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Captives - Britain, Empire and the World 1600-1850 by Linda Colley |
An empire short on manpower would always risk leaving its citizens exposed and vulnerable to capture and these testimonies prove the lie that Britons 'never shall be slaves'. Concentrating on North Africa, the Americas, India and Afghanistan, Britons showed an extraordinary ability to be assimilated into their captor's society, often showing an embarrassing reluctance to re-emerge. For the poorer captive, 'going native' even as a slave often seemed preferable to the life they left behind.
(Clive Yelf - bwl 39 April 2007 ) |
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