Harfleur to Hamburg : Five Centuries of English and British Violence in Europe: Five Centuries of English and British Violence in Europe

Britain has historically been seen as an upholderof international norms, at least in its relations withwestern powers. This has often been contrastedwith the violence perpetrated in colonial contextson other continents. What is often missed,however, is the extent to which the state with itscapital in Londonfirst England, then Great Britaininflicted extreme violence on its Europeanneighbours, even when still using the rhetoric ofneighbourliness and friendship.

This book comprises eleven case-studies of Anglo-British strategic violence, from the siege of Harfleurin 1415 to the fire-bombing of Hamburg in 1943.Chapters examine actions that were top-down anddirected, and perpetrated for specific geopoliticalreasonsmany of them at, or well beyond, thebounds of what was sanctioned by prevailinginternational norms at the time. The contributorslook at how these actions were conceived, executedand perceived by the English/British public, by theinternational legal community of the time, and bythe victims.

This history of English violence in Europecomplicates not only easy notions of England/Britainas a champion of the standards of civilisationor of the liberal international order, but also ofthe supposed distinction between European andextra-European warfare.