‘Weavers Of Bengal Were An Incredible Asset For The East India Company'
Down To Earth|December 01, 2019
WILLIAM DALRYMPLE IS HABITUATED TO HIS BOOKS CREATING A BUZZ. HIS LATEST, THE ANARCHY, FOCUSES ON HOW A JOINT- STOCK COMPANY, ESTABLISHED BY THE MERCHANTS OF LONDON, TOOK OVER PRACTICALLY THE ENTIRE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT BETWEEN 1756 AND 1803. RAJAT GHAI SPEAKS TO THE HISTORIAN-AUTHOR ABOUT THE EAST INDIA COMPANY AND THE FACTORS THAT LED TO ITS ASCENT IN SOUTH ASIA. EXCERPTS:
RAJAT GHAI
‘Weavers Of Bengal Were An Incredible Asset For The East India Company'

In the book you mention that one of your ancestors passed away in the Black Hole of Calcutta (now Kolkata). Did this push you to embark on the project?

Absolutely not. But in the wider sense I do feel that this is my family history as much as everything else. Not just that guy (Stair Dalrymple), but generations of my family were involved, first in the East India Company (EIC) and then in the British Raj. Along the way, I have acquired trickles of Bengali and Mughal blood. Being Scottish as well as part-Bengali and part-Mughal, I am well-placed to see all sides of the story.

Earlier, there were Phoenician traders in the Mediterranean, Silk Route traders in Eurasia and Indian traders in East Africa and Maritime Southeast Asia. What was so different about EIC)​ traders?

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 01, 2019-Ausgabe von Down To Earth.

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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 01, 2019-Ausgabe von Down To Earth.

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