The British Commonwealth

Written by a senior Indian diplomat who has until recently also served as Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General, this book provides a unique and far-reaching exploration of the British Commonwealth, and its impact since the second World War on the process of Britain adjusting to a world without Empire. Whither the Commonwealth now? What is its record of achievement; what are the benefits of membership to countries in terms of collective political influence, trade, investment, aid, travel and education? Can any practical good be envisaged for this nearly moribund post-colonial organization? Britain, which brought the association into being and is central to it, would have to play a key part in determining its future. But in coming to such decisions, the British Government faces great problems of perception, both from the Monarchy and the British public.

From its modest to its recent disappearance, the British Empire was an extraordinary and paradoxical entity. North America, Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Australasia and innumerable small islands and territories have been fundamentally shaped - economically, socially and politically - by a nation whose imperial drive came from a bewildering mixture of rapacity and moral zeal, of high-mindedness and viciousness, of strategic cunning and feckless neglect. Martin Kitchen has written a fascinating, crisp, informative account of the rise and fall of the British Empire, concentrating on the 19th and 20th centuries but giving the background of the 'First British Empire', which was lost with the creating of the United States of America. His book is of particular value in relating the importance of the Empire to Britain's success as the only genuinely world power in the Victorian era and to Britain's ability to win the two great wars of the 20th century.

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. Multiculturalism as a distinct form of liberal-democratic governance gained widespread acceptance after World War II, but in recent years this consensus has been fractured. Multiculturalism in the British Commonwealth examines cultural diversity across the postwar Commonwealth, situating modern multiculturalism in its national, international, and historical contexts. Bringing together practitioners from across the humanities and social sciences to explore the legal, political, and philosophical issues involved, these essays address common questions: What is postwar multiculturalism? Why did it come about? How have social actors responded to it? In addition to chapters on Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand, this volume also covers India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, and Trinidad, tracing the historical roots of contemporary dilemmas back to the intertwined legacies of imperialism and liberalism. In so doing it demonstrates that multiculturalism has implications that stretch far beyond its current formulations in public and academic discourse.

Shows the role of historians in making 'Dominion' status, which combined autonomy with unity and provided the peaceful route by which Canada, Australia and New Zealand gained their independence within the British Commmonwealth of Nations, while South Africa, the Irish Free State and India, also Dominions, chose to become republics.

The proportions of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan were huge. At its peak, the plan was graduating over 3,000 aircrew a month from 107 training schools across Canada. In total, graduates numbered more than 130,000. This enormous war effort made Canada WWII's "aerodrome of democracy." Full of personal anecdotes, "Wings For Victory is the story of the BCATP and of the politicians who negotiated it into existence, of the officers and airmen of the RCAF and the RAF, and of the many civilians who made it work day by day. Above all, it is the story of the young men who entered the scheme as clerks and farmers, students and salesmen, and graduated as pilots, navigators, air gunners, air bombers, and flight engineers. In the late 1930s, mindful of the need to play an important role in the looming war, Canadian politicians conceived of a plan that would entail a major commitment to the war effort yet keep the country's young men at home and avoid the horrendous loss of Canadian lives experienced on the ground in WWI. The British Commonwealth Air training Plan was born, whereby young recruits from Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand would join their Canadian counterparts in training schools to be set up across the country. Here they would be trained to fight the battles of the new war, in the air. Canada was the ideal location, far enough away from the threat of air raids, and with plenty of wide open space for the business of building airfields and teaching men to fly. In a huge, country-wide mobilization of personnel and resources, training facilities were hastily erected from Vancouver to Charlottetown. And when young recruits from around the globe started pouringinto the scores of towns and villages across the map selected as sites for the BCATP, communities were turned upside down. Spencer Dunmore follows these raw young recruits through the lengthy selection process and training regimen that awaited them so far from home. Many wouldn't make it. A large number "washed out," finding themselves no longer considered pilot material. The training process would injure some and kill some more. A handful would discover that, although they had always dreamed of flying, they loathed and feared the reality of it. But masses of them were eventually successful and were shipped to Europe, where they put their Canadian training to the ultimate test, winning the war in the air.