06-13-2022, 07:52 AM
The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
The history of the East India Company from when it started in 1750ish to about 1815. I'm glad I read this book because it cleared up misconceptions I had about the EIC. For one, I thought it was more of a Victorian England thing rather than concurrent with with the American Revolution. For instance the tea thrown into Boston Harbor was tea from the EIC. Another fun fact, the Duke of Wellington, of Waterloo Fame, worked for the EIC and was responsible for subjugating the country. Before the Duke, Lord Cornwallis was also there fighting wars after his defeat at Yorktown.
It's an amazingly ghastly story of what happens when a corporation takes over a country. I was confused by a lot of the economics of the story. I had a hard time keeping straight the various Indian factions. Although the book did a lot to show what a strong role Islam played in ruling the country. My understanding of the story would probably help with a re-read of the novel, but that's not going to happen. I got enough out of it to answer a few more Jeopardy questions.
The history of the East India Company from when it started in 1750ish to about 1815. I'm glad I read this book because it cleared up misconceptions I had about the EIC. For one, I thought it was more of a Victorian England thing rather than concurrent with with the American Revolution. For instance the tea thrown into Boston Harbor was tea from the EIC. Another fun fact, the Duke of Wellington, of Waterloo Fame, worked for the EIC and was responsible for subjugating the country. Before the Duke, Lord Cornwallis was also there fighting wars after his defeat at Yorktown.
It's an amazingly ghastly story of what happens when a corporation takes over a country. I was confused by a lot of the economics of the story. I had a hard time keeping straight the various Indian factions. Although the book did a lot to show what a strong role Islam played in ruling the country. My understanding of the story would probably help with a re-read of the novel, but that's not going to happen. I got enough out of it to answer a few more Jeopardy questions.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm