Empires of Complaints - Mughal Law and the Making of British India, 1765-1793

"This book shows how British empire-builders in eighteenth century India co-opted and transformed Mughal practices of doing justice to petitioning subjects. Drawing on English and Persian sources, it explores the judicial mechanisms behind colonial state-building, revealing how the British attempted to ground their empire on a reconstituted version of Mughal law"--

List of contents

Introduction; 1. Petitioning, taxation and law in eighteenth century Bengal: the context for empire; 2. Recasting Mughal law: company justice after 1772; 3. Zamindari succession disputes and Persianate Hindu law; 4. 'At the Durbar' in Calcutta: Banians, revenue farming, and the politics of landed debt; 5. A jagirdar's lament: an Indo-Persian historian's appeal to the British empire; 6. Conclusion: the making and remaking of a colonial judicial state (c.1780-1793); Select bibliography.

About the author

Robert Travers is Associate Professor of History at Cornell University.

Summary

Robert Travers explores the Mughal and Persianate context for colonial state-formation in eighteenth century Bengal. By examining the interactions between colonial authorities and Indian petitioners, he shows how the British reinterpreted and reconstituted Mughal law to suit their new Indian empire.

Product details

• Authors: Robert Travers, Robert (Cornell University Travers, Travers Robert
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.11.2022
• EAN: 9781009123389
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0912338-9
• No. of pages: 314
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Law > General, dictionaries; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, British Empire, India, Legal History, Asian History, C 1700 To C 1800, Later 18th century c 1750 to c 1799, HISTORY / Asia / South / General