Contents -- Introduction: The Concept of the Commonwealth -- Part I. The Pax Britannica, 1869-1917 -- Chapter 1. The Mid-Victorian Empire -- The Shape and Government of the Empire -- The Crisis of the 1870s -- (i) The Dominions -- Chapter 2. The Rise of the Dominions -- Colonization -- New Societies -- Chapter 3. The Evolution of Dominion Status -- Autochthonous Constitutions -- Gandhi in South Africa -- (ii) The Indian Empire -- Chapter 4. British Rule in India -- The Government of India -- Changing British Policies -- Chapter 5. The Indian Response to the Raj -- The Province of Burma -- The Colony of Ceylon -- (iii) Imperial Expansion -- Chapter 6. Malaysia and the Middle East -- British Malaya -- The Middle East -- Chapter 7. The Scramble for Tropical Africa -- West Africa -- East and Central Africa -- Chapter 8. The Pacific and the Far East -- The Western Pacific High Commission -- The China Coast and Weihaiwei -- (iv) The British Empire as a Power -- Chapter 9. Imperial Cooperation, 1869-1907 -- Colonial Conferences -- The Chamberlain Era -- Chapter 10. Imperial Cooperation, 1908-1917 -- Defense Cooperation -- The Round Table Movement -- Part II. The Commonwealth of Nations, 1918-1941 -- (i) The End of Unity -- Chapter 11. The Problem of Dominion Status -- Diplomacy -- Equality -- Chapter 12. The Failure of Imperial Defense -- Problems of Seapower -- Problems of Priorities -- (ii) The Reform of the Raj -- Chapter 13. India, 1918-1930 -- The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms -- Communal Issues -- Chapter 14. India, 1931-1941 -- The Great Debate over the Future of India -- Provincial Self-Government -- (iii) Trusteeship or Settlement in the Tropics -- Chapter 15. Burma and Ceylon between the Wars -- Burma -- Ceylon -- Chapter 16. Malaya and the Borneo Protectorates -- Malaya -- The Borneo Territories -- The Japanese Invasion.

Chapter 17. Problems of the Dependent Empire -- The Colonial Office Approach -- The Dualism of Colonial Policy -- Chapter 18. East and Central Africa -- East Africa -- Central Africa -- Chapter 19. The Atlantic Colonies -- British West Africa -- The Caribbean Colonies -- (iv) The Impact of Depression -- Chapter 20. The Mirage of Economic Unity -- Colonization and Currency -- Imperial Preference and Imperial Airways -- Part III. In the Age of the Pax Americana, 1942-1971 -- (i) The Decline of British Power -- Chapter 21. The Impact of World War II -- The War and the Commonwealth -- Commonwealth Contributions -- Chapter 22. The Dominions and the Commonwealth after 1945 -- Diplomacy and Defense -- Constitutions and Citizenship -- (ii) The Ending of the Raj -- Chapter 23. Independence for India, Pakistan, Burma, and Ceylon -- The Partition of India -- The Transfer of Power in Burma and Ceylon -- Chapter 24. Security in the Far East -- The Abortive Malayan Union -- Singapore, Malaysia, and the Commonwealth -- (iii) The Decade of Multiracial Optimism -- Chapter 25. Self-Government in West Africa -- Ghana -- Nigeria -- Sierra Leone and the Gambia -- Chapter 26. Dilemmas in East Africa -- Tanganyika to Tanzania -- Uganda and Kenya -- Chapter 27. Dilemmas South of the Zambesi -- The Federation and Its Breakup -- Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence -- Chapter 28. The Abortive West Indies Federation -- British Policy and Federation -- Independent Island States -- Chapter 29. The Decade of Multiracial Optimism -- Reasons for Optimism -- An End to Delusion -- (iv) The Return to "Little England" -- Chapter 30. The Impact of the End of Empire -- British Attitudes -- Commonwealth Attitudes -- Notes -- Bibliographical Notes -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.

Z -- Illustrations.