Subverting Empire: Deviance and Disorder in the British Colonial World

The British Empire was never as orderly as its architects would have us believe. Across the British imperial world, rules were broken, norms and social conventions were ignored and boundaries were transgressed. This is the first historical study to probe the colonial history of deviance, bringing to light stories of subversive behaviour that were deliberately covered up. With case studies ranging from Britain to New Zealand, India to East and Southern Africa, the book reveals what deviance in a colonial context actually entailed, as well as the ways in which deviants themselves were categorised, controlled and concealed. Ranging from murder to madness, forgery to fornication, Subverting Empire shows up the diverse ways in which governments attempted to enforce social order – and the ingeniousness of those who undermined it.