New Britain presents Tony Blair on all the major debates of British public life: from nationalized health care to crime prevention, from the welfare state to monetary policy, from religion to family values, from individualism to isolationism, from taxation to trade unions, from NATO to Northern Ireland, from community rebirth to economic growth. After seventeen years of Conservative Party rule under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, a change in Great Britain's leadership appears imminent. In Blair's Stakeholder Nation, government works in partnership with private and voluntary sectors to harness the pawer of the market to serve the public interest. In New Britain, we read in Blair's own articulate words how to improve the standard of living of all Britain's families; how to base a new social order on merit, commitment, and inclusion; how to decentralize British institutions of political power; and how to expand Britain's leadership in foreign affairs.

Factory jobs in “the Hardware City of the World” began attracting Polish immigrants to New Britain in the 1890s. The Poles soon became the city’s largest ethnic group, centering their family, business, social, cultural, and spiritual life on Broad Street. Their Polonia was unparalleled in New England. Three parishes and dozens of organizations shared a strong commitment to Polish education, military service, political representation, and “Dozynki” and “Dzien Zaduszny” traditions. Continuing waves of immigration contributed to Polonia’s ceaseless self-renewal. The Polish Community of New Britain celebrates this magnetic vitality and cultural continuity with rare photographs drawn from family albums and local archives.

The first Assyrians arrived in Connecticut during the beginning of the 20th century. Initially brought here through a mission organized by the South Church of New Britain, larger numbers of Assyrian families later migrated to the United States in an attempt to find security during World War I. Since their arrival, New Britain has seen its Assyrian community thrive and grow. Upon settling in New Britain, many Assyrians put endless effort into helping recent immigrants find shelter and jobs. They also created an Assyrian magazine and established learning centers to ensure that the traditions, language, and history of Assyrian culture were not lost. These efforts were secured by the establishment of St. Thomas Church of the East in 1957. The history of New Britain's Assyrian community has been documented and collected for the past 100 years by local residents utilizing the New Britain Public Library, South Church, St. Marks Church, and St. Thomas Church.

New Britain was once known as the "Hardware Capital of the World," and it is this that has made the city famous. But as well as its rich industrial history, New Britain has a diverse and dynamic cultural heritage. As its name suggests, the town was originally settled by people of British descent, but in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century it became a haven for immigrants fleeing oppression or economic hardship in Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Russia, Lithuania, Armenia, the Ukraine, Poland, and Greece. The photographs that make up this fascinating visual history bring life to the changes that took place in New Britain between 1920 and 1970. They show how much the city has developed and evolved as well as providing an intimate glimpse of the daily life of New Britain's many ethnic communities. Of particular interest are the images of women which together paint a vivid picture of their unique contribution to the city and its heritage.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A history of the relationship between Great Britain and the United States ranges from the establishment of the first English colony in the New World to the present day, examining both nations in terms of what connected them and what drove them apart.

New Britain Township, founded in 1723, was a rural farming community originally settled by Welsh Baptists and German Mennonites. This changed dramatically in 1856 when the North Pennsylvania Railroad was built. Two train stations were built in the township and were named Chalfont and New Britain. The villages next to these stations attracted numerous new residents and businesses. The local picnic grove was even converted into an amusement park, which became known as Forest Park. The villages surrounding these railroad stations grew until residents decided to create their own separate boroughs, establishing Chalfont Borough in 1901 and New Britain Borough in 1928. The postcards and pictures in Chalfont and New Britain include images of the villages of Chalfont, New Britain, Line Lexington, and New Galena, as well as scenes of historic homes, hotels, stores, churches, schools, and the businesses and people who lived and worked in the community.

In 1926 New Britain, Armenian immigrants gathered to consecrate the first Armenian church in Connecticut, coming together to celebrate their future in the New World and put their tragic past behind them. Victims of the first genocide of the 20th century, Armenians came to the Hardware City in great numbers during the 1920s. It was there they found work, freedom, and safety. Most were orphaned children or members of families separated by geography. Their first order of business was to establish a church, historically the center of Armenian society. As their numbers grew, they thrived. At its peak, the Armenian community boasted drama, choral, dance, and sports groups. They became Americans, serving their new country in war and in peace, but never forgot their roots. New Britain's Armenian Community documents their journey from terror and dislocation to security and freedom.

New Britain began in 1754 as an ecclesiastical society and farming village, and with few natural resources, was transformed into a modern industrial city by the time of its incorporation in 1871. Attracting waves of immigrant workers and entrepreneurs, this became a diverse but unified community in which people of all ethnicities worked together, served together in times of war, and even played together on the baseball fields. Legendary Locals of New Britain includes remarkable residents among the early inhabitants and settlers; the people and institutions that brought New Britain to cityhood; artists and entertainers; famous or leading immigrants; sports legends; and men and women who have otherwise made their mark on New Britain, the nation, or the world.