The City and Imperial Propaganda

Abstract

The emergence of a vibrant imperial culture in British and colonial society from the 1890s both fascinated and appalled contemporaries. It has also consistently provoked controversy among historians. However, while historians have clashed over the degree to which an imperial popular culture penetrated Edwardian society, few studies have focused on how the meaning of imperial propaganda was shaped by particular social and cultural conditions in the various cities and colonies of the British Empire. 1 Most historians have tended to focus on the 'cultural end product' such as the imperial advertisement, theatrical performance or music hall sketch. This article will take a very different approach by exploring how the meaning of Empire Day, a movement that endeavoured to transmit a clear and unambiguous imperial message, was manipulated and transformed through a range of urban institutions before reaching the public at large. In selecting cities in the Antipodean colonies for comparison, the study will explore societies that were closest in urban organisation and culture to Britain's civic infrastructure. Indeed, in the eyes of imperialists like Lord Meath who founded Empire Day in 1903, the white Anglo-Saxons in Australia and New Zealand cities were deemed to be on the same rung of civilisation as their counterparts in Britain. By adopting this comparative approach, we shall challenge the assumption that a hegemonic imperial ideology was streamed uncontested and unaltered to the urban population at large. 2 Indeed, we shall argue that due to the significant differences in urban development in Britain and colonial towns, the imperial message was either, in the British context, directed to cure perceived local crises or, alternatively within a colonial setting, came secondary to national priorities. First, we shall contrast the urban and civic development of differing English and Antipodean communities, before investigating how this environment shaped the dissemination and reception of the imperial message in the city. We conclude that, in the case of Empire Day, the urban setting is decisive to understanding how imperial propaganda was transformed to meet the needs of local or national environments. 3 Key differences in Comment [B1]: Recast introduction to address reviewer's comments requesting more clarity and focus on how conditions in cities/colonies transformed the meaning of Empire Day Comment [B2]: Addresses reviewer's request for more historiographical context on empire and popular culture