The Eighteenth Century in Indian History: Evolution or Revolution?

The eighteenth century—the era of the fall of the Mughals, of the rise of regional successor states, and of the beginnings of British domination—has attracted some of the most lively and innovative writing about Indian history in recent years. This book presents within a single volume a selection of the most important work on this period that has appeared in specialist journals or as chapters in monographs. Reassessment of the eighteenth century has provoked controversy, much of which relates to debates about the nature of the changes that took place in the hundred or so years. Can they best be understood as ‘revolutionary’, involving the fall of a great Asian imperial system and the rise of a foreign one with entirely different priorities, including the extraction of wealth on a vast scale? Or were there underlying continuities between the Mughals, their Indian successors, and the early British which produced a more evolutionary pattern of change? This book gives its readers material to enter fully into such debates and make up their own minds. With a wide-ranging introduction by P.J. Marshall and an exhaustive bibliography, this comprehensive collection of essays by a distinguished roster of contributors is essential reading for scholars, students, and non-specialist readers interested in the period.