The Cambridge School of historiography was a

school of thought A school of thought, or intellectual tradition, is the perspective of a group of people who share common characteristics of opinion or outlook of a philosophy, discipline, belief, social movement, economics, cultural movement, or art movement. H ...

which approached the study of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

from the imperialist point of view. It emerged especially at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in the 1960s.

John Andrew Gallagher John Andrew Gallagher (1 April 1919 – 5 March 1980), known as Jack Gallagher, was an historian of the British Empire who between 1963 and 1970 held the Beit Professorship of Commonwealth History at the University of Oxford and from 1971 until ...

(1919-80) was especially influential, particularly in his article with

Ronald Robinson Ronald "Robbie" Edward Robinson, FBA (3 September 1920 – 19 June 1999) was a distinguished historian of the British Empire who between 1971 and 1987 held the Beit Professorship of Commonwealth History at the University of Oxford. After school ...

on "

The Imperialism of Free Trade "The Imperialism of Free Trade" is an academic article by John Gallagher and Ronald Robinson first published in ''The Economic History Review'' in 1953. The article was influential in the debate concerning the causes of British imperial expansio ...

". Leaders of the School include Anil Seal, Gordon Johnson, Richard Gordon, and David A. Washbrook.

Selected works

* Gallagher, John, and Ronald Robinson. "The Imperialism of Free Trade," ''Economic History Review'' (August 1953) 6#1 pp 1–15, {{doi, 10.1111/j.1468-0289.1953.tb01482.x
in JSTOR
* Gallagher, John. ''The Decline, Revival and Fall of the British Empire'' (Cambridge, 1982
excerpt and text search
* Anil Seal, ''The Emergence of Indian Nationalism: Competition and Collaboration in the Later Nineteenth Century'' (1971) * Gordon Johnson, ''Provincial Politics and Indian Nationalism: Bombay and the Indian National Congress 1880-1915'' (2005) * Rosalind O'Hanlon and

David Washbrook David Anthony Washbrook (25 April 194824 January 2021) was a British historian and author who studied modern India with a specific focus on the socio-political and economic conditions of South India between the 18th and 20th centuries. He was the ...

, eds. ''Religious Cultures in Early Modern India: New Perspectives'' (2011) * Robinson, Ronald, John Gallagher and Alice Denny. '' Africa and the Victorians: The Official Mind of Imperialism'' (1978)

Criticism

Critics have attacked various ideas of the School. In ''The New Imperial Histories Reader,'' Stephen Howe has assembled articles by critics who take aim especially at

P. J. Marshall Peter James Marshall (born 1933 in Calcutta) is a British historian known for his work on the British Empire, particularly the activities of British East India Company servants in 18th-century Bengal, and also the history of British involvemen ...

D. K. Fieldhouse David Kenneth Fieldhouse, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (7 June 1925 – 28 October 2018) was an English historian of the British Empire who between 1981 and 1992 held the Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History, Vere Harmswor ...

, Robinson and Gallagher, and

A. G. Hopkins Antony "Tony" Gerald Hopkins, FBA (born 21 February 1938) is a British historian specialising in the economic history of Africa, European colonialism, and globalisation. He is Emeritus Smuts Professor of Commonwealth History at the Universi ...

Howard Spodek Howard Spodek (born c. 1941) is an American-born world historian, a professor of history and geography and urban studies at Temple University.social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

models, downplaying of ideology, and their excessive emphasis on Indian self-seeking and the importance of British imperial initiatives in achieving modernization. He recommends a deeper appreciation of Indian initiatives, and more attention to the emerging importance of public life in many areas of society rather than just a concentration on politics.Howard Spodek, "Pluralist Politics in British India: The Cambridge Cluster of Historians of Modern India," ''American Historical Review,'' (June 1979) 84#3 pp 688-707

Selected works

Criticism

See also

Notes

Further reading