As part of the growing scholarship on family and empire, this study examines Britain’s presence in China through the lens of one family, arguing that, as the physical embodiment of the imperial project, it provided a social and cultural mechanism for mediating Britain’s imperial power, authority and presence, and forging connections and networks throughout the expanding British world. Drawing on public and private papers, it breaks significant new ground in its development of those themes.
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Editors’ Preface
- Acknowledgments/Use of Names
- List of Illustrations
- List of Abbreviations
- Hillier Family Tree
- Medhurst Family Tree
- Map of Principal Locations of the Hillier & Medhurst Families, 1817–1927
- Map of the Chinese Railway network,1909
- Introduction:Family, China and The British World
- Part 1: 1817–1860
- 1. Preparing for Entry
- 2. Opening the Treaty Ports
- 3. Colonising Hong Kong
- 4. Strong Wives
- Part 2: 1857–1927
- 5. Early Influences and Early Careers
- 6. The New Imperialism
- 7. Intimate Empire
- 8. Reform and Revolution, War and Withdrawal
- 9. Conclusion
- Time-Line
- Bibliography
- Index
- Back Cover