Books in the Cambridge Library Collection - South Asian History series

Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833) spent nearly fifty years in India, beginning as a cadet and ending as Governor of Bengal. This two-volume history, published in 1826, covers the period from 1784 to 1823, which saw extensive British territorial expansion in India. Volume 2 discusses the evolution of British rule.

Akbar the Great (1542-1605) is often regarded as the Mughal Empire's most accomplished ruler. This document on the workings of his empire was produced by Akbar's vizier, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (1551-1602). Between 1783 and 1786, the scholar Francis Gladwin (1744/5-1812) produced an English translation from the original Persian. Reissued here is the two-volume edition that appeared in 1800. As the work's dedicatee and Governor-General of Bengal, Warren Hastings had seen the translation as illuminating the Mughal Empire's 'original constitution' and believed it would educate and inform Britain's colonial administrators. Gladwin's text would not be superseded for many decades, and it testifies to the quality of his scholarship and the contemporary concerns of the East India Company. Volume 1 explains the workings of the royal household and military offices, including details of the mint, treasury and harem, as well as building regulations.

Akbar the Great (1542-1605) is often regarded as the Mughal Empire's most accomplished ruler. This document on the workings of his empire was translated from the original Persian by Francis Gladwin (1744/5-1812) and appeared in this two-volume edition in 1800. Volume 2 focuses on religion, philosophy and science.

Matching modern astronomical tables to data from canonical Hindu texts like the Vedas and the Ramayana, this 1825 study strives to establish the scientific facts behind such mythological events as the birth of Rama, the war of the gods and giants, and the marriages of the moon.

This detailed study of the history of Bengal was published in 1813 by the orientalist Charles Stewart (1764-1837). The work covers the period from the early Islamic conquests in the ninth century to the Battle of Plassey in 1757, marking the beginning of British rule.

Henry St George Tucker (1772 1851), who became a director of the East India Company, prepared this report following a claim by a French economist that the British possession of India was a burden to the mother country. First published in 1825, this work offers insights into the profitability of colonialism.

This 1869 book by Henry Thoby Prinsep (1792-1878) written as a guide for magistrates on procedure in the criminal courts of British India. The Code is annotated, and case law and precedents are cited, while appendices contain further relevant legislation. An index of cases cited is also provided.

The Scots historian William Robertson (1721-93) published this work in 1791. It is a synthesis of all earlier western accounts of India from classical times to the sixteenth century, and a long appendix describes 'the genius, the manners, and institutions of the people of India'.

This 1817 book by 'A.M. Philalethes' traces the history of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from the classical period to 1815, providing details of the religion, laws and manners of the people. An appendix contains an account, originally published in 1681, by Robert Knox of his nearly twenty-year captivity on the island.

In this three-volume work, published in 1838, Irish civil servant and author Robert Montgomery Martin (1801-68) compiled and collated earlier survey material to describe the geography, geology, meteorology, natural history, agriculture and manufactures, population, and history of the huge area of Eastern India controlled by the East India Company.

This two-volume work by the Scots orientalist and historian William Erskine (1773-1852), published posthumously by his son in 1854, describes the history of India under the Mughal rulers Babur and his son Humayun, and is acknowledged as one of the earliest western scholarly accounts of Mughal rulers in India.

This two-volume work by Alexander Rogers (1825-1911), first published in 1892, describes the land revenues of the Bombay Presidency (the province which at its greatest extent encompassed much of West and Central India), and gives a history of the rise and progress of the British administration in the region.

The British administrator William Sleeman toured the kingdom of Oude in 1849-1850 and produced a report on its political, social and economic condition. This book, containing Sleeman's account of his journey and selected correspondence, was originally published in Lucknow in 1852; this reissue reproduces the 1858 London edition.

In 1800 the East India Company surgeon Francis Buchanan (1762-1829) was appointed to survey the kingdom of Mysore in southern India, which had recently come under British control. His three-volume report was published in 1807. Volume 3 focuses on the region of Canara, and on Mysore's imports and exports.

This five-volume collection, edited by Robert Montgomery Martin and published in 1836-1837, contains papers by Richard, Lord Wellesley (1760-1842) written during his controversial period in office as Governor-General of Bengal (1798-1805). Volume 2 covers the years 1799-1802, including the treaty of Hyderabad and threats from the French.

John Malcolm was present at the British conquest of Malwa, a region of central India previously little known to Europeans, in 1818. Malcolm studied the region's geology, agriculture and ruling families. First published in Calcutta in 1821, his reports were revised for publication in two volumes in London in 1823.

Russell's Diary in India of 1858-1859 provides a fascinating account of the conflict known as the Indian Mutiny, the first Indian war of independence of 1857-1859. It is particularly interesting in its coverage of the British reprisals after the initial Indian victories, advocating leniency, rebuilding, cooperation, and reform. Volume 1 covers his journey to India and first impressions.

An account of the development of one of India's most important cities, this work, written by Indian civil servant Stephen Meredyth Edwardes (1873-1927) and published in 1902, sketches the port's development from its earliest days to the enormous changes that occurred during the period of British rule.

First published in 1826, this three-volume history of the Marathi people was written by Scots army captain James Grant Duff, who served in India for many years. Volume 1 focuses on the general history of the Marathi, starting with the conquest of the Deccan and finishing in 1740.

William Harrison Moreland (1868-1938) spent twenty-five years as a civil servant in India, with a special interest in agricultural issues. This work, published in 1929, gives a history of land use and the lives of the peasantry from the thirteenth century onwards.

This 1783 account of the First Anglo-Maratha war of 1775-1782 is an important source of information on India before the Raj. The East India Company was expanding its influence, military and economic, over the Indian states, and became involved in a succession dispute over the Maratha Empire.

James Kerr translated this history of the rise to dominance of the Marathas over the Mughal empire in India in 1782. Written at the time of the first Anglo-Maratha war and the increasing wealth and power of the East India Company, it provided a useful history for English readers.

Trevelyan's fascinating and often controversial 'letters' combine recognition of cultural relativity, the dangers of racial prejudice, and an affirmation of the Liberal imperialist's duty to govern for the 'benefit of the inhabitants of India', spreading justice, education and Christianity in the years following the conflict of 1857-1859.

This History is a classic of its time, established as the standard reference work of British Imperialism. Volume 1 examines the history from first encounters of the British in India to the formation of the Honourable East India Company in 1708, with studies of the Hindu and Muslim people and religions.

In this two-volume biography of 1846, Indian diplomat and author Mohan Lal (1812-77) describes the life of Amir Dost Mohammed Khan (1793-1863), the ruler of Afghanistan, his political dealings with the English, Russian and Persian governments at the time of the 'Great Game' in Central Asia.

Reginald Heber (1783-1826) was appointed as the second Anglican Bishop of Calcutta in 1823. He travelled widely in India, and his diary and letters were published in 1828 by his widow Amelia. They include valuable descriptions of Indian culture, together with comments on scenery and architecture.

Published in 1834, as Britain and Russia sought supremacy in Central Asia, this two-volume work sheds light on the Great Game, a coinage credited to British officer Arthur Conolly (1807-42). He describes here the various Asiatic tribes he encountered, as well as the many dangers he had to avoid.

The British colonial administrator Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere (1815-84) left his mark on both India and South Africa. In 1894, John Martineau (1834-1910) published this sympathetic two-volume biography, which traces Frere's rise to prominence and his fall from grace.

Translated and annotated by the German orientalist Edward Sachau (1845-1930), this two-volume 1887-8 work is an account of Indian life in the early medieval period by Muslim polymath and traveller Alberuni (973-1048). Volume 1 discusses among other subjects Hindu beliefs, the caste system and the calendar.

Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779-1859) was a British administrator in India whose career saw him posted to Afghanistan and Poona before becoming Governor of Bombay. Volume 1 of this two-volume biography, published in 1884, examines his childhood, education and early career, covering the period up to 1817.