
Title Details
368 Pages
23.4 x 15.6 cm
1 b/w illus.
Series: Royal Historical Society Studies in History New Series
Series Vol. Number:
37
Imprint: Boydell Press
Managing the British Empire
The Crown Agents, 1833-1914
- Description
- Contents
- Reviews
First in-depth account of the role played by the Crown Agents in the growth of the colonies.
The Crown Agents Office played a crucial role in colonial development. Acting in the United Kingdom as the commercial and financial agent for the crown colonies, the Agency supplied all non-locally manufactured stores required bycolonial governments, issued their London loans, managed their UK investments, and supervised the construction of their railways, harbours and other public works. In addition, the Office supervised the award of colonial land and mineral concessions, monitored the colonial banking and currency system, and performed a personnel role, paying colonial service salaries and pensions, recruiting technical officers, and arranging the transport of officers, troopsand Indian indentured labour. In this important book, the first in-depth investigation of the Agency, David Sunderland examines each of these services in turn, determining in each case whether the Crown Agents' performance benefited their clients, the UK economy or themselves. His book is thus both an account of a remarkable and unique organisation and a fascinating examination of the "nuts and bolts" of nineteenth-century development.
David Sunderland is Reader in Business History, Greenwich University.
The Crown Agents Office played a crucial role in colonial development. Acting in the United Kingdom as the commercial and financial agent for the crown colonies, the Agency supplied all non-locally manufactured stores required bycolonial governments, issued their London loans, managed their UK investments, and supervised the construction of their railways, harbours and other public works. In addition, the Office supervised the award of colonial land and mineral concessions, monitored the colonial banking and currency system, and performed a personnel role, paying colonial service salaries and pensions, recruiting technical officers, and arranging the transport of officers, troopsand Indian indentured labour. In this important book, the first in-depth investigation of the Agency, David Sunderland examines each of these services in turn, determining in each case whether the Crown Agents' performance benefited their clients, the UK economy or themselves. His book is thus both an account of a remarkable and unique organisation and a fascinating examination of the "nuts and bolts" of nineteenth-century development.
David Sunderland is Reader in Business History, Greenwich University.
Introduction
The Office of the Crown Agents
Supply monopoly and the purchase of goods
Service provision: costs, delay, quality
The department system of infrastructure construction
Construction by contractor, private sector and public works
Public loan issue
The external finance safety net; monitoring the Crown Agents
External finance, the remittance of funds and colonial investments after 1899
Concessions, currency and stamps
The Crown Agents and personnel
The enquiries of 1901 and 1908
The Office of the Crown Agents
Supply monopoly and the purchase of goods
Service provision: costs, delay, quality
The department system of infrastructure construction
Construction by contractor, private sector and public works
Public loan issue
The external finance safety net; monitoring the Crown Agents
External finance, the remittance of funds and colonial investments after 1899
Concessions, currency and stamps
The Crown Agents and personnel
The enquiries of 1901 and 1908
"Based on a detailed reading of difficult archival material [this book] provides the first major account of the role and development of the Crown Agents. [It] makes a valuable addition to the historical literature in many different fields. These range from commercial, financial and business history to imperial, administrative and political history. As such it should be welcomed." ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW
"A great read." THE OVERSEAS PENSIONER
Paperback
9781843838418
August 2013
£21.99 / $31.95
Hardcover
9780861932672
August 2004
£55.00 / $75.00
Title Details
368 Pages
2.34 x 1.56 cm
1 b/w illus.
Series: Royal Historical Society Studies in History New Series
Series Vol. Number:
37
Imprint: Boydell Press