Empire Without End

A New History of Britain and the Caribbean

Imaobong Umoren

• Publisher: Scribner
• Year: 2025
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781982175009
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

A powerful, groundbreaking new history of Britain and the Caribbean, challenging existing thinking about British colonization and recontextualizing the twin stories of contemporary inequality in both regions.

In Empire Without End, historian Imaobong Umoren delivers an incisive and captivating exploration of the deep, complex ties between Britain and the Caribbean—largely underexamined until now. Spanning from the 16th century to the present, this riveting narrative redefines how we view the Caribbean—not just as a source of labor and resources for the British Empire, but as a dynamic testing ground for social and cultural experimentation. Umoren uncovers how the Caribbean shaped British societal ideals, many of which were exported back to Britain, laying the foundation for a racial-caste system that still affects social, political, and economic life today.

This deeply researched work goes beyond historical accounts of sugar plantations and slavery. Umoren dives deeper, exploring how religion, global migration, war, grassroots protest, and even tourism all played into the Caribbean’s lasting legacy. She boldly connects the dots to modern-day issues, arguing that the shadow of British colonization lingers through neo-colonialism, continuing to shape the lives of Caribbean people. As the world confronts a collective racial reckoning, Empire Without End sheds light on the ongoing fight for reparations and justice, offering a much-needed lens on history’s unfinished business.

Written with clarity and packed with profound insights, Empire Without End is a must-read for anyone curious about the intertwined histories of Britain, the Caribbean, and America. Joining the ranks of acclaimed historical titles like Black Ghosts of Empire and works by Ta-Nehisi Coates, this book provides a fresh, urgent perspective on empire’s enduring impact and the global conversation it demands today.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Map
• Epigraph
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: “One of the Richest Spots of Ground in the World”: Indigenous Communities, Early Colonialism, and Hereditary Racial Slavery
• Chapter 2: “A Dreadful State”: The Making of the Racial-Caste Hierarchy
• Chapter 3: “The Sooner All This Mass of Impolicy, Crime and Suffering, Is Got Rid of, the Better”: Anti-Black Racism in Britain, Abolition, and Emancipation
• Chapter 4: “Our Freedom Can Be Taken Away from Us”: Struggles for Economic Justice After Emancipation
• Chapter 5: “Fighting to Prove That We Are No Longer Merely Subjects, But Citizens”: War, Anti-Colonialism, and Rebellion
• Chapter 6: “One United Family”: The Second World War
• Chapter 7: “Still Colonial at Heart”: Constitutional Decolonization and the Global Cold War
• Chapter 8: “Colonization in Reverse”: Caribbean Migration, State Racism, and Black Radicalism
• Chapter 9: “Flag Independence”: Caribbean Black Power and the Rise of Neocolonialism, Neoliberalism, and US Imperialism
• Chapter 10: “Menace to Society”: (Post)-Colonial Melancholia
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Notes
• Index
• Illustration Credits
• Image Descriptions
• Copyright