Books by H. L. Wesseling

This volume is about the conquest, occupation, organization and exploitation of European colonies in the 19th century. It includes all of the major European powers, including the Netherlands, France, England, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Russia. Taking a comparative approach, the text looks at the successes and failures of each administration.

This race for colonies went hand in hand with a host of thrilling exploits and dramatic conflicts, of which Stanley's exploration of the Congo and Gordon's death in Khartoum are just two examples. The partition of Africa was one of the most spectacular episodes in modern history.

Next to this there also was a new glorification of traditional military virtues: disinterestedness, submission, and discipline. In conceptualizing war, as Wesseling shows, a distinction can be made between speculations on war as a concrete phenomenon and as an abstract notion.

Finally, there is a section on French history writing, including two biographical essays, one about Gabriel Hanotaux, the once famous but now nearly forgotten historian who became Minister of Foreign Affairs, and another on Fernand Braudel, the great contemporary French historian and close friend of Wesseling.