Irish Imperial Networks
Migration, Social Communication and Exchange in Nineteenth-Century India

Barry Crosbie examines Ireland's crucial role in fuelling Britain's drive into South Asia from the 1750s onwards.

Barry Crosbie (Author)

9780521119375, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 November 2011

316 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.1 cm, 0.64 kg

'Whereas much is known about the Scots in the British Indian Empire, the role of the Irish has been so far neglected. Crosbie's study is therefore a welcome addition to the literature on the contribution of various British ethnic groups to the maintenance of the empire … This book can be recommended to readers who are interested in Irish history as well as in Indian history. It is also good contribution to the study of social networks. Both the advocates of a New Imperial History and those who favour more traditional historical studies will find Crosbie's approach attractive.' Dietmar Rothermund, H-Soz-u-Kult

This is an innovative study of the role of Ireland and the Irish in the British Empire which examines the intellectual, cultural and political interconnections between nineteenth-century British imperial, Irish and Indian history. Barry Crosbie argues that Ireland was a crucial sub-imperial centre for the British Empire in South Asia that provided a significant amount of the manpower, intellectual and financial capital that fuelled Britain's drive into Asia from the 1750s onwards. He shows the important role that Ireland played as a centre for recruitment for the armed forces, the medical and civil services and the many missionary and scientific bodies established in South Asia during the colonial period. In doing so, the book also reveals the important part that the Empire played in shaping Ireland's domestic institutions, family life and identity in equally significant ways.

1. Introduction
2. The business of empire
3. British overseas expansion, Ireland and the sinews of colonial power
4. From trade to dominion
5. Religion, civil society and imperial authority
6. From company to Crown rule
7. Imperial crisis and the age of reform
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Colonialism & imperialism [HBTQ], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], Asian history [HBJF], British & Irish history [HBJD1], General & world history [HBG]