On a sunny day, men and women march through the streets wearing orange collarettes and carrying colourful banners. However, this is not the Orange Order in Northern Ireland but the same organisation in Africa. This book moves beyond the clich to delve deeply into the inner structure and rituals of the Orange Order and its global reach.

The Orange Order, while Irish Protestant-founded, managed in a short period to spread to not only other parts of the UK, but also to Australia, New Zealand and even Africa. Previous research has tended to focus on just one to two countries within a narrow timeframe.

This book, by contrast, covers almost 230 years of the Orange Order across multiple countries. Unlike other studies, it integrates the activities of men, women and children.