This is a panoramic account of the bitter wars of the end of empire, seen not only through the eyes of the fighters, but also through the personal stories of ordinary people.
In a penetrating account of the evolution of British intelligence gathering in India, C. A. Bayly shows how networks of Indian spies were recruited by the British to secure military, political and social information about their subjects. He also examines the social and intellectual origins of these 'native informants', and considers how the colonial authorities interpreted and often misinterpreted the information they supplied. It was such misunderstandings which ultimately contributed to the failure of the British to anticipate the rebellions of 1857. The author argues, however, that even before this, complex systems of debate and communication were challenging the political and intellectual dominance of the European rulers.
In the early stages of the Second World War, the vast crescent of British-ruled territories stretching from India to Singapore appeared as a massive Allied asset. It provided scores of soldiers and great quantities of raw materials and helped present a seemingly impregnable global defense against the Axis. Yet, within a few weeks in 1941-42, a Japanese invasion had destroyed all this, sweeping suddenly and decisively through south and southeast Asia to the Indian frontier, and provoking the extraordinary revolutionary struggles which would mark the beginning of the end of British dominion in the East and the rise of today's Asian world. More than a military history, this gripping account of groundbreaking battles and guerrilla campaigns creates a panoramic view of British Asia as it was ravaged by warfare, nationalist insurgency, disease, and famine. It breathes life into the armies of soldiers, civilians, laborers, businessmen, comfort women, doctors, and nurses who confronted the daily brutalities of a combat zone which extended from metropolitan cities to remote jungles, from tropical plantations to the Himalayas. Drawing upon a vast range of Indian, Burmese, Chinese, and Malay as well as British, American, and Japanese voices, the authors make vivid one of the central dramas of the twentieth century: the birth of modern south and southeast Asia and the death of British rule.
This extraordinary book is a vivid, highly original account of the creation of a new Asia after the Second World War - an unstoppable wave of nationalism that swept the British Empire aside. It tells the definitive story of how India, Pakistan, Burma and Malaysia came into existence and how British interference in Vietnam and Indonesia fatally shaped those countries' futures.
This volume traces the evolution of north Indian towns and merchant communities from the decline of Moghul dominion to the consolidation of Britain's empire in India following the 1857 mutiny'.
The imagination of the colonial north Indian landscape has been shaped immensely by the scholarship of C.A. Bayly. This omnibus brings together landmark writings providing a sense of the wide range of subjects and their multiple dimensions examined by one of the finest living historians of British India. Exploring the maze of political and economic networks of politicians and influential local groups in the significant constituency of Allahabad, The Local Roots of Indian Politics describes the linkages between local and national politics during 1880-1920. This is complemented by an analysis of rural Allahabad district in his 1986 essay ('Rural conflict and the roots of Indian nationalism') which had been left out from The Local Roots. Bayly's exposition of social organization, ideology, and politics of 'Indian middle classes' in north India during the crucial late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in Rulers, Townsmen, Bazaars remains a significant moment in Indian historiography. This volume has inspired many studies of the period. The third volume in the omnibus, Origins of Nationality in South Asia analyses the moral and cultural antecedents of the regional patriotisms which became a key feature of Indian nationalism. It discusses the origins of Swadeshi; pre- history of 'Communalism'; nature of the British Military-Fiscal State and indigenous resistance; and, the role of the British factor in modern south Asian history.
Cette réflexion sur l'histoire du monde mêle, à travers les différents continents, l'économie et les révolutions, la religion et les idéologies, l'urbanisme et les arts, et remet en cause les visions du monde consacrées et l'idée selon laquelle le modèle de civilisation né en Europe occidentale aurait dominé dès le XVIe siècle.
This volume provides a synthesis of some of the most important themes to emerge from the recent proliferation of specialized scholarship on the period of India's transition to colonialism and seeks to reassess the role of Indians in the politics and economics of early colonialism. It discusses new views of the "decline of the Mughals" and the role of the Indian capitalists in the expansion of the English East India Company's trade and urban settlements. It 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. Finally it deals with changes in India's ecology, social organization, and ideologies in the early nineteenth century, and the nature of Indian resistance to colonialism, including the Rebellion of 1857.
This volume provides a synthesis of some of the most important themes to emerge from the recent proliferation of specialized scholarship on the period of India's transition to colonialism and seeks to reassess the role of Indians in the politics and economics of early colonialism. It discusses new views of the "decline of the Mughals" and the role of the Indian capitalists in the expansion of the English East India Company's trade and urban settlements. It 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. Finally it deals with changes in India's ecology, social organization, and ideologies in the early nineteenth century, and the nature of Indian resistance to colonialism, including the Rebellion of 1857.
Thomas Metcalf's fascinating study examines the ways the British sought to legitimate their rule over India. He demonstrates that the principles the British devised incorporated contradictory visions of India, yet together they made the authority of the Raj lawful. Students of modern India and the British Empire will find this book relevant and accessible.
Preacher, soldier, rebel: Who was the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the most influential books ever written? John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is one of the most important works of English literature. Translated into more than 200 languages, it once rivalled the Bible in popularity in the English-speaking world. In A Turbulent, Seditious and Factious People, Christopher Hill reassesses the well-known author to recover Bunyan’s significance as a preacher—a man whose nonconformist religion led him into conflict with the Quakers and resulted in long years of imprisonment. It was while confined that he wrote his most famous works. This classic biography by one of the leading historians of the seventeenth century offers an extraordinary insight into one of Britain’s most influential writers.
John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is one of the most important works of English literature. Translated into more than 200 languages, it once rivalled the Bible in popularity in the English-speaking world. In A Turbulent, Seditious and Factious People, Christopher Hill reassesses the well-known author to recover Bunyan's significance as a preacher-a man whose nonconformist religion led him into conflict with the Quakers and resulted in long years of imprisonment. It was while confined that he wrote his most famous works. This classic biography by one of the leading historians of the seventeenth century offers an extraordinary insight into one of Britain's most influential writers.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.