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Heligoland: The True Story of German Bight and the Island That Britain Betrayed - Couverture rigide

Drower, George

 
9780750926003: Heligoland: The True Story of German Bight and the Island That Britain Betrayed
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 0750926007 ISBN 13 : 9780750926003
Editeur : Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2002

Synopsis

Heligoland is the astounding story of a mysterious British colony in the North Sea that the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, swapped for Zanzibar in 1890. After years of having a UK-style flag, postage stamps, taxation system and currency, Heligolanders were soon experiencing the crushing of their culture, and were forced into learning German. The unscrupulous transference of the island to Germany, in defiance of the islanders' wishes, sparked a public controversy; the explorer Stanley famously commented that Britain had obtained a waistcoat in exchange for a trouser button. The sacrifice of the enigmatic Heligoland became a strategic blunder during the two World Wars, when the island was made into a weaponry fortress by the Germans. After the Second World War there was a plot to cover up the mistake when Britain planned to destroy Heligoland with an A-bomb strength explosion. Implicated in the epic scandal are many key personalities; among them Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm, Arthur Balfour, and The Riddle of the Sands author Erskine Childers. Heligoland goes beyond an amazing story of intrigue, high adventure and national ambition. It highlights Britain's relations with continental Europe; the conduct of the British Empire; even the shape and identity of the British Isles. Using techniques of biography, popular history and narrative, this book unravels for the first time the true story of the island Britain gave away.

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À propos de l'auteur

George Drower is an expert on overseas territories and author of the widely acclaimed Britain's Dependent Territories and The Overseas Territories Handbook (HMSO, Feb 98). He has also written a number of political biographies

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Sutton Publishing Ltd
Date d'édition
2002
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0750926007
ISBN 13 
9780750926003
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
320
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible