Climates & constitutions : health, race, environment and British imperialism in India : 1600-1850

The first major study of European attitudes towards India's climate and their bearing on imperial expansion, this book shows how growing fears about racial degeneration led to the abandonment of plans for white colonization. It also considers European strategies for coping with Indian climate and explains the emergence of modern concepts of race. "Climates and Constitutions is the first major study of European attitudes towards India's climate and their bearing on imperial expansion. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including the accounts of European travellers and a large number of scientific and medical treatises, it makes an original contribution to the environmental and medical history of South Asia. The book examines in detail two interrelated developments: the emergence of modern ideas of race and the growing alienation of Europeans from the Indian environment."--BOOK JACKET A study of European attitudes towards India's climate and their bearing on imperial expansion. It shows how fears about racial degeneration led to the abandonment of plans for white colonization and considers European strategies for coping with Indian climate.