During 200 years the East India Company grew from a loose association of Elizabethan tradesmen into "the grandest society of merchants in the universe". As a commercial enterprise it came to control half the world's trade and as a political entity it administered an embryonic empire. Without it there would have been no British India and no British Empire. In a tapestry ranging from Southern Africa to north-west America, and from the reign of Elizabeth I to that of Victoria, bizarre locations and roguish personality abound. From Bombay to Singapore and Hong Kong the political geography of today is, in some respects, the result of the Company. This book looks at the history of the East India Company.
The Honourable Company
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From the Back Cover
Over two centuries, the East India Company grew from a loose association of Elizabethan tradesmen into 'the Grandest Society of Merchants in the Universe' – a huge commercial enterprise which controlled half the world's trade and also administered an embryonic empire. A tenth of the British exchequer's total revenue derived from customs receipts on the Company's UK imports; its armed forces exceeded those of most sovereign states. Without it there would have been no British India and no British Empire.
John Keay reconstructs this epic of expansionist endeavour from the journals and records of the Company's employees: the first experimental voyages to the East; the earliest, often disastrous, settlements; the later, often inglorious, wars; and the often venal administrations. The story sweeps from southern Africa to north-west America, and from the reign of Elizabeth I to that of Victoria, abounding in bizarre locations and roguish personalities. From Bombay to Singapore and Hong Kong, the political geography of today is undeniably the creation of the Company.
"The first accessible narrative history of the English East India Company which has appeared for some time…Keay recounts his story with the sweep of a James Michener, but one anchored in the meticulous scholarship of historians…Commercial successes and failures, battles and politics from Table Bay to Tokyo Bay are treated with verve and clarity."
CHRISTOPHER BAYLY, 'The Observer'
"Keay tells the story with skill and anecdotal lightness…Spices are aromatic, mosquitoes bite, the seas roar in Keay's fact-crammed book, and the narrative races as in a novel."
ANTHONY BURGESS, 'The Independent'
"Lively and thoroughly literate…an outstandingly wise and balanced account."
PROFESSOR B. H. FARMER, 'Geographical Journal'
"Enough rumbustious adventure stories to shock and delight any armchair reader."
RACHEL BILLINGTON, 'Financial Times 'Books of the Year''
About the Author
John Keay is a writer, broadcaster and historian whose books include ‘Into India’, ‘India Discovered’, ‘When Men and Mountains Meet’, ‘Highland Drove’, ‘The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company’, ‘The Great Arc’, ‘China: A History’ and (with his wife, Julia Keay) the ‘Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland’. He has travelled extensively in India and the Far East, and specialised in Asian history and current affairs.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
59 of 59 people found the following review helpful
By N. Clarke
Format:Paperback
From the author of the impressive _India: A History_ comes this compact but consistently informative study of the English East India Company, from its origins in the last days of the sixteenth century to the first decades of the nineteenth. This is narrative history at its best, packed with detail, incident and striking characters. Keay fills his pages with entertaining curios and arresting anecdotes, ensuring that the human elements are never lost amid the sweep of history. The geographical and historical sweep is broad, and the focus does not remain unwaveringly upon the Company's servants, but takes in details of societies ranging from London to Japan.
For the student of the period, there is enough sharp analysis here to provide a useful overview/introduction to the issues of the period. For the general reader, there's a wonderful tale encompassing everything from early modern finance to a harem in Sumatra. Wonderful.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Vik Singh
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I would disagree with some of the other reviewers on the matter of dryness, I have read much drier history books. I found it mostly a very good read thanks to the use of entertaining anecdotes but because it does try to encompass so much into a tiny space there are a lot of facts and background information introduced to cover a each chapter.
The author tries to mitigate this by breaking the chapters into different different time periods and regions. This can confuse as the times will necessarily backtrack a little to say cover say Bombay and then Madras.
As a history book, this is a well researched and written book aswell as being easy to read. Having been inspired by this book I have now sought out some of the sources referenced therein to add to my library. It would be be a boon if this book was split into two or three volumes and expanded to include much more than could fit into one, especially some more on the characters involved and some more on the typical lives led by the factors, governors, etc.
Some kind of company genealogical tree with all the relevant names and territories for each period would also have been a great way to keep track of what was happening where and to whom.
The author tries to mitigate this by breaking the chapters into different different time periods and regions. This can confuse as the times will necessarily backtrack a little to say cover say Bombay and then Madras.
As a history book, this is a well researched and written book aswell as being easy to read. Having been inspired by this book I have now sought out some of the sources referenced therein to add to my library. It would be be a boon if this book was split into two or three volumes and expanded to include much more than could fit into one, especially some more on the characters involved and some more on the typical lives led by the factors, governors, etc.
Some kind of company genealogical tree with all the relevant names and territories for each period would also have been a great way to keep track of what was happening where and to whom.
67 of 70 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm very much enjoying reading "The Honourable Company" - even though the information is presented in a rather dry, unfleshed-out manner.
What really bothers me, though, is the very small fontsize used. After two or three pages, my eyes are quite exhausted.
I think the two problems - the tiny font and the lack of development - both spring from the fact that this history should have been published in two or three volumes. It seems to me that it has been squeezed to fit.
Still, the story is a fascinating one and, like all good history, helps one understand _today_ better.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
John Keay has the gift of stringing lots of historical research into an easy to read story.
I am only halfway through this book, but already it has become fascinating as I put more pieces of the historical jigsaw puzzle together. To link the English Civil War with how England was viewed by the Shah of Persia, to consider the influence of the Stuart Kings on trade with the Far East, to learn that the pepper trade was of prime international and political importance... And all this just the beginning!
If you are interested in the wider picture of the beginnings of world trade, this book is invaluable!
Highly recimmended
I am only halfway through this book, but already it has become fascinating as I put more pieces of the historical jigsaw puzzle together. To link the English Civil War with how England was viewed by the Shah of Persia, to consider the influence of the Stuart Kings on trade with the Far East, to learn that the pepper trade was of prime international and political importance... And all this just the beginning!
If you are interested in the wider picture of the beginnings of world trade, this book is invaluable!
Highly recimmended
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Buck
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Although not the most in-depth either politically or militarily, this book give a very good insight into the foundation of Empire, driven by greed, self importance and a driving sense of Destiny. Political cradling in business (very much like today's government) and gentleman's agreements set the tone as you move through them centuries with the Honourable Company. Would thoroughly recommend it not just for history students, but anyone with a liking for drama.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A somewhat disturbing mirror into the soul of the world's first multinational corporation
1 Mar 2013
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read this work as part of a trilogy of books about India including White Mughals and the Elder Brother. Keay's work is incredibly detailed and turns the spotlight on the corporate boardroom antics of Britain's first multinational corporation. In a tangled skein unravelled piece by price over different periods of the company's history, Keay highlights the social, economic and humal elements of a 250 year story of trade and conquest, love and betrayal spanning half the world. There is much to admire and equally much to revile but Keay draws out some of the important lessons and legacies of the period without overt discriminate or bias in his analysis. Robbins' (2007) book on the corporate governance of the East India Company is, in a lot of ways, the perfect compliment for this Keay's book. I recommend both.
Other reviews of this book had tended to criticise the lack of pace in the narrative but please bear in mind this is effectively an academic work that has made the leap to the commercial book market and so much colourful has thus been ommitted. I have the Kindle version and my criticism mirrors many of the other historical books purchased, namely a distinct lack of charts, pictures, diagram, paiting and maps etc.. This lack of completeness detracts from the pleasure of owning ebooks and makes me pine for a real book everytime. I haven't however deducted any marks from the author because of this drawback as this was probably not a conscious choice by him but by the publisher.
Other reviews of this book had tended to criticise the lack of pace in the narrative but please bear in mind this is effectively an academic work that has made the leap to the commercial book market and so much colourful has thus been ommitted. I have the Kindle version and my criticism mirrors many of the other historical books purchased, namely a distinct lack of charts, pictures, diagram, paiting and maps etc.. This lack of completeness detracts from the pleasure of owning ebooks and makes me pine for a real book everytime. I haven't however deducted any marks from the author because of this drawback as this was probably not a conscious choice by him but by the publisher.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delighted Dad
After buying my dad a book on the docklands, he then asked for a book on the east India company. He has started to read it and is delighted with it. Read more
Published 5 months ago by jlc108
5.0 out of 5 stars
East India Co. - a history of!
If you have an interest in India or like me over two hundred years of family involvement in India then this book is for you.... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Stephen R Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars
From a trading company to rulers
The story of the greatest company of all time or how a small trading company came to rule millions.
Published on 6 Sep 2010 by Chandra
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining but poorly organised
I enjoyed reading John Keay's book about the East India Company; It's certainly an entertaining book about a fascinating period. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2009 by Geoff
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very Dry
This book is for people who are only interested in dry facts, not in an interesting read. It has about five entertaining anecdotes in it which cover five pages. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2006 by Mr. Alex Buxton
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