Colonial India

In the 18th century, India's share of the world economy was as large as Europe's. By 1947, after two centuries of British rule, it had decreased six-fold. Beyond conquest and deception, the Empire blew rebels from cannons, massacred unarmed protesters, entrenched institutionalized racism, and caused millions to die from starvation. British imperialism justified itself as enlightened despotism for the benefit of the governed, but Shashi Tharoor takes on and demolishes this position, demonstrating how every supposed imperial "gift" was designed in Britain's interests alone.

Full of illuminating anecdotes drawn from memoirs, correspondence, and government documents, The British in India weaves a rich tapestry of the everyday experiences of the Britons who found themselves in “the jewel in the crown” of the British Empire. David Gilmour captures the substance and texture of their work, home, and social lives, and illustrates how these transformed across the several centuries of British presence and rule in the subcontinent, from the East India Company’s first trading station in 1615 to the twilight of the Raj and Partition and Independence in 1947.

In the 31st century, humanity stands on the precipice of extinction. The human colonies throughout the galaxy have been decimated by the relentless assault of the Korilian Empire, leaving Earth as the final refuge. Humankind's last hope rests on the tactical prowess of Admiral Jon McCarthy and the foresight of the Nexus House, an ancient conclave of clairvoyants who have long guided humanity's path.

Apart from The Last of the Mohicans, most Americans know little of the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years' War, and yet it remains one of the most fascinating periods in our history. In January 2006, PBS will air The War That Made America, a four-part documentary about this epic conflict. Fred Anderson, the award-winning and critically acclaimed historian, has written the official tie-in to this exciting television event.

This compellingly written history presents a fresh, new view of the events that led from the first foreign salute to American nationhood in 1776 to the last campaign of the Revolution five years later. It paints a magnificent portrait of General George Washington and recounts in riveting detail the events responsible for the birth of our nation.

In this book, we explore British Colonialism in India, a history of oppression and exploitation, whilst celebrating the contributions that the diaspora and its descendants have made to British society. We explore the origins of the British East India Company, navigating through the dark history of a struggle for independence. On the way we meet Mahatma Gandhi, and recognize his significance in the fight for independence, before we discuss the partition of India and creation of Pakistan. We conclude with Indian emigration to the UK, and the history of the modern-day British Indian.

In January 1907, Enrico Bertarelli and his wife set out on an extended holiday to India to tour the country. He traveled widely and kept a detailed journal, not only of the sights and attractions the country offered, but of its history and also his thoughts and feelings about colonial British rule, the condition and interactions of the various groups of natives and the general social mores in the country at the time. This book, translated into English for the first time, is a fascinating window into India at the turn of the 20th century, narrated by an acute European observer who, on the ...

The most brutal and profitable genocide you've never heard of. In the early 17th century, a single spice was worth more than gold. Nutmeg—exotic, intoxicating, and found on only one tiny cluster of volcanic islands: the Banda Archipelago. When the ruthless Dutch East India Company (VOC)—the world’s first true multinational corporation—discovered this monopoly, they initiated a campaign of unrivaled cruelty to secure it. This is the untold micro-history of imperial greed. In just a few harrowing years, the VOC’s Governor-General, J.P. Coen, orchestrated the near-total extermination...

Since the East India Company merged seven islands into Bombay (now Mumbai), change has been constant-but now it is used as a weapon for displacement, disguised as development. Slums are erased overnight to make way for luxury towers priced in tens of crores. The working class is pushed to the...

A forgotten trunk. Three centuries of letters. One city that refuses to drown. When an elderly woman in 1963 Pondicherry discovers a weather-beaten trunk that washes ashore at dawn, she unearths a hidden history—letters and journals spanning from the first French ships of the 1600s to the city’s emotional merger with India. Each page reveals the intertwined lives of merchants, rebels, lovers, governors, soldiers, monks, and ordinary families who lived through wars, sieges, cyclones, colonial rule, and the long struggle for identity. From Dupleix’s ambitions to the razing of 1761, from...

The History of Australia: From Indigenous Origins to a Modern Nation Australia is called the “land down under,” but how much do you really know about its past? Did you know that modern Australia started as a British prison colony? Or that for tens of thousands of years before that, Indigenous peoples lived there, building rich cultures and traditions? This book takes you through Australia’s history, from its first inhabitants to the arrival of European settlers to its fight for independence to its current role in world events. Learn about the convicts who built early settlements, the ...

In the heart of 1857 India, one man’s courage will become legend. The Lion of India is a gripping historical fiction novel that brings to life the first Indian War of Independence—a revolution against the British East India Company that ignited a nation’s fight for freedom. Mirza Khan has lost everything: his family, his land, and his beloved wife. Imprisoned by British captors, the once-proud nobleman now faces his final days as the date of his execution draws near. But Mirza refuses to bow. What follows is a brutal test of his spirit as he endures unspeakable torture, standing ...

It is 1857. Colonial India is a simmering volcano of nationalism about to erupt. Army surgeon Peter Campbell and his wife, Alice, in India on their honeymoon, have no idea that they are about to be swept up in the chaos. Ian Steele, known to all as Captain Samuel Forbes, is fighting for queen and country in Persia. A world away, the real Samuel Forbes is planning to return to London - with potentially disastrous consequences for Samuel and Ian both. Then Ian is posted to India, but not before a brief return to England and a reunion with the woman he loves.

A young Indian man is tapped to help his country’s fight for freedom—but his heart engages him in a different war. “Grand, sweeping, mesmerizing . . . a richly detailed, politically profound story of love, of migration, of individuals caught up in the great convulsions of history...

A forgotten clash that shaped empires — brought vividly to life. In the spring of 1741, the fate of the New World hung in the balance. At the height of the War of Jenkins’ Ear, one of the largest amphibious military campaigns in history descended upon the Caribbean coast. British forces—nearly 200 ships and over 25,000 men—set their sights on the fortified Spanish stronghold of Cartagena de Indias. Their goal: to break Spain’s grip on the Americas. What followed was a brutal and awe-inspiring siege filled with strategic brilliance, devastating miscalculations, tropical disease, ...

Cartagena was an important Spanish port and the site of an Inquisition high court, a slave market, a leper colony, a military base, and a prison colony—colonial institutions that imposed order by enforcing Catholicism, cultural and religious boundaries, and prevailing race and gender hierarchies. The city was also simmering with illegal activity, from contraband trade to prostitution to heretical religious practices. Nicole von Germeten's research uncovers scandalous stories drawn from archival research in Inquisition cases, criminal records, wills, and other legal documents.

Out of a sidelined, colonial-era expedition in Africa comes a new history of cruelty, deception, and adventure from the acclaimed author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia. In 1879, King Leopold II of Belgium launched an ambitious plan to plunder Africa’s resources. The key to cracking open the...

The “compelling [and] vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) true story of a man who claimed to be a survivor of a 1919 British massacre in India, his elaborate twenty-year plan for revenge, and the mix of truth and legend that made him a hero to hundreds of millions. When Sir Michael...

Bestselling author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera explores the global legacy of the British Empire, and the ways it continues to influence economics, politics, and culture around the world. 2.6 billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies. The empire's influence upon the quarter of...

India is a land of mystery, richness, and deep spiritual discovery. Every facet of this ancient land seems scented with the famous spices that lured European traders to its shores more than five centuries ago. Here, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and Buddhists live shoulder to shoulder in a crowded world of multiple gods and juxtaposed pilgrimage routes, each one perfectly peaceful in their own beliefs and traditions.