An interdisciplinary interrogation of the concept of British'informal empire' in Latin America. * Builds upon recent advances in the historiography ofimperialism and studies of the nineteenth-century modern world,most obviously the work of Ann Stoler, Catherine Hall and C.A.Bayly * Combines a comparative perspective with the juxtaposition ofpolitical economy, cultural history, gendered and postcolonialapproaches * By proposing and debating alternative explanatory models, thebook breathes new life into the flagging concept of 'informalempire' * Illuminates the study of British imperialism, from which LatinAmerica is usually conspicuous only by its absence, and provides abroad and sound basis for interpreting the complex processes ofnation-building and state-formation in Latin America * Includes essays by scholars who have been shaping the debatefor several decades, alongside work by a younger generation ofresearchers keen to re-conceptualise and re-assess the roles ofcommerce and culture in shaping informal empireweiterlesen