Dictionary of the British Empire and Commonwealth - Alan Palmer

This dictionary supplies in alphabetical order some 650 insights into the Imperial past and Commonwealth present. It is a reference companion to the political, cultural, religious, military and economic events that have shaped the transformation of a Victorian Empire into a world community of 51 sovereign states and 26 remaining dependencies, still all linked in free association.;The "Dictionary" looks back to the beginning of British maritime expansion but also concentrates chiefly on the last two centuries. As well as providing outline histories of individual member states it also offers guidance to the many Commonwealth organizations which link them in cultural, scientific and economic co-operation.;The book also includes biographical sketches of politicians and administrators, missionaries and explorers, soldiers and seafarers, pioneers of the air routes, engineers and inventors, and many other men and women who contributed to the arts, to physical and medical science and to literature. There are entries on cinema and the theatre, on sports shared by Commonwealth members, on natural disasters such as fire and earthquake, and on the relics of an Imperial presence - railways, hill stations, even hotels. The text is supplemented by seven maps, a summary chart, and suggestions for further reading. Students of history and current affairs, journalists, diplomats and others interested professionally in the countries of the Commonwealth should find the Dictionary a reference work of continuing value, both as a source of facts and dates, and as an aid to understanding the global events of yesterday and today and their influence on the world tomorrow.