ABSTRACT
A state, like a class, has its moment in history and must make the best use of it. Failure to do so means premature decline and, perhaps, unnecessary poverty. Great Britain’s moment came in the 1830s when, as the first industrialized state, she tried to create the conditions necessary for her stability as the first world power. The most solid manifestation of the Swing to the East was the empire in India conquered by the British between 1757, the date of Robert Clive’s victory at the battle of Plassey, and the destruction of the Maratha Confederacy by the marquis of Hastings in 1818. The Indian Army, made up of Indian troops commanded mostly by Scots, was large and on view – being on view was its most important duty – but was meant to serve as a paramilitary police force.
