Author Description
Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779-1859), Lowland Scottish Traveller, East India Company Civil Servant And Educator, Was One Of The Principal Intellectual Architects Of British Colonial Rule In South Asia. Imbued With Liberal Views, Such That Bombay's Wealthy Founded Elphinstone College In His Memory, He Pioneered The Scholarly, Scientific And Administrative Foundations Of Imperialism In India. Elphinstone's Career Was Launched When He Was Picked To Lead The Inaugural British Diplomatic Mission To The Afghan Court. His Account Of The Kingdom Of Caubul (1815) Became The Main Source Of British Information About Afghanistan. He Is Best Known For His Periods As Resident At Poona And Governor Of Bombay In The 1810s And 1820s, When He Instituted Innovative And Lasting Policies In Administration And Education While Also Conducting Research For His Extremely Influential History Of India (1841). This Volume Examines Mountstuart Elphinstone's Intellectual Contributions And Administrative Career In Their Own Right, In Relation To Prominent Contemporaries Including Charles Metcalfe And William Moorcroft, And In The Context Of Later Historical Study Of India, Afghanistan, British Imperialism And Its Imperial Frontiers.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This volume investigates the intellectual and administrative legacy of Mountstuart Elphinstone, questioning how his specific colonial policies and scholarly output shaped the trajectory of British rule in South Asia. Author Shah Mahmoud Hanifi utilizes archival records and historical analysis to position Elphinstone not merely as a colonial administrator, but as a primary architect of imperial knowledge. The text evaluates his career through his diplomatic missions, his tenure as Governor of Bombay, and his influential historical writings, framing his actions within the broader context of nineteenth-century British imperialism.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of the 1815 diplomatic mission to the Afghan court
- Examination of administrative and educational reforms in Poona and Bombay
- Comparative studies involving contemporaries such as Charles Metcalfe and William Moorcroft
- Contextualization of Elphinstone's History of India within imperial historiography
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide a comprehensive biography of Elphinstone's personal life outside of his professional and intellectual spheres
- It does not offer a general history of South Asia, focusing strictly on the impact of Elphinstone's specific administrative and scholarly contributions
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of colonial intellectual history and the formation of imperial knowledge systems. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a rigorous resource for scholars interested in the intersection of diplomacy, education, and colonial governance.
Page Count:
0
Publication Date:
2019-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190092602
ISBN-13:
9780190092603
Biography
History
British Colonialism
Imperialism
Asian History