Book excerpt: Focusing on the transition from informal to formal empire which broadened and intensified Britain's relations with Asia and Africa, Timothy Parsons describes the establishment of extensive colonies and protectorates in Egypt, India, China, and the Ottoman Empire. Parsons explores the cultural, political, economic, and social implications of British authority in these areas and he describes the various ways in which subject peoples contested and adapted to the expansion of the British Crown. --From publisher's description.