ABSTRACT
This chapter presents Edmund Burke's biography to show how deeply he involved himself in international issues. Burke was born, reared, and educated an Irishman. He was born in 1729 in Dublin to Richard Burke, a Protestant attorney, and Mary Burke, a Catholic. Burke's successful start as a member of parliament (MP) was fitting for a man whose involvement in the major issues facing Britain at home and abroad would permeate political and parliamentary history for more than thirty years. Burke's interest in the American colonies predates his parliamentary career. Burke's path to the Hastings impeachment requires careful analysis to avoid simplistic conclusions about the transformation in his thought on India. His perspectives on India contain the full richness and complexity of his overall political and moral thought. In Burke's "great mine", India is one of the richest veins. The last and most famous of Burke's international concerns was his reaction and fierce opposition to the French Revolution.
