~No longer Merchants, but Sovereigns of a vast Empire~ : the writings of Sir John Malcolm and British India, 1810 to 1833
This thesis analyses the works of Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833) as key texts in the intellectual history of the formation of British India. It is concerned less with Malcolm's widely acknowledged role as a leading East India Company administrator and more with the unparalleled range of influential books that he wrote on imperial and Asian topics between 1810 and his death in 1833. Through the publication of nine major works, numerous pamphlets and articles and a few volumes of poetry, Malcolm established his reputation as an authority in three major areas. Firstly, the Sketch of the Political History of India (1811) and the posthumously published Life of Robert Lord Clive (1836) remained major sources on the history of the founding of the British empire in India for much of the nineteenth century. Through these histories, he wove the anxieties of the Company's solider-diplomats of the early nineteenth into the narrative of the Company's rise as an imperial power. With the History of the Sikhs (1810) and, to a far greater extent, the History of Persia (1815), Malcolm sealed his reputation as a path-finding orientalist making an early contribution to European knowledge of India's north-west frontier. Lastly,
Harrington, Jack Henry Lewis
India ; British Empire ; Malcolm ; John (1769-1833) ; British orientalism ; orientalism ; historiography ; British India
~No longer Merchants, but Sovereigns of a vast Empire~ : the writings of Sir John Malcolm and British India, 1810 to 1833. This thesis analyses the works of Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833) as key texts in the intellectual history of the formation of British India. It is concerned less with Malcolm's widely acknowledged role as a leading East India Company administrator and more with the unparalleled range of influential books that he wrote on imperial and Asian topics between 1810 and his death in 1833. Through the publication of nine major works, numerous pamphlets and articles and a few volumes of poetry, Malcolm established his reputation as an authority in three major areas. Firstly, the Sketch of the Political History of India (1811) and the posthumously published Life of Robert Lord Clive (1836) remained major sources on the history of the founding of the British empire in India for much of the nineteenth century. Through these histories, he wove the anxieties of the Company's solider-diplomats of the early nineteenth into the narrative of the Company's rise as an imperial power. With the History of the Sikhs (1810) and, to a far greater extent, the History of Persia (1815), Malcolm sealed his reputation as a path-finding orientalist making an early contribution to European knowledge of India's north-west frontier. Lastly,
longer vast empire writing sir john british_india analyse work sir john key texts intellectual_history formation british_india concerned less widely_acknowledge role lead east_india_company administrator unparalleled range influential book write imperial asian topic death publication major_work numerous pamphlet article volume poetry establish reputation authority three_major area firstly sketch political history india publish life lord remain major_source history found british_empire india much history weave anxiety company narrative company rise imperial_power history far_great extent history persia seal reputation path finding orientalist make early european knowledge india north_west frontier lastly