ABSTRACT
Colonialism is often viewed solely in terms of political conquest and exploitation. However, the assertion of power by one people over others who lie beyond one’s own frontiers involves much more than the clash of arms or the extraction of resources. Bengal’s resources and its European-trained and armed Indian army were used to gain control over much of South Asia. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth of England granted a royal charter to the Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies giving it a monopoly on English trade with India, China, and the then little known lands of Southeast Asia between them. Most of Charles Stuart’s colleagues were not prepared to so deeply enter into Indian culture, but had, of necessity, to adapt to Indian conditions. James Mill’s much-quoted views on India provided the foundation for later more overtly racist rationales supporting British imperialism, such as social Darwinism.
