Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India - Brossura

JAMES, LAWRENCE

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0312263821 ISBN 13: 9780312263829

Casa editrice: Griffin, 2000

Riassunto

In less that one hundred years, the British made themselves the masters of India. They ruled for another hundred, leaving behind the independent nations of India and Pakistan when they finally withdrew in 1947. Both nations would owe much to the British Raj: under its rule, Indians learned to see themselves as Indians; its benefits included railways, roads, canals, schools, universities, hospitals, universal language and common law.

None of this, however, was planned. After a series of emergencies in the eighteenth century transformed a business partnership-the East India Company-into the most formidable war machine in Asia, conquest gathered its own momentum. Fortunes grew, but, alongside them, Britons grew troubled by the despotism that had been created in their name. The result was the formation of a government that balanced firmness with benevolence, and had as its goal the advancement of India.

But the Raj, outwardly so monolithic and magnificent, always rested precariously on the goodwill of Indians. In this remarkable exploration of British rule in India, Lawrence James chronicles the astonishing heroism that created it, the mixture of compromise and firmness that characterized it, and the twists and turns of the independence struggle that ended it.

" ... James presents a consistently intriguing take on a deeply complicated history." - Publishers Weekly

Su questo libro

L'autore:

Lawrence James was born in Bath and educated at the University of York and Merton College, Oxford. After a distinguished teaching career, he emerged as one of the outstanding narrative historians of this generation. He lives in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Product Description:

From the critically acclaimed author of "The Rise and Fall of the British Empire" comes an unapologetic revisionist history of British rule in India. James recounts the twists and turns of imperialism and independence with a wealth of new material. 8-page photo insert.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Griffin
• Data di pubblicazione: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0312263821
• ISBN 13: 9780312263829
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 762