Lowe Kong Meng Appeals to International Law: Transnational Lives Caught Between Empire and Nation

Abstract

In 1894, future United States president Theodore Roosevelt waxed lyrical over the unprecedented opportunities available to ‘the ordinary man of adventurous tastes’ in the late nineteenth century. ‘At no period of the world’s history’, he wrote, ‘has life been so full of interest and of the possibilities of excitement and enjoyment’. He noted in particular the possibilities of global travel: ‘Never before … have there been such opportunities … in the way of building new commonwealths, exploring new countries, conquering kingdoms …’ Man was now better off beyond measure than his forefathers: ‘He can travel round the world; he can dwell in any country he wishes; he can explore strange regions … he can take part in a campaign here and there.’1