Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire: 2 (The New Cambridge History of India)

Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire: 2 (The New Cambridge History of India)

by C . A . Bayly (Author)

Synopsis

The past twenty years have seen a proliferation of specialist scholarship on the period of India's transition to colonialism. This volume provides a synthesis of some of the most important themes to emerge from recent work and seeks in particular to reassess the role of Indians in the politics and economics of early colonialism. It discusses new views of the 'decline of the Moghuls' and the role of the Indian capitalists in the expansion of the English East Indian Company's trade and urban settlements. Professor Bayly considers the reasons for the inability of indigenous states to withstand the British, but also highlights the relative failure of the Company to transform India into a quiescent and profitable colony. Later chapters deal with changes in India's ecology, social organisation and ideologies in the nineteenth century, and analyse the nature of Indian resistance to colonialism, including the rebellion of 1857.

$120.19

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 248
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 31 Mar 1988

ISBN 10: 0521250927
ISBN 13: 9780521250924
Book Overview: This volume reassesses the role of Indians in the politics and economics of early colonialism.

Media Reviews
'A treat in store for all students of subcontinental history ... an excellent read for any person interested in recent Indian history.' Tariq Ali, The Guardian
'A masterly work of synthesis and interpretation.' The Times Literary Supplement
'A sophisticated and complex explanation for the failure of the indigenous States to resist British imperialism ... a work of substantial scholarship providing not merely a synthesis of existing material but also original research.' The Times Higher Education Supplement
'... The result is a rewarding narrative and nuanced analysis of nineteenth-century colonization ... Price's accomplishment is not only to put together one piece of a bigger puzzle but also to make clear the value of his interactive perspective on imperial encounters wherever they occurred.' The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
The entire Cambridge series, judging from the quality of these two examples, will prove essential reading for some time to come, for both specialists in Indian history and scholars in related fields. Both authors have clearly demonstated their control over the state of scholarship in their respective areas. These two authors, and the series editors as well, are to be commended for a fine start to what should prove to be a major contribution to the study of Indian history. Michael H. Fisher, Public Affairs
Bayly packs a wealth of information and comment into the limited compass of his book, and many distinct strands of interest find a place. V.G. Kiernan, Victorian Studies
The entire Cambridge series, judging from the quality of these two examples, will prove essential reading for some time to come, for both specialists in Indian history and scholars in related fields. Both authors have clearly demonstated their control over the state of scholarship in their respective areas. These two authors, and the series editors as well, are to be commended for a fine start to what should prove to be a major contribution to the study of Indian history. Michael H. Fisher, Public Affairs
Bayly packs a wealth of information and comment into the limited compass of his book, and many distinct strands of interest find a place. V.G. Kiernan, Victorian Studies
C.A. Bayly, among the most brilliant younger scholars in the field, has produced a book of wonderful intricacy and sophistication. Broad in scope and grand in conception, his study is a masterly synthesis of recent scholarship and amazingly complex interpretations of India's past. American Historical Review