Review – Colonialism: a Moral Reckoning, by Nigel Biggar

This is an exemplary account of the complexities of the British Empire, a weighing of the moral standards and actions thought, permitted, and committed by those within it, and simply good, honest historical writing.

I thoroughly recommend it. Colonialism was not one big mass that can be assigned blame, but something carried out for various reasons, good or bad, and specific to cultural situation. Here, Nigel Biggar examines British colonialism and empire, carefully considering historical detail, letters and comments from the time, and views since. It is a fascinating study, and reveals so much about the British colonial period that many readers, like myself, will find new and interesting.

Part of the reason for this is that so much relevant to the current declarations on present guilt for long-past wrongs and the tearing down of statues, is obscured and ignored. What Biggar does so well is maintain an even hand as he surveys the evidence and asks what a moral and just understanding of the past means. He looks fairly at the crimes and the oversights, and also the care and diligence of British overseas rule. One thing that becomes very clear is just how dishonest and biased so much of what is passed as scholarly writing really is. Time and again the writings of those who criticise the British empire the most are easily revealed to be illogical and unbalanced in their use of evidence and the conclusions they have predetermined to reach.

For those interested in genuinely thinking morally about the British colonial period, its causes, and its effects – up to the present time – this is a great book.