A moral assessment of the British Empire and its colonial past. Western 'colonialism' is widely damned as essentially racist, exploitative, and given to indiscriminate violence. In eight chapters addressing motives, slavery, racism, land, culture, economics, government, and violence, the ethicist Professor Nigel Biggar finds the British Empire not guilty. On the contrary, in its moderation of the impact of modernity, its establishment of the rule of law and reliable institutions, and its humanitarian suppression of slavery and female infanticide, the Empire often provided legitimate government. Were that not so, recent protesters against Chinese repression in Hong Kong would not have taken to waving the colonial Union Jack. In a book that is both compelling and scrupulously researched, Biggar contests damaging falsehoods and provides a searching discussion of the core ethical questions that arose from the complex experience of empire - including its blemishes. By so doing, he offers a moral inquest into the colonial past in a book that cannot be sensibly ignored by anyone who wishes to hold an informed view on the subject.