The History of British India
The title page of the first edition
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| Author | James Mill |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | history, political philosophy |
| Publisher | London: Baldwin, Cradock and Joy |
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Publication date
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1817 |
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The History of British India is a history of British India by the 19th century British historian and imperial political theorist James Mill.
This History went into many editions and during the 19th century became the standard reference work on its subject among British imperialists.
James Mill began his History of British India in 1806, expecting it to take him about three years, but its completion proved to take instead twelve years, with three substantial volumes at last being published early in 1817. The work was immediately successful among British imperialists and secured for Mill for the first time a degree of prosperity. It led, with the support of David Ricardo and Joseph Hume, to Mill's appointment in 1819 in United Kingdom as assistant (later chief) examiner of correspondence at the imperial East India Company at an annual salary of £800. By 1836, when he died, this income had become £2,000.
Mill's biographer Bruce Mazlish takes a practical view of Mill's purpose in beginning the History, stating
By 1802, unable to find a parish and disillusioned with a religious career, he "emigrated" to England. There he quickly obtained a position as editor and writer, married, and began to raise a family. To secure his position, he began to write a great work, The History of British India, in 1806, the same year as his first-born, John Stuart, arrived on the scene... James finally finished The History of British India, and on the basis of it secured the post of an examiner at the imperial East India Company, rising to the top in a few years.
The History of British India purports to be a study of India in which James set out to attack the history, character, religion, literature, arts, and laws of India, also making claims about the influence of the Indian climate. He also aimed to locate the attacks on India within a wider theoretical framework.
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Wikipedia