I am starting my #KeepKidsReading week book reviews with a newly-published non-fiction title that caught my eye. Sathnam Sangera published his best-selling book fort adults Empireland: How imperialism has shaped modern Britain in 2021. He is a journalist and has long campaigned for a more grown-up debate about the UK’s history of empire-building, what this means for us today and how it can help us manage some of the issues that arise from our multi-cultural society. Sathnam was part of a panel at the Hay Festival in a debate I saw there about Britain’s stately homes, the riches within them and how we as a society might engage with or view them in the modern era. It was fascinating.
The topic is certainly gaining traction (not before time, many would argue) and it is encouraging to see a book aimed at children on the subject. Sathnam Sanghera acknowledges the wonderful Horrible Histories series (books and television) for changing the way certain topics are taught to young people, making them accessible as well as entertaining. Sanghera sets out to do the same here, though it is a little heavier on the education than the entertainment side.
The author begins by explaining what the British Empire was and how Britain came to be perhaps the most powerful nation on earth. I learned quite a lot! I did not know, for example, that the British Empire was actually seven times larger than the Roman Empire and endured for a similar period of time.
He goes on to talk about some of the things we think of as ‘British’ that we actually imported from other parts of the Empire, not least tea! There are a number of pen-portraits of Empire figures, from the controversial explorers and colonisers, such as Robert Clive, to the many black and brown skinned individuals whose place in history has been minimised, such as Mary Seacole (who played just as big a role in the Crimean War as her white counterpart Florence Nightingale).
Sanghera does not shy away from controversial topics in this book and I think he handles them very well. For example, a theme running throughout is how objects (and indeed natural resources and human labour) were forcibly removed from their countries of origin. He alludes to the debate currently ongoing about the return of precious artefacts to their original owners. He also busts plenty of myths! For example, in the debate about whether British museums should return looted artefacts Sanghera points out that less than 1% of the British Museum’s current collection is on display so the place would hardly be hollowed out if even a lot of items were returned.
The author addresses head-on the fact that to many people the concept of ‘the British Empire’ remains sacred. He explains carefully why some people are made angry by discussions about it, without taking up a polar position himself. I think he manages quite successfully to explain why it remains important to people, whilst also equipping his readers with factual information and even a few strategies for handling discussions. He even explains terms such as ‘exceptionalism’ and ‘jingoism’ in simple but effective terms, which is quite something.
As you can probably guess, I rather liked this book and would recommend it to any parent keen for their child to have a grasp of this topic (which would probably be better than very many adults’ grasp!). It is definitely not just for families with multi-cultural heritage. I had some slight reservations about the title, because it suggests a ‘position’ that is actually much more nuanced in the book. But it turns heads I suppose.
Highly recommended (and for adults too!). It is published in paperback by the always wonderful Puffin Books, is very well illustrated and is set out in highly digestible chunks.
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