Abstract:
Throughout the centuries imperial powers often established and expanded their empires because of perceived and exaggerated expectations of value, rather than scientifically proven advantages. It was the irrational rather than the rational that all too often determined the choice of imperial ventures, as well as consolidations. Examining imperial acquisitions and possessions that were ‘El Dorado’s’ and ‘inconsequential’ reveals much about reasons of state, construction of policy, and the contingencies of imperial governance. States do not always come to decisions logically or through evidence-based reasoning; decisions are often wrong; reasons for bad decisions can be twisted and turned to justify them differently; and there is a great reluctance to admit a wrong move let alone to reverse it. This study explores various cases from across the centuries and from across various imperial traditions to show that the ‘El Dorado’ theory and examples of ‘inconsequential possessions’ offer a solid explanation to account for imperialism and its irrationality.
Scope:
This edited volume aims to explore cases from the sixteenth century, when in pursuit of the legendary kingdom of El Dorado, Francisco Orellana and Gonzalo Pizarro left Quito in 1541 in a disastrous expedition towards the Amazon Basin, to the twentieth century. It will cover such famous examples as the Scottish Darien Scheme of the 1690s, to the French in West Africa in the nineteenth century, the latter being revealed as an ‘El Dorado’ in the 1970s by Andrew Kanya-Forstner. Already committed to the project is Professor Eric Richards, Flinders University of South Australia, who will contribute a chapter on the Scottish Darien Scheme; Dr Giuseppe Finaldi, University of Western Australia, who will write a chapter on the Italians in Libya, 1911-47; Dr Daniela Baratieri, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Western Australia, who will contribute a chapter on the Italians in Abyssinia; and the editor of the collection, Dr Andrekos Varnava, Flinders University of South Australia, who will contribute a chapter on British Cyprus, 1878-1960 and the British Sovereign Bases Areas post-1960. The editor is particularly keen to receive proposals on the British in the Ionian Islands, Singapore, Wei Hei Wei in China, and Palestine; the French in West Africa; the Germans in the Pacific; and the Australians in Papua New Guinea; but will welcome any case for an ‘El Dorado’ and/or ‘inconsequential possession’ put forward.
Proposals:
Please send an abstract (150-200 words) and short biography to Dr Andrekos Varnava,
Flinders University of South Australia, at
andrekos.varnava@flinders.edu.au by 14
November 2011. On 18 November all those who sent in proposals will be notified of
the result, and the book proposal will be sent to Manchester University Press, to be
considered as part of the Studies in Imperialism Series. The series editor of
Studies in Imperialism, Professor John MacKenzie, has expressed interest in
considering such a volume. Contributors will have until November 2012 to submit,
with a view to the book being published at the end of 2013 or the start of 2014.
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