Thisisanimportant,revisionistaccountoftheoriginsoftheBritishEmpireinAsiaintheearlymodernperiod.DavidVeeversuncoversahiddenworldoftransculturalinteractionsbetweenservantsoftheEnglishEastIndiaCompanyandtheAsiancommunitiesandstatestheycameintocontactwith,revealinghowitwasthisintegrationofEuropeansintonon-Europeaneconomies,statesandsocietieswhichwascentraltoBritishimperialandcommercialsuccessratherthannationalormercantilistenterprise.Astheirservantsskilfullyadaptedtothisrichandcomplexenvironment,theEastIndiaCompanybecameenfranchisedbytheeighteenthcenturywithabreadthofprivilegesandrights-fromgoverningsprawlingmetropolisestotradingcustoms-free.InemphasisingtheAsiangenesisoftheBritishEmpire,thisbookshedsnewlightontheforeignframeworksofpowerwhichfuelledtheexpansionofGlobalBritainintheearlymodernworld.
