| Introduction: the world shaped by empire P. J. Marshall | |
| Part I. The History of Empire: 1. The British empire at the end of the eighteenth century P. J. Marshall | |
| 2. 1783-1870: an expanding empire P. J. Marshall | |
| 3. 1870-1918: the empire under threat P. J. Marshall | |
| 4. 1918 to the 1960s: keeping afloat P. J. Marshall | |
| Part II. The Life of the Empire: 5. For richer, for poorer? David Fieldhouse | |
| 6. Power, authority, and freedom A. J. Stockwell | |
| 7. Empires in the mind Andrew Porter | |
| 8. Imperial towns and cities Thomas R. Metcalf | |
| 9. British emigration and new identities Ged Martin and Benjamin E. Kline | |
| 10. The diaspora of the Africans and the Asians P. J. Marshall | |
| 11. Art and the empire John M. Mackenzie | |
| Part III. The Imperial Experience: 12. Imperial Britain P. J. Marshall | |
| 13. Australia K. S. Inglis | |
| 14. Africa Toyin Falola | |
| 15. British rule in India: an assessment Tapan Raychaudhuri | |
| Conclusion: Empire in retrospect P. J. Marshall | |
| Reference Guide: British imperial territories from 1783 | |
| Further reading | |
| Contributors | |
| Acknowledgements | |
| Index. |