Priyamvada Gopal's 'Insurgent Empire' Examines Anticolonialism and British Dissent

In her 2019 publication, 'Insurgent Empire: Anticolonialism and the Making of British Dissent,' Priyamvada Gopal critiques the idea that the concept of freedom is solely a Western creation. A scholar at the University of Cambridge, Gopal counters perspectives like those of Harold Macmillan, who claimed that self-governance was part of the colonial agenda. The book examines colonial uprisings, including the 1857 Indian Mutiny and the Mau Mau Rebellion, with a focus on the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica. It features notable figures such as Shapurji Saklatvala and critics like G.W. Gordon and George Padmore, asserting that dissent frequently emerged from colonies and that imperialism supported capitalist motives, thereby challenging dominant narratives about liberty.