The Orange Order - (Studies in British and Irish Migration) by Patrick Coleman

About the Book

Studies the rise and decline of the global Orange Order since its beginning in 1795.

Book Synopsis

On a sunny day, men and women march through the streets wearing orange collarettes and carrying colourful banners. However, this is not the Orange Order in Northern Ireland but the same organisation in Africa. This book moves beyond the cliché to delve deeply into the inner structure and rituals of the Orange Order and its global reach.

The Orange Order, while Irish Protestant-founded, managed in a short period to spread to not only other parts of the UK, but also to Australia, New Zealand and even Africa. Previous research has tended to focus on just one to two countries within a narrow timeframe.

This book, by contrast, covers almost 230 years of the Orange Order across multiple countries. Unlike other studies, it integrates the activities of men, women and children.

Review Quotes

Immersed in archival material, Patrick Coleman tells a truly global story about the Orange Order. Using transnational, diasporic and comparative perspectives, this book presents the Order as imperial, gendered and intergenerational, where its continued existence in a post-Brexit world demonstrates the enduring power of coloniality.--Jim MacPherson, University of the Highlands and Islands

Outstanding in its geographic sweep and temporal range, Patrick Coleman offers a compelling transnational account of the rise and global spread of the Orange Order. This timely and deeply researched book provides compelling insights into the world of Orangeism and its extensive political and cultural impacts.--Malcolm Campbell, The University of Auckland

This book breaks much new ground in the scrutiny of under-researched aspects of Orangeism, and it does so in a valuable comparative and transnational framework. Many new thought-provoking perspectives are provided on the Orange movement across the British Isles, North America, Australasia and Africa. It is a major contribution to scholarship on the subject.--Graham Walker, Emeritus Professor of Political History at Queen's University Belfast