The Impeachment of the First Governor General of India
Warren Hastings, Parliament and Justice
Will be published approx. on 18. March 2027
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-350-55190-9 (ISBN)
Description
The trial of Warren Hastings, former governor general of Bengal, was a seminal moment in late-18th century politics. This collection re-examines this notorious impeachment, in which Hastings was accused of a variety of abuses against the local population, to offer insights into British and Indian attitudes to law, governance and colonization during British imperial rule.
Showing how Hastings attracted both spirited support and passionate opponents, The Great Impeachment highlights the various contemporary responses to his trial, and traces how interest and popular opinion waxed and waned over time. Also exploring the wider repercussions of the trial, from its impact on the failed East India Bill and how it reflected on colonial governance, to its depiction in and contribution to popular culture and literature, this book delves into new aspects of this seminal moment in 18th century politics to offer a more complete account of the trial and its outcomes, and put forth fresh perspectives on law, governance and empire in colonial India.
Showing how Hastings attracted both spirited support and passionate opponents, The Great Impeachment highlights the various contemporary responses to his trial, and traces how interest and popular opinion waxed and waned over time. Also exploring the wider repercussions of the trial, from its impact on the failed East India Bill and how it reflected on colonial governance, to its depiction in and contribution to popular culture and literature, this book delves into new aspects of this seminal moment in 18th century politics to offer a more complete account of the trial and its outcomes, and put forth fresh perspectives on law, governance and empire in colonial India.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
10 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
366 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-55190-9 (9781350551909)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Robin Eagles is the Editor of the House of Lords (1660-1832) section at the History of Parliament Trust, UK. He has written extensively on parliament and politics in the 17th and 18th centuries, including co-edited volumes on the major 17th-century politician, Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington and the role of scribal news in reporting Parliament. His latest book is a biography of the radical MP John Wilkes (2024).
Chris Monaghan is a Principal Lecturer in Law at the University of Worcester, UK. He has published on impeachment, the UK constitution and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is currently editing a volume on the Leading Works in Constitutional History.
Chris Monaghan is a Principal Lecturer in Law at the University of Worcester, UK. He has published on impeachment, the UK constitution and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is currently editing a volume on the Leading Works in Constitutional History.
Content
Foreword, Dame Linda Colley (Princeton University, USA)
Introduction: 'Setting the Scene for the Great Trial in the Eighteenth Century, Robin Eagles and Chris Monaghan (History of Parliament Trust and University of Worcester, UK)
1. A precedent for Hastings? Robert Clive and parliamentary scrutiny 1772-73, David Prior (Parliamentary Archives, UK)
2. "[T]is I Who late Amused you all by Crying Hastings": The role of British domestic politics in the initiation of the Hastings impeachment, Chris Monaghan (University of Worcester, UK)
3. The Role of the Indian Press in the Impeachment of Warren Hastings, Andrew Otis (independent researcher)
4. Hastings and Corruption, Mark Knights (University of Warwick, UK)
5. The rule of law under stress: the East India Company, the metropole, and the impeachment of Warren Hastings, Satvinder Juss and Chris Monaghan (King's College London and University of Worcester, UK)
6. Reconciliation in India: Burke's "classical" persecution of Hastings, Ioannes P. Chountis de Fabbri, (University of Aberdeen, UK)
7. The Use and Abuse of History in the Trial of Warren Hastings, Jessica Patterson (University of Cambridge, UK)
8. Edmund Burke's Gallery of Pictures of Warren Hastings: Wild Beasts, Inhuman Monsters, Cruel Tyrants, Chiara Rolli (University of Parma, Italy)
9. Political Trials and Passive Injustice: Reading Burke's Impeachment Speeches with Judith Shklar, Ross Carroll (Dublin City University, Ireland)
10. Print Culture in the Speeches of Richard Brinsley Sheridan: Warren Hastings and the "Fourth Estate", Martyn Powell (University of Bristol, UK)
11. High Crimes and Misdemeanours' of the 'Stone Eater': The Warren Hastings Affair, The Foxites, & Visual Culture, Callum D. Smith (University of Bristol, UK)
12. "mere rant and declamation": John Wilkes's defence of Warren Hastings, May 1787, Robin Eagles (History of Parliament Trust, UK)
13. Frances Burney's Account of the Trial of Warren Hastings, Lorna Clark (Carleton University, Canada)
14. "Such a Man": Jane Austen and Warren Hastings, Jocelyn Harris (University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, Canada)
15. The cause of the great trial': Writing (and avoiding) the Hastings impeachment in nineteenth-century Indo-Persian historiography, Nicholas Abbott (Old Dominion University, USA)
16. The Ambivalences of Empire and Nationalism: The Afterlives of Maharaja Nandakumar and Warren Hastings in Colonial Bengal, Jayanta Sengupta, (Alipore Museum, Kolkata, India)
Introduction: 'Setting the Scene for the Great Trial in the Eighteenth Century, Robin Eagles and Chris Monaghan (History of Parliament Trust and University of Worcester, UK)
1. A precedent for Hastings? Robert Clive and parliamentary scrutiny 1772-73, David Prior (Parliamentary Archives, UK)
2. "[T]is I Who late Amused you all by Crying Hastings": The role of British domestic politics in the initiation of the Hastings impeachment, Chris Monaghan (University of Worcester, UK)
3. The Role of the Indian Press in the Impeachment of Warren Hastings, Andrew Otis (independent researcher)
4. Hastings and Corruption, Mark Knights (University of Warwick, UK)
5. The rule of law under stress: the East India Company, the metropole, and the impeachment of Warren Hastings, Satvinder Juss and Chris Monaghan (King's College London and University of Worcester, UK)
6. Reconciliation in India: Burke's "classical" persecution of Hastings, Ioannes P. Chountis de Fabbri, (University of Aberdeen, UK)
7. The Use and Abuse of History in the Trial of Warren Hastings, Jessica Patterson (University of Cambridge, UK)
8. Edmund Burke's Gallery of Pictures of Warren Hastings: Wild Beasts, Inhuman Monsters, Cruel Tyrants, Chiara Rolli (University of Parma, Italy)
9. Political Trials and Passive Injustice: Reading Burke's Impeachment Speeches with Judith Shklar, Ross Carroll (Dublin City University, Ireland)
10. Print Culture in the Speeches of Richard Brinsley Sheridan: Warren Hastings and the "Fourth Estate", Martyn Powell (University of Bristol, UK)
11. High Crimes and Misdemeanours' of the 'Stone Eater': The Warren Hastings Affair, The Foxites, & Visual Culture, Callum D. Smith (University of Bristol, UK)
12. "mere rant and declamation": John Wilkes's defence of Warren Hastings, May 1787, Robin Eagles (History of Parliament Trust, UK)
13. Frances Burney's Account of the Trial of Warren Hastings, Lorna Clark (Carleton University, Canada)
14. "Such a Man": Jane Austen and Warren Hastings, Jocelyn Harris (University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, Canada)
15. The cause of the great trial': Writing (and avoiding) the Hastings impeachment in nineteenth-century Indo-Persian historiography, Nicholas Abbott (Old Dominion University, USA)
16. The Ambivalences of Empire and Nationalism: The Afterlives of Maharaja Nandakumar and Warren Hastings in Colonial Bengal, Jayanta Sengupta, (Alipore Museum, Kolkata, India)