Empire and Sexuality: The British Experience (Studies in Imperialism) - Hardcover

This study of British imperial history has been aimed at those who are interested in exploring the underlying realities of British expansion on the world stage. This book deals specifically with sex and its effect on the Empire. The book discusses the differences between the private lives and public responsibilities of the men who ran the Empire. It examines the issues of marriage, celibacy and women, Victorian sexuality and sexual opportunity. It covers the variety of communities in the Empire - plantations, trading posts, mining compounds, convict settlements, mission stations and settler communities - and discusses sexual life in India with emphasis on promiscuity and the resulting levels of venereal disease in the Indian Army. The book also discusses the problems resulting from polygamy, the relationship between poverty and prostitution and the issue of white slavery. It examines the change in sexual attitudes during the Edwardian era and cites specific cases, tragedies and scandals, including the Silberrad case, the Crewe circular and the "Purity Campaign", resulting from sexual encounters. Finally, the author draws conclusions from the articles and essays included in the book and relates the issues of race, sex and the Empire, finally concluding that in his opinion a return to Victorian sexual values is the last thing the world needs.