For centuries, a small island nation cast a shadow across the world. The British Empire’s methods of expansion were often brutal, usually devastating. From Amritsar to Zululand, from the Opium Wars in China to the deliberate infection of Native Americans with smallpox and the cold-blooded treatment of the starving during the Irish Famine, Des Ekin lays bare the atrocities committed in the name of colonisation.

With many nations worldwide still grappling with the legacy of British rule, Ekin explores the justifications used to dehumanise other people and rationalise their abuse, exploitation and slaughter. In this rigorously researched and eminently readable book, Des Ekin lifts the veil on the harrowing realities of colonial rule.