Merchants of the Raj

Much has been written about the British experience in India and especially about the 300-year-old second city of the British Empire, Calcutta; but mostly from a political and military viewpoint. This book provides a study of British businesses in Calcutta, particularly the managing agency houses, established in the early 19th century to offer management services to develop local primary industries. This book examines the histories of 15 major managing agencies from their origins to the present, told largely through the personal experiences of nearly 70 "burra sahibs" who worked for them, both British and Indian. They describe the commercial transition from British to Indian business interests, which postdated the political transition by some 20 or even 30 years. The book includes a glossary of Anglo-Indian words, and both historical and specially commissioned photographs.