The British Empire in 1886 by Walter Crane

Walter Crane’s 1886 Imperial Federation Map illustrating the vast expanse of the British Empire on the eve of Queen Victoria's 1887 Jubilee. Published as a supplement to the London magazine "The Graphic", the map indicates Britain's colonial territories in pink. In the upper-right corner, an inset map showcases the British Empire a century earlier, in 1786. At first glance, the map seems to celebrate British imperial power, a view supported by Brian Harley in his 1988 essay Maps, Knowledge and Power. But in a 2005 Imago Mundi article, Pippa Biltcliffe challenges this interpretation. She attributes the map to socialist artist Walter Crane, identifying his signature crane emblem and initials in the lower-left corner. Biltcliffe argues that Crane’s socialist beliefs complicate the idea of the map as pure imperial propaganda. As a member of the Social Democratic Federation and later the Fabian Society, Crane saw the Empire not just as a tool of control, but also as a possible means for progressive reform. Her analysis shows that while the map praises imperial ideals, it also contains a subtle call to rethink and reform imperial policies. This dual message reflects Crane’s political values and offers a more nuanced interpretation. This complexity is further illustrated by the Imperial Federation League, founded in 1884, which promoted a restructured Empire with representative governance. Although its ideas influenced the First Colonial Conference in 1887, the League lost momentum and was eventually sidelined by political shifts under Prime Minister Gladstone.