Female Imperialism and National Identity: Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire

This is a study of the British Empire’s largest women’s patriotic organization, the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE), formed in 1900 and still in existence. The text examines the relationship between female imperialism and national identity, throwing new light on women’s involvement in imperialism; on the history of conservative women’s organizations; on women’s interventions in debates concerning citizenship and national identity; and on the history of women in white settler societies. It follows the IODE’s history through the 20th century, focusing on its attempts to create a British Canada through its maternal feminist work in education, health, welfare and citizenship, and examines the complex relationship between imperial loyalty and settler nationalism, tracing the organization into the postcolonial era, where previous imperial ideas are outmoded.