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JACKSON, Tenn. — Oct. 17, 2024 — Odd Arne Westad said that James Bruce, the eighth Earl of Elgin, was an imperial troubleshooter and presented a view of British imperialism through Bruce’s life as he served in Jamaica, Canada, China and India.

“James Bruce, who served all across the globe, lived at the center of this time period when the concepts of empire went from the ‘smash and grab’ version of empire … to the ‘ideology and justification’ time period,” Westad said.

Westad, the Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, gave a lecture at Union University Oct. 14 entitled “The Hinge: Administrator James Bruce and the Re-Ordering of Empire, 1840-1860.” This lecture was part of Union’s 27th annual Carls-Schwerdfeger History Lecture Series and was based on Westad’s upcoming book. The Carls-Schwerdfeger History Lecture Series is an endowed lectureship intended to bring leading historians to Union University to present lectures on significant topics in their areas of study.

Westad discussed three key themes that will appear in his book, including the transformation of imperialism, the consolidation of empire and imperial globalization. He also gave a history of Bruce and touched on key aspects of Bruce’s service.

In Jamaica, Bruce served as governor from 1842-1846 and had to figure out how to rebuild a society that had been based on injustice, namely slavery. However, because of the resistance of the economically dominant and the lack of British support, he left there, Westad believes, feeling like a failure.

In Canada, Bruce was the governor-general from 1847-1854 and survived two assassination attempts as he tried to prepare the land for what would happen if the United States invaded. Today, he is credited by the Canadians as setting them on the path toward self-government.

As the envoy to China and Japan from 1857-1861, Bruce was involved in the Second Opium War and made the controversial call to destroy Yuanmingyuan, which was the summer house of the Chinese emperor. In India, he was the queen’s personal representative and was tasked with “trying to restore India for the empire.” This was what he was working on when he died suddenly in 1863.

To end his lecture, Westad talked about why it is beneficial to look at global transformations through the life of one man, such as Bruce.

“First, you gain some great stories,” Westad said. “You can tell this through a life in a way that you cannot normally do if you look at statistics or military strategy or whatever. The other thing that you gain, which I think is more important, is a set of insights that you can almost only get at the individual level.”

In the question-and-answer session, Westad emphasized the role that faith played in Bruce’s life. One of Bruce’s chief goals was to be a “hinge” between the truths of the Bible and modern scientific development.

“He saw himself as being guided by his faith, by prayer,” Westad said. “He spent a lot of time trying to deal with some of those difficult decisions that he made from what he saw as a Christian perspective.”