Virtual Event: Martin Thomas at York Festival of IdeasThe End of Empires and a World Remade

Empires, until recently, were everywhere. They shaped borders, stirred conflicts, and set the terms of international politics. With the collapse of empire came a fundamental reorganisation of our world. Decolonisation unfolded across territories as well as within them. Its struggles became internationalised and transnational, as much global campaigns of moral disarmament against colonial injustice as local contests of arms.


Historian Martin Thomas, author of The End of Empires and a World Remade, tells the story of decolonisation and its intrinsic link to globalisation. He traces the connections between these two transformative processes: the end of formal empire and the acceleration of global integration, market reorganisation, cultural exchange and migration.

Join Martin as he explains how decolonisation stands alongside the great world wars as the most transformative event of 20th-century history.

 This event will take place live on Zoom Webinar. You will receive a link to join a couple of days before the event and a reminder an hour before. During the event, you can ask questions via a Q&A function, but audience cameras and microphones will remain muted throughout.