ABSTRACT

This article examines a collection of several hundred letters sent to Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain in 1903. Written by British and colonial subjects from a wide range of different backgrounds and residing across the world, these letters addressed a variety of issues in the political, social, and imperial life of Edwardian British World. The collection offers a window into the minds and lives of a conscious and actively engaged sample of British and colonial subjects. The authors frequently wrote on the subject of British imperialism, sharing their ideas, feelings, and interactions with the empire with one of Britain’s most outspoken imperialists. The letters demonstrate a broad consensus of support for and pride in the empire. The particular ways in which individual authors conceptualised and defined theirs and Britain’s imperial relationships, however, show a variety of disagreements about the present and future of Britain’s place in the world. Nevertheless, these authors recognised their nation was inextricably connected with the rest of the world and could not exist in isolation, and understood and articulated this connection through the language of imperialism.

摘要

本文研究了1903年寄给殖民地事务部长约瑟夫·张伯伦（Joseph Chamberlain）的几百封信。这些信是由来自不同背景，遍布世界各地的英国和殖民地主题撰写的，这些信涉及政治，社会，和爱德华时代的英国世界的帝国生活。该收藏品为了解英国和殖民地主题的有意识且积极参与的人们的思想和生活提供了一个窗口。作者经常以英国帝国主义为题，与英国最直言不讳的帝国主义者之一分享他们的思想，感情以及与帝国的互动。这些信件表明了对帝国的支持和自豪的广泛共识。然而，个别作者概念化和定义他们与英国的帝国关系的特殊方式，显示出对英国在世界上的地位和未来的种种分歧。然而，这些作者承认他们的国家与世界其他国家有着千丝万缕的联系，不能孤立地存在，并通过帝国主义的语言来理解和阐明这种联系。