A narrative of the late transactions at benares

HASTINGS, Warren

Verlag: Printed for J. Debrett, London, 1782

Beschreibung

[2], iv, 132pp, [1] With a terminal leaf of publisher's advertisements. Later half-calf, marbled boards, lettered in gilt to spine. Armorial bookplate of Robinson of Rokeby to FEP. The first London edition of a rare and important account of the 1781 insurrection in Benares, written by the then Governor of Bengal, Warren Hastings (1732-1818). This event and others during Hastings's administration of the region led to a seven year impeachment trial for alleged maladministration following his return to Britain, prosecuted chiefly by Edmund Burke (1729/30-1797). It became an cornerstone in the debate about the transaction of rule in India by the East India Company. The insurrection arose from the Raja of Benares failing to pay a subsidy to the East India Company. Refusal to pay led Hastings to order the arrest of the Raja, only for the arresting sepoys to be killed by the Raja's personal guards. In response Hastings organised military measures to crush the uprising and imposed a settlement that fully incorporated Benares into British territory. The work was first published in Calcutta earlier the same year with an extensive appendix of papers and correspondence. This edition is considerably abbreviated, but does include some letters and affidavits. It is nevertheless far rarer than the Calcutta edition with ESTC recording only six copies in the British Isles (Armagh Robinson, BL, Cambridge, Manchester, Manchester Central, and Oxford). ESTC T111557. Size: 8vo. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers AQ28678

Bibliografische Details

Titel: A narrative of the late transactions at ...

Verlag: Printed for J. Debrett, London

Erscheinungsdatum: 1782

Einband: Hardcover

Auflage: First London edition.