Burdens of History: British Feminists, Indian Women, and Imperial Culture, 1865-1915 [Paperback]

Antoinette Burton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0807844713 | ISBN-13: 978-0807844717

In this study of British middle-class feminism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Antoinette Burton explores an important but neglected historical dimension of the relationship between feminism and imperialism. Demonstrating how feminists in the United Kingdom appropriated imperialistic ideology and rhetoric to justify their own right to equality, she reveals a variety of feminisms grounded in notions of moral and racial superiority.

According to Burton, Victorian and Edwardian feminists such as Josephine Butler, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, and Mary Carpenter believed that the native women of colonial India constituted a special 'white woman's burden.' Although there were a number of prominent Indian women in Britain as well as in India working toward some of the same goals of equality, British feminists relied on images of an enslaved and primitive 'Oriental womanhood' in need of liberation at the hands of their emancipated British 'sisters.' Burton argues that this unquestioning acceptance of Britain's imperial status and of Anglo-Saxon racial superiority created a set of imperial feminist ideologies, the legacy of which must be recognized and understood by contemporary feminists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A provocative and interesting example of historical reconstruction.

Choice

This is a serious contribution to feminist history and the history of feminism.

Journal of Modern History

Burton's scrupulous study . . . has exceeded my hopes for this project.

Nineteenth-Century Prose

An impressive work.

Philippa Levine, University of Southern California

A major reinterpretation.

Barbara N. Ramusack, University of Cincinnati

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (November 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807844713
• ISBN-13: 978-0807844717
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #813,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars essential reading for students of imperialism, June 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Burdens of History: British Feminists, Indian Women, and Imperial Culture, 1865-1915 (Hardcover)

The first customer review of this book (by a reader in Atlanta) is completely off. It was obviously written by someone with an ax to grind, but it is not representative of Burton's work. Burdens of History is a nuanced and thoughtful examination of the role of British women both in relation to their efforts to secure the vote, but also (for lack of a better word) their "complicity" in the imperial project.

This is not a matter of anachronistically applying 20th c. liberal ideas to a 19th c. imperial context. Only someone who skimmed the book could think this.

This is a wonderful book which has rightfully earned Burton wide-spread respect throughout the field of British imperial history.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Most intriguing, but incomplete.., March 18, 2007

By 

Eric Hobart (La Center, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Burdens of History: British Feminists, Indian Women, and Imperial Culture, 1865-1915 (Paperback)

Normally, I start with praise for the book, but I feel that I have to get something stated right out front - the book was not quite what I expected. It was a fantastic book, with great research used to back up the author's thesis, but the name is somewhat misleading - I thought that when the author said "Imperial Culture", she would be referring to culture throughout the British Empire, or at least in several different countries. Unfortunately, she focuses almost exclusively on India and Turkey (which really isn't even a British colony).

After I accepted the fact that the author was going to focus on India & Indian women, I found that I really enjoyed the book. The author's premise is that British feminists impacted Imperial culture through their actions. Her theories are well defended, and use great primary source material (such as contemporary journals and pamphlets, along with written documents from the participants).

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in British Feminism, Indian women in Victorian & Edwardian era Imperial Britain, or one looking for an understanding of how female suffragettes in Britain really pushed their case for female emancipation.

5.0 out of 5 stars Effective study, February 8, 2010

By 

Jacob Glicklich "Raskolnikov" (The American Midwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Burdens of History: British Feminists, Indian Women, and Imperial Culture, 1865-1915 (Paperback)

Burton offers a complex, highly effective look at some of the complexities of imperialism. Not content to explore the traditional subjects of empire, Burton analyzes a wider form in which even feminist movements progressive in some senses built off imperial complicity and disturbing subtext. Recommended reading for those at all engaged with study of imperialism, gender or British identity in the nineteenth century.