British Houses in Late Mughal Delhi

摘要

When the British first began their long and ultimately humiliating encounter with the Indian subcontinent, the idea of imperial dominion was merely a fantasy. The English, who initiated the relationship via the exploits of the East India Company, were there for trade and nothing more. However, as long-established institutions of subcontinental power began to decline and crumble around it, the company soon gained effective control of ever greater swaths of territory, including the right to tax land. It was a slippery slope, and the temptation to rule and enrich themselves proved too much for the company and its officials. Hubris and greed led to the devastating events of May 1857, in which the company crushed an Indian rebellion, but by then the die had been cast: Britain and British rule were there to stay.