Abstract

While the study of “indigenous intermediaries” is today the focus of some of the most interesting research in the historiography of colonialism, its roots extend back to at least the 1970s. The contributions to this volume revisit Ronald E. Robinson’s theory of collaboration in a range of historical contexts by melding it with theoretical perspectives derived from postcolonial studies and transnational history. In case studies ranging globally over the course of four centuries, these essays offer nuanced explorations of the varied, complex interactions between imperial and local actors, with particular attention to those shifting and ambivalent roles that transcend simple binaries of colonizer and colonized.

Benedikt Stuchtey is Full Professor at the University of Marburg, Germany, and teaches European and Global History.

Flavio Eichmann is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the department of Modern History, University of Bern, Switzerland, and teaches Caribbean, European and Global History.

Tanja Bührer is Assistant Professor at the University of Bern, Switzerland, and teaches European and Global History.

Stig Förster is Professor Emeritus at the University of Bern, Switzerland, where he taught European and Global History.

“Provocative and original, these contributions challenge us to rethink the basic tenets of colonial governance. The editors avoid the pitfall common to numerous collections: atomized chapters that fail to relate to each other. Here, the contributions are strongly connected by the issue of local or indigenous co-operation in imperial conquest, administration and fiscal exaction.” · Martin Thomas, University of Exeter