The Rule of Empire by Timothy Parsons

This is a very interesting text in that the author takes a bottom up view of imperial rule.  Rather than crafting a metropole centered narrative, Parsons attempts to explain what life was like for those who actually lived under the dominion of an empire.  He uses a variety of examples such as the Roman Britain, Moorish Spain, Spanish Peru, The East India Company's colonial ventures, Napoleon's Italian client state, British Kenya, and the Nazi occupation of France.  Together, he creates an overarching thesis that the creation and maintenance of an empire is a messy business that does not fit into a single archetype in the strictest sense.  However, there are common themes of imperial exploit such as the subjugation of "barbarians" and the commercial opportunities that controlling new territory can provide to a state. 

http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryWorld/?view=usa&ci=9780195304312

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This blog shall represent the thoughts of the members of the History 433 class on globalization.