In the past, the imperialism of the West, like that of the rest, was often difficult – for the doers as well as for their victims – but western states were, nonetheless, usually able to dispatch forces overseas against non-western peoples without any fear of being attacked themselves. That kind of immunity is probably now a thing of the past. Linda Colley Read Quote
A society that feels itself to be flourishing is likely to interpret everything that happens to its own advantage and in its own image. By contrast, a society that feels confused or in decline often converts any event – however innocuous – into a weapon of self-laceration. Linda Colley Read Quote
Many Americans remain very interested in royal goings-on in general, and not just because of their soap-opera appeal. To a greater degree than any other polity, Britain functions as Americans’ defining ‘other.’ Linda Colley Read Quote
Since the Second World War, as female expectations and opportunities have risen, becoming a royal woman – and remaining a royal woman – has seemed less and less an attractive proposition. Linda Colley Read Quote
Traditionally, royal females who have not had the luck to become queens regnant have been granted very limited roles. They have been expected to look pretty, be discreet, do charitable good deeds, and – if married to princes or kings – be quietly supportive and, above all, fertile. Linda Colley Read Quote
In the U.S. – and elsewhere – successful parties need a storyline that voters can relate to, an intelligible plot of some sort, especially now that so many older, formal ideologies have lost force. For proof of this, one has only to look at Margaret Thatcher’s career and ideas. Linda Colley Read Quote
The 1857 uprising in India did not free the subcontinent, but it changed the way the British viewed and sought to govern it. Linda Colley Read Quote
The Canadian risings of the 1830s obliged the men in London to think much harder about settler self-government. Linda Colley Read Quote
A break-up of the U.K. would affect the deployment and strength of its armed forces and play havoc with the ownership of its overseas consulships and embassies. Linda Colley Read Quote
