The Strange Case of Lord Pigot recounts some interesting and true stories from English settlements in India in the 17th and 18th centuries. It traces several instances of grave insubordination and rebellion at those settlements, and culminates in the public furore over the arrest, imprisonment, and death in confinement, of one of the greatest English governors of Madras. It also recounts the remarkable tale of the rise of the Nawab of Arcot, Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, to power; his contracting of huge debts to private European creditors, and the public attention and parliamentary discussion his liabilities drew for over 40 years. Drawing mainly on contemporary publications, this narrative travels from the time of Francis Day through that of Dupleix, De Bussy, De Lally, Clive, Calcutta, the siege of Madras, and the fall of Pondicherry, to Pigot’s second governorship, and the events that followed.

A major new account of one of the leading philosopher-statesmen of the eighteenth century Edmund Burke (1730–97) lived during one of the most extraordinary periods of world history. He grappled with the significance of the British Empire in India, fought for reconciliation with the American colonies, and was a vocal critic of national policy during three European wars. He also advocated reform in Britain and became a central protagonist in the great debate on the French Revolution. Drawing on the complete range of printed and manuscript sources, Empire and Revolution offers a vivid reconstruction of the major concerns of this outstanding statesman, orator, and philosopher. In restoring Burke to his original political and intellectual context, this book overturns the conventional picture of a partisan of tradition against progress and presents a multifaceted portrait of one of the most captivating figures in eighteenth-century life and thought. A boldly ambitious work of scholarship, this book challenges us to rethink the legacy of Burke and the turbulent era in which he played so pivotal a role.

Examines the role of the East India Company's independent armies in the colonial government of South Asia.