The authors examine the interaction of missionary organizations with local political powers and with their home government, arguing that in trying to decide which course of action to pursue, missionaries became knowledgeable students of imperial politics and the shifting state of international affairs. They show that leadership of British missionary societies was split between those who wanted to be treated without favouritism by the British government and those who had more aggressive expectations. In doing so they explore the pressures that contributed to the formation of imperial policy...

Under the influence of mounting foreign competition in the late-Victorian and Edwardian periods, many Britons sought to bolster England's world position by reinforcing the unity of the Empire. For the most part their effort were channelled into an attempt to construct a formal political union or federation of Britain's overseas dominions. However, when the so-called Imperial Federation Movement failed to produce a viable constitutional solution the problem of unity a number of people began to search for an alternative, non-political approach. In this connection a campaign was mounted during...