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Bentinck and the Paradox of Change
BENTINCK AND THE PARADOX OF CHANGE
Roderick Matthews
eBook published by IDEAINDIA.COM
© Roderick Matthews 2007
Conquerors readily believe in their own fitness to rule; it would be hard not to see earthly dominion as convincing proof of one’s own superiority. Another equally flattering possibility is that empire is a gift to the worthy from a beneficent God. Both these explanations were available to those constructing the British imperial myth through the early nineteenth century, and both had implications for development of imperial policy as the British emerged triumphant from a long period of war. With Napoleon in exile and Maratha power finally destroyed by 1818, the British were left supreme in Europe, unmatched on the world’s oceans and in secure control of most of India.
This eBook examines nineteenth century British policy in India with reference to the reforms of Lord Bentinck, and to two sets of unacknowledged contradictions; those between idealistic liberalism and the practical capitalism of the new imperial plutocrats, and between the rationale of colonial rule and the aspirations of Indians to run their own affairs.
Roderick Matthews, Historian, Obtained a First from Balliol College, Oxford in Modern History. Studied Medieval History under Maurice Keen. Studied Tudor and Stuart History under Christopher Hill, Master of Balliol College. Studied European History under Colin Lucas, later Master of Balliol College and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Studied Imperial History under Professor Paul Longford, Rector of Lincoln College.
Roderick Matthews
eBook published by IDEAINDIA.COM
© Roderick Matthews 2007
Conquerors readily believe in their own fitness to rule; it would be hard not to see earthly dominion as convincing proof of one’s own superiority. Another equally flattering possibility is that empire is a gift to the worthy from a beneficent God. Both these explanations were available to those constructing the British imperial myth through the early nineteenth century, and both had implications for development of imperial policy as the British emerged triumphant from a long period of war. With Napoleon in exile and Maratha power finally destroyed by 1818, the British were left supreme in Europe, unmatched on the world’s oceans and in secure control of most of India.
This eBook examines nineteenth century British policy in India with reference to the reforms of Lord Bentinck, and to two sets of unacknowledged contradictions; those between idealistic liberalism and the practical capitalism of the new imperial plutocrats, and between the rationale of colonial rule and the aspirations of Indians to run their own affairs.
Roderick Matthews, Historian, Obtained a First from Balliol College, Oxford in Modern History. Studied Medieval History under Maurice Keen. Studied Tudor and Stuart History under Christopher Hill, Master of Balliol College. Studied European History under Colin Lucas, later Master of Balliol College and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Studied Imperial History under Professor Paul Longford, Rector of Lincoln College.
45 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 30, 2011
4 people want to read
About the author
Roderick Matthews
33 books9 followersRoderick Matthews is a freelance writer specializing in Indian history. He lives in London with his wife and two children. Born in 1956, he studied Modern History at Balliol College, Oxford, and has written for a number of British and Indian publications, including the Observer, the Literary Review, and the Times of India.
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