cannadine when it comes to issues of class, I kind of agree with his ideas on Ornamentalism and Empire. I think Cannadine is not incorrect in his portrayal of how the British sought to control their Empire through the use of hierarchy and status, it his dismissal of race as a factor in looking at Empire that I disagree with. I agree more with Edward Said's ideas of Orientalism over Cannadine's Ornamentalism, and I honestly believe if Cannadine brought in parts of show more Orientalism then that would strengthen his argument. To ignore or to downplay race in the British Empire, to me, is poor history. Cannadine in my opinion at times doesn't even justify his reasons for why race is not critical in the history of the Empire. His reasoning being that Indian princes could get the same medals and honors as a Colonial Governor is almost the same as saying that because Barack Obama was elected President of the United States than racism in the United States has been solved. Cannadine's argument is weak and shows a lack of critical historical analysis that isn't blinded for nostalgia for the Empire. In my history classes I have peers that agree with Cannadine in ways, but still found his argument lacking. Cannadine himself solely focuses in on White men in the Empire which is a great example of race being important to the Empire, who are the major benefactors of Empire? Who are the ones leading the Empire? Those are some questions that Cannadine almost ignores in this book and I think that hurts his argument. show less

Author presents a view of the British Empire as one based upon the social order existing in England. Thus class was more important than race. As example, after the Indian Mutiny of 1857, the British relied upon using Indian princes to help govern the country.

Adam Foulds, novelist and poet, has chosen to discuss David Cannadine’s Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire , on FiveBooks (http://five-books.com) as one of the top five on his subject - The Mau Mau Uprising and The Fading Empire, saying that:

“… I think he’s a really interesting historian who writes very beautifully. It’s a historical essay – the thesis of which is somewhat contra Edward Said’s arguments in his book Orientalism. Part of Cannadine’s argument is that there was much more cultural interpenetration in the British Empire, certainly in India, than Said suggests. But also its central contention is that the British Empire wanted to see in other cultures a replication of its own power structure, and show more of its own aristocracy and royalty..…”.

The full interview is available here: http://thebrowser.com/books/interviews/adam-foulds show less