Dimensions
140 x 205 x 25mm
From Antiquity to the Present.
The cultures of most of the world's races, if not all, are the outcome of prolonged periods of migration and many of the stories we tell ourselves about our pasts, and our futures, are tales of peregrination. They are also about settlement, the need to confine our world to more manageable spaces and the struggle to set limits to our lives.
Anthony Pagden begins his history of empire with the ancient Greeks, who saw themselves as "extreme voyagers". They were explorers who witnessed one of the most decisive turning points in human history: the moment when nomadic life gave way to one which was agricultural, city-dwelling and settled. He goes on to analyse the Romans, who transformed migration into a form of domination and sought to impose "civility" - the lifestyle and laws of the city - on all whom they conquered.
The book culminates in an account of the great European overseas migrations, such as the growth of the British Empire, and the consequences of the initial encounters between "civilised" Europeans and "barbarian" aborigines, the dramatic effects of which are still felt acutely today.
Pagden concludes with the failure of imperialism in the twentieth century. In the place of empire, he looks at the rise of the European Union and the concept of "globalisation". Drawing upon literary, anthropological and historical sources from throughout the world, this book tells the stories of the great movement of peoples in European history. It is a gripping narrative told by one of the finest and most cosmopolitan historians in the English-speaking world.
