When we think of British involvement in Afghanistan it’s natural to tend towards the ongoing modern conflict. But Britain’s interest in Afghanistan was alive and well long before the war on terror was declared.
The British Empire flourished to the point that the sun never set on it; how could such a small country rule so far and wide without incurring major costs? The answer? Through craftily and expertly acquired intelligence.
In BBC Two’s Afghanistan: The Great Game – a personal view by Rory Stewart, a two part series which starts tonight, the importance of Afghanistan to Victorian Britain, as key to the security of India, is discussed.
The question of how British intelligence played a part in the Victorian era is also one which is decoded in William Beaver’s Under Every Leaf: How Britain Played The Greater Game From Afghanistan to Africa.
We know more about the twentieth-century history of Britain's secret intelligence services than ever before, but next to nothing about their Victorian antecedents. This book fills that gap, telling the story of the Intelligence Division of the War Office from 1856 to 1909 – when MI6 was founded – and the hidden role that the Intelligence Division played in acquiring Britain's vast empire without a major European or Asian war. In examining its influence in the formation of imperial policy-making and execution, Under Every Leaf is also a rollicking good read, shedding new light on the reality behind the partition of Africa, the Great Game in Asia, brains over brawn, espionage, adventure and dedicated wholehearted commitment, sacrifice and service to the Imperial ideal.