The British Abroad Since the Eighteenth Century, Volume 1: Travellers and Tourists (Britain and the World) - Hardcover

“The first volume of the collection, ‘Travellers and Tourists,’ opens with a robust introduction outlining the scholarly literature on the tradition of British travel writers reflecting back on ‘life back in Britain,’ ... . contributes a unique perspective to understand the relationship between travel and British identity, delivered with insightful arguments and supported with rigorous primary research. Collectively, the chapters build on a growing literature that examines European travel or tourism as more than benign acts of observation or discovery.” (Steve Marti, H-Net Humanities and Social Sciences, h-net.org, August, 2016)

This, the first part of a two volume collection of new essays from international scholars, is concerned with examining the British experience of travel, tourism, and imperialism. It considers the British travelling beyond their isles over the last three hundred years, and through a range of interdisciplinary perspectives reflects on their taste for discovery and self-discovery both through the exploration - and exploitation - of other lands and peoples, and also through their encounters with other societies and civilisations. The development into new forms of travel and tourism challenged the perceptions the British had of the world - and the world of the British. These journeys impacted on the representation and formation of 'Britishness', and the construction of national identity by defining a non-British world or a world becoming 'British'.