This study explores the shared history of the French empire from the perspective of material culture in order to re-evaluate the participation of colonial, Creole, and indigenous agency in the construction of imperial spaces. The decentred approach to a global history of the French colonial realm allows a new understanding of power relations in different locales. Providing case studies from four parts of the French empire, the book draws on illustrative evidence from the French archives in Aix-en-Provence and Paris as well as local archives in each colonial location. The case studies, in the Caribbean, Canada, Africa, and India, each examine building projects to show the mixed group of planners, experts, and workers, the composite nature of building materials, and elements of different 'glocal' styles that give the empire its concrete manifestation.
About the AuthorBenjamin Steiner is Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Frankfurt am Main. He is also a member of a research group at the University of Munich
Book InformationISBN 9781526167019
Author Benjamin SteinerFormat Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint Manchester University PressPublisher Manchester University Press
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 12mm