The Anglo-Maratha Campaigns and the Contest for India: The Struggle for Control of the South Asian Military Economy

by Randolf G.S. Cooper

The Anglo-Maratha Campaigns of 1803 represented the last serious indigenous obstacle to the formation of the British Raj. This study examines Maratha military culture through a battle-by-battle analysis of the campaigns. Randolf Cooper challenges the ethnocentric assumptions that associate Western political ascendancy with The Military Revolution and argues that the real contest for India was the struggle to control the South Asian military economy, rather than a single decisive military battle. Victory depended more on economics and intelligence than on superiority in discipline, drill and technology.

Genres: India

Paperback

First published April 19, 2004

About the author

Randolf Cooper is the Dean, Royal Docks Business and Law School at the University of East London. He holds a BA in History and an MA in South Asian Studies from the University of Toronto and a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Reviews

[Anand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent analysis of Maratha and South Asian history. The book is detailed in analysis and meant for only those with deep interest in the topic. A work of scholarship.