Dawning of the Raj: The Life and Trials of Warren Hastings - Hardcover

Bernstein, Jeremy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1566632811 ISBN 13: 9781566632812

Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, 2000

Synopsis

Nothing in the history of empire is stranger than the creation of British rule in India, when a small European island became master of a subcontinent ranging from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayas. In the late eighteenth century the person most responsible for this was Warren Hastings, Britain's first governor-general of India. In Dawning of the Raj, Jeremy Bernstein brings to life in vivid colors Hastings's story amidst the rise of British power. Orphaned early, Hastings worked his way up from the lowest clerk in the East India Company to its highest office in India. His concern for native cultures led him to sponsor the first British expedition to Tibet and the first translation into English of the Bhagavadgita. Brilliant and autocratic, he also made enemies, and upon his return to England they charged him with "high crimes and misdemeanors." His impeachment trial, one of the great spectacles of the age, lasted seven years and pitted Hastings against the likes of Edmund Burke and the playwright Richard Sheridan. It attracted the novelist Fanny Burney, who wrote of it with passion in her Journals. This parliamentary drama, replete with the trappings of state, forms the conclusion to Mr. Bernstein's fascinating, unusual, and completely captivating narrative. With 22 black-and-white illustrations.

About this title

About the Author

For nearly three decades Jeremy Bernstein wrote profiles of scientists for the New Yorker. Many were prize–winners, and his book Einstein was nominated for the National Book Award. Mr. Bernstein, a theoretical physicist best known for his nonscientific work, has also written The Merely Personal and Oppenheimer as well as Hitler's Uranium Club; Three Degrees Above Zero; and Cranks, Quarks, and the Cosmos. He lives in New York City and Aspen, Colorado.–

From the Back Cover

This historical adventure story of the first order chronicles the life of Warren Hastings, who planted the roots of the British Empire in India. In the late eighteenth century Hastings worked his way up from the lowest clerk in the East India Company to become Britain's first governor-general of India. He sponsored the first British expedition to Tibet and the first translation into English of the Bhagavadgita. Yet upon his return to England his enemies charged him with "high crimes and misdemeanors". His trial was one of the great spectacles of the age. His impeachment, filled with drama and replete with the trappings of state, forms the conclusion to Jeremy Bernstein's gripping narrative.

Reviews

Acclaimed biographer Bernstein (Albert Einstein and the Frontiers of Physics) looks at the history behind the impeachment trial of the 18th century--a trial that lasted seven years, involved some of the epoch's greatest figures (Edmund Burke, Richard Sheridan) and ended in acquittal. At the center of these events was the colonialist Warren Hastings--India's first British governor-general. Hastings, Bernstein claims in this descriptive account, was the man responsible for planting the seeds of the British Empire in India. A brilliant, intellectually curious man, Hastings ruled India arrogantly, efficiently and by personal decree; he set up a postal service, sponsored a geographical survey of India's vast regions, unified the currency system, sponsored a diplomatic mission to Tibet and encouraged the codification of Indian law. But he served two demanding, and often contradictory, masters: the British East India Company and the British government. When, in the late 18th century, the East India Company sent "Company men," such as Philip Francis, overseas, most of them believed Hastings was an autocrat who needed to be reined in. That's when Hastings's troubles began. Drawing on his powerful friends back in Europe, Francis began a successful campaign to besmirch Hastings's reputation, and when Hastings returned home in 1785, he was charged with taking bribes, profiteering and genocide. Although occasionally lacking in narrative focus, this thoroughly researched, rich chronicle recalls an important chapter of European history, providing a fresh perspective on the roots of the British Empire and the labyrinthine politics of late-18th-century Britain. B&w photos. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

As the "jewel in the crown" of the British empire, India naturally produced a large share of imperial demigods, including Clive, Havelock, and Napier. Hastings certainly merits a place at or near the top of the list. As the first governor-general of British India, he reformed revenue administration, replaced personal whims with the rule of law in the judicial system, and defeated the Mahrattas to guarantee British control of western and central India. Yet his public career ended in ignominy when he was charged with various acts of administrative extortion and impeached in London. His trial lasted seven years, and although acquitted, Hastings was ruined financially. Bernstein is a theoretical physicist who has traveled in and written extensively about the Indian subcontinent. He views Hastings as an immensely gifted but flawed man whose strength of personality eventually led to his downfall. His recounting of the trial captures both the sensational and tragic aspects of an ordeal that ranged from high drama to farce. This is an absorbing and stimulating biography that effectively captures both the man and his era. Jay Freeman

Edition details

• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1566632811
• ISBN 13: 9781566632812
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 335