Fight or Flight: Britain, France, and their Roads from Empire by Martin Thomas (

by Martin Thomas

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Fight or Flight by Martin Thomas Estimated delivery 3-12 business days Format Hardcover Condition Brand New Description The story of the dramatic collapse of the British and French colonial empires in the aftermath of the Second World War - now told for the first time as part of one global process Publisher Description Although shattered by war, in 1945 Britain and France still controlled the world s two largest colonial empires, with imperial territories stretched over four continents. And they appeared determined to keep them: the roll-call of British and French politicians, soldiers, settlers and writers who promised in word and print at this time to defend their colonial possessions at all costs is a long one. Yet, within twenty years both empires had almost completelydisappeared. The collapse was cataclysmic. Peaceable transfers of power were eclipsed by episodes of territorial partition and mass violence whose bitter aftermath still of millions across four continents were caught up in the biggest reconfiguration of the international system ever seen. In the meantime, even the most dogged imperialists, who had once stiffly defended imperial rule, ultimately bent to the wind of change. By the early 1950s Winston Churchill had retreated from his wartime pledge to keep Britain s Empire intact. And General de Gaulle, who quit the French presidency in 1946 complaining that France s new post-wardemocracy would never hang on to the country s imperial prizes, narrowly escaped as

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
• Year: 2014
• Binding: Hardcover
• ISBN: 9780199698271
• Condition: Fine

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