Biography & Autobiography Political
Empire and Ireland
The Transatlantic Career of the Canadian Imperialist Hamar Greenwood, 1870–1948
- Publisher
- McGill-Queen's University Press
- Initial publish date
- May 2015
- Category
- Political
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780773582279
- Publish Date
- May 2015
- List Price
- $100.00
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Description
In Empire and Ireland, Roy MacLaren recounts the life and political career of Hamar Greenwood, a young man from rural Canada who reached the imperial pinnacle of the British cabinet. Greenwood’s arduous route was first beset by conservative opposition to his liberal convictions and later by hostility towards his role as chief secretary for Ireland under British prime minister Lloyd George during the tumultuous years of 1920 to 1922.
A long-time advocate of Home Rule for Ireland, Greenwood endeavoured to provide Ireland with the same Dominion status as Canada. Dominion Home Rule, however, was not enough for Irish Republicans, who blamed him for the “Black and Tan” reprisals carried out by the British, and too much for Conservative Unionists, who believed he was insufficiently hard line. Eventually abandoning the divided Liberals for the Conservatives, he entered the House of Lords as Viscount Greenwood. By then Britain could no longer sustain an empire which, in his eyes, had been a cradle for justice, liberty, and development.
The first biography of Hamar Greenwood, MacLaren’s thought-provoking work also illuminates the meaning of liberal imperialism, a significant factor in political thinking and policy formation throughout the global empire in Greenwood’s time, which still has resonance today.
About the author
Roy MacLaren was high commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland from 1996 to 2000. He spent twelve years in the Canadian Foreign Service and served as parliamentary secretary for Energy, Mines, and Resources, minister of State (finance), minister of National Revenue, and minister of International Trade. His six previous books include Commissions High: Canada in London, 1870-1971.
Other titles by
Mackenzie King in the Age of the Dictators
Canada's Imperial and Foreign Policies
Empire and Ireland
The Transatlantic Career of the Canadian Imperialist Hamar Greenwood, 1870-1948
Canadians Behind Enemy Lines, 1939-1945
The Fundamental Things Apply
A Memoir
Commissions High
Canada in London, 1870-1971