The Origins of the British Empire in Asia, 1600–1750 Thisisanimportant,revisionistaccountoftheoriginsoftheBritishEmpire inAsiaintheearlymodernperiod.DavidVeeversuncoversahiddenworld of transcultural interactions between servants of the English East India CompanyandtheAsiancommunitiesandstatestheycameintocontactwith, revealing how it was this integration of Europeans into nonEuropean economies, states and societies that was central to British imperial and commercial success, rather than national or mercantilist enterprise. As their servants skilfully adapted to this rich and complex environment, the East IndiaCompanybecameenfranchisedbytheeighteenthcenturywithabreadth ofprivilegesandrights fromgoverningsprawlingmetropolises totrading customsfree. In emphasising the Asian genesis of the British Empire, this bookshedsnewlightontheforeignframeworksofpowerwhichfuelledthe expansionofGlobalBritainintheearlymodernworld. david veevers is a Leverhulme Early Career fellow at Queen Mary, University of London. He has published articles in the Journal of Imperial andCommonwealthHistoryandtheJournalofGlobalHistory,andwonthe Royal Historical Society’s Alexander Prize in 2014. He is coeditor of The CorporationasaProtagonistinGlobalHistory,c.1550to1750(2018). The Origins of the British Empire – in Asia, 1600 1750 David Veevers QueenMary,UniversityofLondon UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom OneLibertyPlaza,20thFloor,NewYork,NY10006,USA 477WilliamstownRoad,PortMelbourne,VIC3207,Australia 314 321,3rdFloor,Plot3,SplendorForum,JasolaDistrictCentre, NewDelhi 110025,India 79AnsonRoad,#06 04/06,Singapore079906 CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108483957 DOI:10.1017/9781108669344 ©DavidVeevers2020 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2020 PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyTJInternationalLtd,PadstowCornwall AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. ISBN9781108483957Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracy ofURLsforexternalorthirdpartyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain, accurateorappropriate. For MJ Contents List of Maps page ix Acknowledgements x Introduction ‘AHundredGatesOpen for Entrance’ 1 Part I Weakness and Adaptation 1 ‘ABoddywithout a Head’ TheFailureofanEnglishEnterprise 27 2 ‘Soe Fayre an Opportunitie’ MadrasandtheReconstitutionoftheCompany 57 3 ‘Not asAbsolute Lords and Kings ofthe Place’ TheSuccessofanAngloAsianEnterprise 79 Part II Subordination and Expansion 4 ‘To Be Determined bythe Moor’s Justice’ SearchingforLegitimacyinMughalBengal 111 5 ‘AFirm Settlement inThis Place’ War,NegotiationandImperialIntegration 135 Part III Limitationsand Devastation 6 ‘The MalaysWillNot Preserve ye CountreyThemselves’ SumatraandtheFailureofSuzerainty 177 7 ‘The Company as Their Lordsand theDeputy asa Great Rajah’ TheMakingandUnmakingofanImperialPower 211 vii viii Contents PartIV Empire 8 ‘The End ofTheseThings Will Not Be Good’ LegaciesofEmpireinMidEighteenthCenturyIndia 245 Conclusion Rethinking theOriginsof theBritish Empire inAsia 270 Bibliography 274 Index 286 Maps 1 India page xiii 2 Coromandel Coast xiv 3 Bengal xv 4 Sumatra xvi ix Acknowledgements The writing of a first book is both an end and a beginning. It is the end of a personal journey from student to academic but also the beginning of a new professionaljourney.Forboth achieving theend and instarting a new begin- ning,Ihavemanypeopletothank.Ihadtheimmensesatisfactiontopursueall threeofmydegreesintheSchoolofHistoryattheUniversityofKent,where Ibenefittedfromagenerouscommunityofstudentsandscholars.Inparticular, I’dliketothankOliverCarpenter,NeilCalverandDonLeggettforprovidinga lively postgraduate community over the years, and Kenneth Fincham, Emily Manktelow, Pratik Chakrabarti and William Pettigrew for their time and support in developing my research interests. Kent provided full funding throughout the postgraduate period which allowed me to pursue my research even whilst raisinga young family, for which I will be forevergrateful. However, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Pratik Chakrabarti and Wil- liam Pettigrew. Pratik not only supervised my MA and PhD dissertations but alsotaughtmewhatitmeanstobeahistorianandtheimportanceofacademic integrity.IamforeverinhisdebtandIhopethatthebookIhaveproducedhere is in some way a vindication of his willingness to mentor and supervise me overtheyears.Oneofthehighlightsofmycareersofarwastheopportunityto have a beer and an authentic curry with him in Old Delhi itself. Similarly, Williamprovidedmewiththeopportunitytopursuepostdoctoralresearchand hasguidedmethroughthepost-PhDscholarlyworldnotjustasabossbutasa friend. His generosity has allowed me to travel the world and present and pursuemyresearchfromJapantotheCaribbean,andeverywhereinbetween. AnyprofessionalsuccessthatIhaveachievedIoweinlargeparttohim.Butin many respects he taught me the most important lesson of all: family-life is instrumentaltobecomingawell-roundedacademic.Anespecialthankstomy vivaexaminer,MargotFinn,who,despitehermanyenormousresponsibilities, hasalwaysmadetimetoofferadvice,guidanceandendlessreferencerequests to an ambitious young academicsuch asmyself. AsapostdoctoralresearcheratKent,Iwaspartofatight-knitteamoflike- mindedpeople,whomIamhappytosaybecamenotjustinspiringcolleagues x