Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire

WINNER OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE A profound and ground-breaking new history of one of the most important encounters in the history of colonialism: the British arrival in India in the early seventeenth century. 'A triumph of writing and scholarship. It is hard to imagine anyone ever bettering Das's account of this part of the story' - William Dalrymple, Financial Times 'A fascinating glimpse of the origins of the British Empire . . . drawn in dazzling technicolour' - Spectator 'Beautifully written and masterfully researched, this has the makings of a classic' - Peter Frankopan SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE POL ROGER DUFF COOPER PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA CROWN AWARDS A SPECTATOR, WATERSTONES, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE, PROSPECT AND HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEAR When Thomas Roe arrived in India in 1616 as James I's first ambassador to the Mughal Empire, the English barely had a toehold in the subcontinent. Their understanding of South Asian trade and India was sketchy at best, and, to the Mughals, they were minor players on a very large stage. Roe was representing a kingdom that was beset by financial woes and deeply conflicted about its identity as a unified 'Great Britain' under the Stuart monarchy.