Empireworld by Sathnam Sanghera is the sequel to his excellent Empireworld which I review fleetingly here. I listened to the audiobook version of this book, which was excellently read by Homer Todiwala. The author seeks to show the effect on the greater world today of the legacy of the British Empire. This writing is important as it puts forward an alternative view to that which would encourage us to think that Empire and colonialism were always a good thing and counters the air of triumphalism which often exists when these matters are discussed. It’s a book that has engendered a good deal of criticism from people who feel that it is unnecessarily critical of the British Empire – I am not one of those people and I found this book fascinating.
The author travels to ex-British colonies across the world and shows how the legacy of Empire is still affecting them. He travels to and writes about the Caribbean, Mauritius, India and various countries in Africa, among others. He talks about the physical look of cities, the systems of governments and the law, trade patterns, economies, and other areas which colonialism affected. He spends time showing how Christian missionaries were agents of colonialism and how their influence affected counties and populations. He also discusses less weighty matters such as what side of the road people drive down in which countries.
This isn’t a hugely long book so it cannot contain all the views and theories about Empire but what it does well is give us a view of the effects of colonialism from the point of view of the colonised, so that the reader can look out for signs of it for themselves. There are plenty of examples, combined with facts and figures, all of which are presented in a very readable way. I found it a very thought provoking book and I felt that it was well read and easily understandable in the audio version.
Anne Is Reading 