Courses

This course will explore the history of the Indian subcontinent from the 18th century to the present day. We will begin by examining the twilight of the Mughal empire on the one hand, and the gradual expansion of European power across the region on the other. After looking at the ways in which the Portuguese and the Dutch established themselves around the Indian Ocean littoral at a time when territorial control was firmly in the hands of local rulers, we will then examine how large parts of this region were incorporated into the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the process we will examine the pivotal political, economic and social transformations witnessed under colonial rule and examine its legacies. Using a focus on South Asia to probe and better comprehend the development and dissolution of colonialism, we will simultaneously probe forms of colonial control to identify the forces that have most profoundly shaped the region today.