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Martial races
The military, race and masculinity in British imperial culture, 1857–1914
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2004
About this book
This book explores how and why Scottish Highlanders, Punjabi Sikhs, and Nepalese Gurkhas became identified as the British Empire’s fiercest, most manly soldiers in nineteenth century discourse. As ‘martial races’ these men were believed to possess a biological or cultural disposition to the racial and masculine qualities necessary for the arts of war. Because of this, they were used as icons to promote recruitment in British and Indian armies - a phenomenon with important social and political effects in India, in Britain, and in the armies of the Empire.
Martial Races bridges regional studies of South Asia and Britain while straddling the fields of racial theory, masculinity, imperialism, identity politics, and military studies. Of particular importance is the way it exposes the historical instability of racial categories based on colour and its insistence that historically specific ideologies of masculinity helped form the logic of imperial defence, thus wedding gender theory with military studies in unique ways. Moreover, Martial Races challenges the marginalisation of the British Army in histories of Victorian popular culture, and demonstrates the army’s enduring impact on the regional cultures of the Highlands, the Punjab and Nepal.
This unique study will make fascinating reading for higher level students and experts in imperial history, military history and gender history.
Martial Races bridges regional studies of South Asia and Britain while straddling the fields of racial theory, masculinity, imperialism, identity politics, and military studies. Of particular importance is the way it exposes the historical instability of racial categories based on colour and its insistence that historically specific ideologies of masculinity helped form the logic of imperial defence, thus wedding gender theory with military studies in unique ways. Moreover, Martial Races challenges the marginalisation of the British Army in histories of Victorian popular culture, and demonstrates the army’s enduring impact on the regional cultures of the Highlands, the Punjab and Nepal.
This unique study will make fascinating reading for higher level students and experts in imperial history, military history and gender history.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Heather Streets
Heather Streets is Assistant Professor of British and British Imperial History at Washington State University
Topics
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Front matter
i -
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Dedication
v -
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Contents
vii -
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General editor’s introduction
viii -
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Acknowledgements
x -
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Introduction
1 -
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1 The transformation of the British and Indian armies in the Rebellion of 1857
18 -
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2 Highlanders, Sikhs and Gurkhas in the Rebellion
52 -
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3 The European threat, recruiting, and the development of martial race ideology after 1870
87 -
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4 Military influence and martial race discourse in British popular culture
116 -
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5 Martial races
156 -
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6 Representation versus experience
190 -
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Conclusion
225 -
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Select bibliography
229 -
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Index
236
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
September 13, 2023
eBook ISBN:
9781847793942
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781847793942
Keywords for this book
arts of war; British Empire; British popular culture; gendered language; Highlands; identity politics; imperialism; India; martial races; masculinity; military studies; Nepalese Gurkhas; nineteenth-century ideology; Punjabi Sikhs; racial theory; Rebellion of 1857; Scottish Highlanders; Victorian culture
Audience(s) for this book
For a non-specialist adult audience
