Colonial connections and consulting engineers 1850–1914

Abstract

The paper analyses colonial connections and networks of British consulting engineers. It unravels how consulting engineers operated within different imperial contexts, including settler colonies, Egypt and Crown colonies in West Africa in particular. The paper also examines the close and at times strained connections that existed between London's consulting engineers and British engineers stationed overseas in colonial public works departments. By examining the colonial connections of metropolitan engineers, the paper sheds light on a hitherto ignored factor that tied Britain and the colonies together during the diaspora of British engineering. It argues that personal connections and relations remained of paramount importance during this period, which has traditionally been described as characterised by growing professionalisation and a subsequent loss of the personal element in British engineering.