Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780-1870 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780521663601)

In a penetrating account of the evolution of British intelligence gathering in India, C. A. Bayly shows how networks of Indian spies, runners and political secretaries were recruited by the British to secure information about their subjects. He also examines the social and intellectual origins of these informants, and considers how the colonial authorities interpreted and often misinterpreted the information they supplied. As Professor Bayly demonstrates, it was such misunderstandings which ultimately contributed to the failure of the British to anticipate the mutinies of 1857. He argues, however, that, even before this, India's complex systems of communication were challenging the political and intellectual dominance of the European rulers.

Author: C. A. Bayly
ISBN-10: 0521663601
ISBN-13: 9780521663601
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 03/09/2000
Pages: 428
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.46lbs
Size: 9.14h x 6.32w x 1.03d