The revanche du berceau (“revenge of the cradle”) dreamed of by some romantic nationalists as retaliation for the British conquest of 1759 didn't seem so far-fetched.
Since the playwrights could move away from religious topics, they truly let their imagination run wild, with English nationalism rising like never before.
Twenty years ago, the classical tradition, having vanquished the opposing tradition of the English empiricists, held almost unquestioned sway in all Anglo-Saxon universities.
The uncovered files challenge fundamental myths about British colonialism as a benevolent institution that brought freedom and democracy to its subjects, then graciously gave them independence.