Multiracial Britons : Britishness, diasporas, and cosmopolitanism in interwar Hong Kong
What do we understand by the notion of being 'British' in the British Empire? This was an issue of political, legal and media debate and dispute. But, while a rich literature has considered how being British was an identity available to 'non-white' subjects in the empire, existing works often engage in the binary discussion of only the indigenous and British communities, neglecting other ethnicities also present in colonies. This thesis proposes a different answer to this question through the prism of colonial Hong Kong between the two World Wars. I ask what did being British mean, and who was British. Drawing on legal cases, public discussions, civil society, and education, I identify a sizable group of 'multiracial Britons' who actively engaged themselves with notions of Britishness in interwar Hong Kong. This thesis examines closely various forms of cross-cultural interactions - between white Britons and British subjects of colour; between Chinese students from British Malaya; British Hong Kong, and mainland China; between Anglophile Portuguese Eurasians and 'patriotic' Portuguese Eurasians; and between white Britons and other Europeans. As I investigate their understanding of Britishness, this thesis also
Kong, Vivian
Multiracial Britons : Britishness, diasporas, and cosmopolitanism in interwar Hong Kong. What do we understand by the notion of being 'British' in the British Empire? This was an issue of political, legal and media debate and dispute. But, while a rich literature has considered how being British was an identity available to 'non-white' subjects in the empire, existing works often engage in the binary discussion of only the indigenous and British communities, neglecting other ethnicities also present in colonies. This thesis proposes a different answer to this question through the prism of colonial Hong Kong between the two World Wars. I ask what did being British mean, and who was British. Drawing on legal cases, public discussions, civil society, and education, I identify a sizable group of 'multiracial Britons' who actively engaged themselves with notions of Britishness in interwar Hong Kong. This thesis examines closely various forms of cross-cultural interactions - between white Britons and British subjects of colour; between Chinese students from British Malaya; British Hong Kong, and mainland China; between Anglophile Portuguese Eurasians and 'patriotic' Portuguese Eurasians; and between white Britons and other Europeans. As I investigate their understanding of Britishness, this thesis also
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