The Honourable Company. John Keay

      The Honourable Company

      John Keay

      

       Copyright

      William Collins

      An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 1991

      Copyright © John Keay 1991

      

      John Keay asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      

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      Source ISBN: 9780006380726

      Ebook Edition © JUNE 2010 ISBN: 9780007395545 Version: 2018-04-30

       Praise

      From the reviews of The Honourable Company:

      ‘What a marvellous story is that of the East India Company!…And John Keay tells it well, humanely and spicily, as well as all we need about organisation, background, etc…Mr Keay gives us the spectrum, the trade with China and Japan, the Arabian Gulf, the East Indies, India, the lot.’

      A. L. ROWSE, Contemporary Review

      ‘Splendid, tumultuous narrative history…The sotry is so colourful, at least in its early stages, that it can be read as a bumper book of Indian adventure.’

      ANTHONY QUINTON, The Times

      ‘A tale worth retelling in detail, when it is done with as much as flair and imagination as this.’

      GEOFFREY MOORHOUSE, Guardian

      ‘A gem of a book on a vast and complex adventure of British trading, maritime and colonial history…highly recommended not only for scholars but to all those interested in an important segment of British and human history.’

       Catholic Herald

      ‘Full of delicious anecdotes…fascinating reading.’

      WILLIAM DALRYMPLE, The Spectator

       For Alexander and Anna

      Table of Contents

       Cover Page

       Title Page

Copyright

Praise

Preface

PART ONE A QUIET TRADE 1600-1640

CHAPTER ONE Islands of Spicerie

CHAPTER TWO This Frothy Nation

CHAPTER THREE Pleasant and Fruitfull Lands

CHAPTER FOUR Jarres and Brabbles

CHAPTER FIVE The Keye of All India

PART TWO FLUCTUATING FORTUNES 1640-1710

CHAPTER SIX These Frowning Times

       CHAPTER SEVEN A Seat of Power and Trade

       CHAPTER EIGHT Fierce Engageings

       CHAPTER NINE Renegades and Rivals

       CHAPTER TEN Eastern Approaches

       PART THREE A TERRITORIAL POWER 1710-1760

       CHAPTER ELEVEN The Dark Age

       CHAPTER TWELVE Outposts of Effrontery

       CHAPTER THIRTEEN One Man’s Pirate

       CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Germ of an Army

       CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Famous Two Hundred Days

       PART FOUR A PARTING OF THE WAYS 1760-1820

       CHAPTER SIXTEEN Looking Eastward to the Sea

       CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The Transfer of Power

       CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Too Loyal, Too Faithful

       CHAPTER NINETEEN Tea Trade Versus Free Trade