ABSTRACT

First published in 1992. This book invites the reader to cast the mind a hundred and fifty years back to a short span of time between 1829 and 1842. This was an exciting period when Britain’s might, demonstrated to the world at Trafalgar and Waterloo, was fortified by leadership in steam technology and was given a new direction by the liberal philosophy that British statesmen, thinkers and poets proclaimed at home and abroad. The Euphrates expedition was an attempt by well-intentioned British governments to achieve a geopolitical end by a technological means. The objective was to halt Russian expansion in the Near East, where some observers saw a threat to Britain’s control of India.

chapter 1|11 pages

Peacock's Dream

chapter 2|9 pages

The State of the Art

chapter 3|10 pages

The Chesney Reconnaissance

chapter 4|8 pages

The Balance of Power

chapter 5|12 pages

Getting Ready

chapter 6|11 pages

Disappointments and Delays

chapter 7|12 pages

New Faces and Old Problems

chapter 8|9 pages

Steaming down the Great River

chapter 9|11 pages

The Wreck of the Tigris

chapter 10|12 pages

Down to the Persian Gulf

chapter 11|12 pages

Waiting for the Indian Mails

chapter 12|13 pages

The Ascent

chapter 13|17 pages

The End of the Expedition

chapter 14|8 pages

Epilogue