The Honourable Company
John Keay
William Collins
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 1991
Copyright © John Keay 1991
John Keay asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780006380726
Ebook Edition © JUNE 2010 ISBN: 9780007395545
Version: 2019-10-07
From the reviews of The Honourable Company:
‘What a marvellous story is that of the East India Company!…And John Keay tells it well, humanely and spicily, as well as all we need about organisation, background, etc…Mr Keay gives us the spectrum, the trade with China and Japan, the Arabian Gulf, the East Indies, India, the lot.’
A. L. ROWSE, Contemporary Review
‘Splendid, tumultuous narrative history…The sotry is so colourful, at least in its early stages, that it can be read as a bumper book of Indian adventure.’
ANTHONY QUINTON, The Times
‘A tale worth retelling in detail, when it is done with as much as flair and imagination as this.’
GEOFFREY MOORHOUSE, Guardian
‘A gem of a book on a vast and complex adventure of British trading, maritime and colonial history…highly recommended not only for scholars but to all those interested in an important segment of British and human history.’
Catholic Herald
‘Full of delicious anecdotes…fascinating reading.’
WILLIAM DALRYMPLE, The Spectator
For Alexander and Anna
Table of Contents
PART ONE A QUIET TRADE 1600-1640
CHAPTER ONE Islands of Spicerie
CHAPTER TWO This Frothy Nation
CHAPTER THREE Pleasant and Fruitfull Lands
CHAPTER FOUR Jarres and Brabbles
CHAPTER FIVE The Keye of All India
PART TWO FLUCTUATING FORTUNES 1640-1710
CHAPTER SIX These Frowning Times
CHAPTER SEVEN A Seat of Power and Trade
CHAPTER EIGHT Fierce Engageings
CHAPTER NINE Renegades and Rivals
CHAPTER TEN Eastern Approaches
PART THREE A TERRITORIAL POWER 1710-1760
CHAPTER TWELVE Outposts of Effrontery
CHAPTER THIRTEEN One Man’s Pirate
CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Germ of an Army
CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Famous Two Hundred Days
PART FOUR A PARTING OF THE WAYS 1760-1820
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Looking Eastward to the Sea
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The Transfer of Power
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Too Loyal, Too Faithful
CHAPTER NINETEEN Tea Trade Versus Free Trade