Rights statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History on 01/04/2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03086534.2018.1452540
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Woman's Work in the Service of Empire
T2 - Lady Margaret Field (1905–94) from School Teacher to Governor's Wife
AU - Constantine, Stephen
N1 - This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History on 01/04/2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03086534.2018.1452540
PY - 2018/6
Y1 - 2018/6
N2 - The presence of single and also of married British women in overseas colonies, especially those employed by or married to men in the Colonial Service in the later colonial period, has been the subject of scholarly enquiry. Their lives, roles and values and their distinctive contribution, if any, to the development of empire and of its ending have been debated. Their gendered roles were usually subordinate in a masculine culture of empire, and especially as wives they are commonly regarded as marginalised. The archived records left by Lady Margaret Field reveal her commitment as a single woman to a colonial mission and her sense of achievement as a school teacher and educational administrator, while also acknowledging the independence and career satisfactions she subsequently lost when she married a senior Colonial Service officer who rose to be a governor. But it is also apparent that, though incorporated and subordinate as a governor's wife to her husband's career, she was not marginalised to a separate sphere. As is evident from this case study, governors’ wives had important and demanding political duties, and such responsibilities need to be acknowledged.
AB - The presence of single and also of married British women in overseas colonies, especially those employed by or married to men in the Colonial Service in the later colonial period, has been the subject of scholarly enquiry. Their lives, roles and values and their distinctive contribution, if any, to the development of empire and of its ending have been debated. Their gendered roles were usually subordinate in a masculine culture of empire, and especially as wives they are commonly regarded as marginalised. The archived records left by Lady Margaret Field reveal her commitment as a single woman to a colonial mission and her sense of achievement as a school teacher and educational administrator, while also acknowledging the independence and career satisfactions she subsequently lost when she married a senior Colonial Service officer who rose to be a governor. But it is also apparent that, though incorporated and subordinate as a governor's wife to her husband's career, she was not marginalised to a separate sphere. As is evident from this case study, governors’ wives had important and demanding political duties, and such responsibilities need to be acknowledged.
KW - Women
KW - wives
KW - gender
KW - Colonial Service
KW - incorporated wives
KW - teacher
KW - education
KW - governor
KW - Margaret Field
KW - John Field
KW - Gold Coast
KW - Nigeria
KW - Southern Cameroons
KW - St Helena
KW - Monserrat
KW - Western Pacific
KW - Gilbert and Ellice Islands
KW - Achimota
KW - Sokoto
KW - Buea
KW - Tarawa
KW - government house
KW - hospitality
KW - servants
KW - good works
KW - Corona Society
U2 - 10.1080/03086534.2018.1452540
DO - 10.1080/03086534.2018.1452540
M3 - Journal article
VL - 46
SP - 473
EP - 501
JO - Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
JF - Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
SN - 0308-6534
IS - 3
ER -