The Discovery of Islands

The Discovery of Islands consists of a series of linked essays in British history, written by one of the world’s leading historians of political thought and published over the past three decades. The purpose of the essays is to present British history as the history of several nations interacting with - and sometimes seceding from - association with an imperial state. The commentary presents this history as that of an archipelago, situated in oceans and expanding across them to the Antipodes. Both New Zealand history and ways of seeing history formed in New Zealand enter into the vision, and the aim is to present British history as oceanic and global, complementing (and occasionally criticising) the presentation of that history as European. Professor Pocock ‘s interpretation of British history has been hugely influential in recent years, making The Discovery of Islands a resource of immense value for historians of Britain and indeed of the world.