The Dependent Empire, 1900-1948 ― Colonies, Protectorates, and Mandates : Select Documents on the Constitutional History of the British Empire and Commonwealth

The penultimate volume in this documentary series covers the first part of the 20th century decolonization of the British Empire, concluding with Ceylon's independence. It illustrates constitutional developments in the West Indies, Mauritius and Seychelles, Hong Kong, Fiji, the Western Pacific, Gibraltar, the Falklands, and Africa, and both advance and retreat in Malta and Cyprus. It covers Egypt and the mandates of Palestine, Transjordania, and Mesopotamia. The introduction shows the changes in attitudes to and contents of colonial rule during the period. The concluding date saw Ceylon's membership in the Commonwealth, an abortive union of Malaya replaced by a federation, a failed initiative in Cyprus, abortive reform in Hong Kong, treaty revision in Egypt, policy change in the Sudan, and the establishment of Israel.

FREDERICK MADDEN has retired as Professorial Fellow and Reader in Commonwealth Government at Nuffield College. Previously, he was Beit Lecturer in Colonial History. He is the author of several books, including the earlier volumes in this series,Oxford and the Idea of Commonwealth: Australia and Britian: Imperial Constitutional Documents, 1765-1965, A Supplement and British Colonial Developments.

JOHN DARWIN is Beit Lecturer in the History of the British Commonwealth and a Faculty Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford. He is the author ofBritain, Egypt and the Middle East: Imperial Policy in the Aftermath of War (1981),Britain and Decolonization: The Retreat From Empire in the Post-War World (1988), andThe End of the British Empire: The Historical Debate (1991).