British History

No era is more pertinent to understanding how present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh evolved than the nearly 200 years of British rule. This colonial period was a time of deep change and transformation - for India and for the world. These 24 engrossing lectures offer you new perspectives on the history of European imperialism, on world economic history, on the features of British colonialism, and on the rich cultures of the Indian subcontinent.

Nothing offends liberals more than Western imperialism—it is racism, sexism, and chauvinism all in one. And of course the epitome of Western imperialism is the British Empire, covering at its height a quarter of the globe’s surface and ruling a quarter of the world’s population. Here, best-selling author H. W. Crocker III exposes how the British Empire was actually one of the greatest establishers and defenders of freedom in history.

Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) - the only English commoner to become the overall head of state - is one of the great figures of history, but his character was very complex. He was at once courageous and devout, devious and self-serving; as a parliamentarian, he was devoted to his cause; as a soldier, he was ruthless. Cromwell's speeches and writings surpass in quantity those of any other ruler of England before Victoria, and, for those seeking to understand him, he has usually been taken at his word. In this remarkable new work, Ronald Hutton untangles the facts from the fiction.

1775: British East India Company had won the battles of Plassey and Buxar. Their devastating tax measures and government machinery led to the Great Bengal Famine. Even as the masses struggled for survival, the Company was on a steady path towards maximizing profits and becoming the undisputed rulers of Bengal. Maharaja Nanda Kumar was an influential landowner in Bengal, who had been put in charge for revenue collection by the Company. He stumbled upon the elaborate game of money laundering and corruption with one man behind it all–Warren Hastings.

The American revolutionaries—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John and Abigail Adams—called themselves Patriots. But what exactly did it mean to be a Patriot? Historian Amy Watson locates the origins of Patriotism in British politics of the early eighteenth century, showing that the label "Patriot" was first adopted by a network of British politicians with radical ideas about the principles and purpose of the British Empire.

How do myths and stories influence culture? What is the difference between one culture and another, and how did these differences come to be? Are cultures fixed or do they change over time?Devdutt Pattanaik, India's leading mythologist, breaks down the complex maze of stories, symbols and...

The history of India's struggle for freedom is usually told from the perspective of the non-violent movement. Yet, the story of armed resistance to colonial occupation is just as important. Names such as Vinayak Savarkar, Aurobindo Ghosh, Rashbehari Bose, Bagha Jatin, Sachindra Nath Sanyal...

Experience history as a glorious and uproarious comedy of errors. Murderers, schemers, traitors, fools, thieves, oligarchs, and torturers make up the real history of Britain's "nobility" and their misdeeds, this Victorian bestseller was written by one of the founders of Punch narrated with wicked wit by Charles Featherstone.

Hedgewar chronicles the untold story of the enigmatic founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), whose vision for India's cultural revival continues to shape the nation's socio-political landscape. Through meticulous research and vivid storytelling, this biography traces Hedgewar's...

A comprehensive and gripping narrative'---Vikram Sampath, author, historian and Fellow of Royal Historical Society'A must-read'---Sandeep Unnithan, managing editor, India TodayThere are not many Indian heroes whose lives have been as dramatic and adventurous as that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose...

“Ridley leaps from chromosome to chromosome in a handy summation of our ever increasing understanding of the roles that genes play in disease, behavior, sexual differences, and even intelligence. . . . . He addresses not only the ethical quandaries faced by contemporary scientists but the...

Indian leaders at the time of Independence had their tasks cut out. The nation that was marred by an ugly Partition, had to be prevented from coming apart at the seams. A Constitution had to be framed for a complex society. An election system had to be designed for an electorate that was mostly...

1857-ലെ ഒന്നാം സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യ സമരം മുതല്‍ 1946-ലെ നാവികകലാപം വരെയുള്ള സായുധ സമരങ്ങളാണ് ഈ കൃതിയില്‍ വിവരിക്കുന്നത്. ഗാന്ധിയന്‍ സമരമാതൃകയ്ക്ക് ചരിത്രത്തില്‍ ലഭിച്ച സ്ഥാനം ഈ ചരിത്രഗ്രന്ഥം രേഖപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു.

Dotted across homes in Britain are people who were witnesses to one of the most tumultuous events of the 20th century. Yet their memory of India’s partition has been shrouded in silence. Kavita Puri’s father was 12 when he found himself one of the millions of Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims caught up in the devastating aftermath of a hastily drawn border. For 70 years he remained silent - like so many - about the horrors he had seen.

**One of AudioFile Magazine's Best Audiobooks of 2019** "The winning combination of George Newbern's engaging narration and Rick Atkinson's vivid new work of history--the first in a planned trilogy about the American Revolution--brings to life what could have been a dry account of Revolutionary...

The British wars began on the morning of 23 July 1637, heralding 200 years of battles. Most were driven by religious or political conviction, as Republicans and Royalists, Catholics and Protestants, Tories and Whigs, and colonialists and natives vied for supremacy. Of the battles not fought on home territory, many took place across Europe, America, India, and also at sea. Schama's examination of this turbulent period reveals how the British people eventually united in imperial enterprise, forming 'Britannia Incorporated'.

It has been a century since the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, but Punjab is still to recover from the shock of it. The British Empire never did either-the impact of those bullets fired for ten minutes at an unarmed, peaceful crowd inside a community park with one narrow exit rang through its...

Were World Wars I and II–which can now be seen as a thirty-year paroxysm of slaughter and destruction–inevitable? Were they necessary wars? Were the bloodiest and most devastating conflicts ever suffered by mankind fated by forces beyond man’s control? Or were they products of calamitous...

Exploring the extraordinary social and political dominance enjoyed by the British aristocracy over the centuries, Entitled seeks to explain how a tiny number of noble families rose to such a position in the first place. It reveals the often nefarious means they have employed to maintain their wealth, power, and prestige and examines the greed, ambition, jealousy, and rivalry which drove aristocratic families to guard their interests with such determination.

In 1943 Winston Churchill and the British Empire needed millions of Indian troops, all of India's industrial output, and tons of Indian grain to support the Allied war effort. Such massive contributions were certain to trigger famine in India. Because Churchill believed that the fate of the British Empire hung in the balance, he proceeded, sacrificing millions of Indian lives in order to preserve what he held most dear. The result: the Bengal Famine of 1943-44, in which millions of villagers starved to death.