Wanderings Of A Pilgrim In Search Of The Picturesque During Four And Twenty Years In The East Vol 1 Of 2

This book analyzes the domestic relations which British men came to establish with native Indian women in early colonial Bengal. It provides a fresh look into the history of imperial expansion and colonial encounters by studying the large number of wills left by the British men who came in an official or economic capacity to India. It closely engages with these wills, considering them as unique personal records. These documents, where the men penned down details of their native mistresses, give a glimpse of what their lives, interpersonal relationships, household objects, and everyday affairs were like. The volume highlights how commonplace such non-marital cohabitation was and constructs the social history of these connections. It looks at issues of theft, violence, rape, bequeathment, and property rights which the women had to contend with, and also studies some of the early experiences of the mixed-race children who were a product of these relationships. A unique look into the asymmetrical but fascinating history of interracial households in early colonial Bengal, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of history, women’s studies, gender studies, colonial law, colonial travel writing, minority studies, colonialism, imperialism, and South Asian studies.

Excerpt from Wanderings of a Pilgrim, in Search of the Picturesque, During Four-and-Twenty Years in the East, Vol. 1 of 2: With Revelations of Life in the Zenāna So many admirable works have appeared of late, illustrating scenes in India, both with pen and pencil, that I offer these sketches in all humility, pleading the force of example. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1850 edition. Excerpt: ...a plentiful harvest of paisa. The people who attend the fair make pooja at his little temple. The old man had an idiot son, who, having a great dislike to clothes, constantly tore all his attire to pieces; in the sketch, entitled Adansonia Digitata, he is represented in his usual attitude, with both arms stretched out, remonstrating (after his fashion) with his father, on the impropriety of wearing clothes. The poor boy was speechless, but not dumb, for he could utter the most horrible sounds: and when enraged at his father's attempting to clothe him, he would howl, make angry gestures, and tear off the obnoxious attire. During the time of the fair, the groups of natives, of horses, and odd-looking conveyances are very picturesque beneath the spreading branches of the great Adansonia trees. Our friend was not only agent for gunpowder, but also, by the order of Government, he had established a manufactory for rockets at Papamhow, in consequence of the Congreve rockets sent from England having proved unserviceable. He was obliged to make many experiments, to suit the composition to our burning climate, and to test the result of exposure to the sun. When the trials were to be made, and the rockets proved, I often went down upon the white sands in the bed of the river, to see the experiments. 1 Oriental Proverbs, No. 52. VOL. I. Q The Ganges is from forty to forty-five feet deeper during the rains than during the dry season; and banks of the finest white sand, of immense extent, are left dry for many months in the bed of the river when the rains have passed away. The sands extended three or four miles, and being without cultivation or inhabitants, were exactly suited to the purpose. When the rockets were laid upon the sands, and fired, it was...

This edition of Fanny Parkes' account of her travels in India provides valuable insight into middle-class British women's views on Indian life. It includes descriptions of the Zenana and Indian domestic life--subjects that are often omitted from male-authored travel texts.

The East India Company at Home, 1757–1857 explores how empire in Asia shaped British country houses, their interiors and the lives of their residents. It includes chapters from researchers based in a wide range of settings such as archives and libraries, museums, heritage organisations, the community of family historians and universities. It moves beyond conventional academic narratives and makes an important contribution to ongoing debates around how empire impacted Britain. The volume focuses on the propertied families of the East India Company at the height of Company rule. From the Battle of Plassey in 1757 to the outbreak of the Indian Uprising in 1857, objects, people and wealth flowed to Britain from Asia. As men in Company service increasingly shifted their activities from trade to military expansion and political administration, a new population of civil servants, army officers, surveyors and surgeons journeyed to India to make their fortunes. These Company men and their families acquired wealth, tastes and identities in India, which travelled home with them to Britain. Their stories, the biographies of their Indian possessions and the narratives of the stately homes in Britain that came to house them, frame our explorations of imperial culture and its British legacies.