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Conclusion

Rethinking the Origins of the British Empire in Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2020

David Veevers
Affiliation:
Queen Mary University of London
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Summary

It should perhaps seem strange to conclude a book which seeks to emphasise the Asian genesis of the British Empire with a focus on that most infamous of all colonial conquerors, Robert Clive, the ‘victor’ of Plassey. But whereas most have considered Clive the architect of the British Empire in Asia, even the actions of this avid imperialist can be reconsidered within the context of the powerful local forces which shaped the Company’s expansion beyond the mid-eighteenth century. For in many ways, Clive encapsulated the increasing tensions between these Asian forces and the resurgent British state. So while the settlement of Plassey was a conservative one, ensuring that the Company’s expansion remained within the existing framework of nawabi Bengal, it had nonetheless placed the Company at the top of the post-Plassey hierarchy. Writing to the Prime Minister, William Pitt, Clive worried that if the Company were ever to directly rule Bengal one day, ‘so large a sovereignty may possibly be an object too extensive for a mercantile Company’. Rather, he wondered whether ‘an income yearly of upwards of two millions sterling, with the possession of three provinces, abounding in the most valuable productions of nature and art, be an objective deserving the public attention’. Clive was in rather stunning terms outlining a potentially new form of empire, one in which the British nation-state would directly exercise rule over Bengal for the benefit of the national interest.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Conclusion
  • David Veevers, Queen Mary University of London
  • Book: The Origins of the British Empire in Asia, 1600–1750
  • Online publication: 20 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108669344.014
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  • Conclusion
  • David Veevers, Queen Mary University of London
  • Book: The Origins of the British Empire in Asia, 1600–1750
  • Online publication: 20 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108669344.014
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Conclusion
  • David Veevers, Queen Mary University of London
  • Book: The Origins of the British Empire in Asia, 1600–1750
  • Online publication: 20 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108669344.014
Available formats
×