Empire

Tom August explores the imperial assumptions - and the hints of independence from Britannia - to be found in the paintings and artists on show in the Palace of Arts at the British Empire Exhibition.

Alexander the Great has gone down as the wonder of the ancient world with his spectacular career and conquests but, John Grainger argues, a niche ought to be left for the junior general who carved out his own empire from the chaos that followed Alexander's death.

Edward Norman on the Eastern promise of Western sainthood to be encountered in the Church of the Bom Jesus in Goa.

Roland Oliver assesses

Peter Heehs describes how Hindu revivalism stiffened resistance to colonial rule in British India.

Martin Evans looks at the aftermath of the struggle for Algerian independence from France.

Felipe Fernandez-Armesto weighs up the case for and against the Genovese explorer, finding a Columbus for all seasons.

Anthony Kirk-Greene looks at the remarkably rapid 'end of empire' of Britain in Africa, and argues that perspective and objectivity can now yield a useful stocktaking.

Robin Blackburn describes how the message of liberte, egalite, fraternite, acted as crucial catalyst for race and class uprisings in Europe's Caribbean colonies.