Revenue and reform : the Indian problem in British politics : 1757-1773

Revenue and Reform offers a reappraisal of British imperial politics in the third quarter of the eighteenth century. It is traditional to regard the 1760s as a time when British politicians were preoccupied with the crises that eventually led to the outbreak of the American War of Independence. In this book, however, it is the Indian problem that is examined. Politicians struggled to come to terms with the East India Company's unexpected acquisition of territory and great wealth in Bengal, and they endeavored to formulate policy related to many new and unfamiliar issues. New light is shed on debate about revenue collection, territorial rights, diplomacy, justice, and administrative reform in order to illustrate the central theme of the book: the gradual and reluctant assumption of responsibility by ministers for the Indian empire. Revenue and Reform offers a reappraisal of British imperial politics in the third quarter of the eighteenth century. It is traditional to regard the 1760s as a time when British politicians were preoccupied with the crises which eventually led to the outbreak of the American War of Independence in 1775. Here, for the first time, a different imperial problem - the Indian problem - is examined in detail. Politicians struggled to come to terms with the East India Company's unexpected acquisition of territory and great wealth in Bengal, and they endeavoured to formulate policy related to many new and unfamiliar issues. New light is shed on debate about revenue collection, territorial rights, diplomacy, justice and administrative reform in order to illustrate the central theme of the book: the gradual and reluctant assumption of responsibility by ministers for the Indian empire. Firm guidelines for the development of the Anglo-Indian imperial connection were eventually laid down by Lord North's Regulating Act of 1773, and the background to, and principles underpinning, this important legislative landmark are fully explored in the concluding chapters Revenue and Reform considers how politicians in London tackled the many problems stemming from British expansion in India. The book illuminates the nature and purpose of British imperialism, and explains why the administration of overseas territory could no longer be left entirely in the hands of a private trading company. This text describes how politicians in London tackled the many problems stemming from British expansion in India. It examines how politicians considered Britain's role should develop in the colonies & in what ways British rule should be implemented Between 1757 and 1765 the East India Company acquired a vast territorial empire in north-east India. H.v. Bowen. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 190-197) And Index.