Strange Death of the Liberal Empire: Lord Selborne in South Africa

Part political biography and part study of imperialism, The Strange Death of the Liberal Empire is an examination of Lord Selborne's career as high commissioner for South Africa from 1905 to 1910.

David Torrance examines Lord Selborne's conception of empire and, by implication, the nature of British imperialism, focusing on the Chinese labour controversy, the self-government issue, the development of racial segregation, and the creation of the Union of South Africa. He reassesses the role of the imperial factor in shaping the state, economy, and society of twentieth-century South Africa. Behind the debate over imperial policy, Torrance shows, were deep and bitter divisions that were inextricably linked to domestic tensions within Britain itself.

The Strange Death of the Liberal Empire provides a clearer understanding of British imperial policy and of a crucial period in South African history.