Includes bibliographical references and index.

Insurgent Empire shows how Britain's enslaved and colonial subjects were active agents in their own liberation. Not only that, they shaped British ideas of freedom and emancipation back in the United Kingdom. Priyamvada Gopal examines dissenting politics in Britain and shows that it was influenced by rebellions and resistance among the colonies in the West Indies, East Africa, Egypt, and India. In addition, a pivotal role in fomenting resistance was played by anticolonial campaigners based in London, right at the heart of empire. Much has been written on how colonized peoples took up British and European ideas and turned them against empire when making claims to freedom and self-determination. Insurgent Empire sets the record straight in demonstrating that these people were much more than victims of imperialism or, subsequently, the passive beneficiaries of an enlightened Western conscience - they were insurgents whose legacy today benefits the culture of the nation that once oppressed them.