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The diplomatic repertoires of the East India Companies in Mughal South Asia, 1608-1717
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Meersbergen, Guido van (2019) The diplomatic repertoires of the East India Companies in Mughal South Asia, 1608-1717. The Historical Journal, 62 (4). pp. 875-898. doi:10.1017/S0018246X1900027X ISSN 0018-246X.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X1900027X
Abstract
This article presents the first survey of the full range of diplomatic interactions between the Mughal Empire and the English and Dutch East India Companies (EIC and VOC) in the period 1608-1717. It proposes a typology of the six different modes of diplomacy practiced by the EIC and VOC as a means to better understand the distinct nature of corporate diplomacy. Moving its focus beyond exceptional embassies, this article demonstrates that by far the most common forms of Company diplomatic activity consisted of low-profile petitioning at the imperial centre and ongoing political interactions with provincial and local power-holders. It draws on circa fifty distinct episodes to chart how Dutch and English diplomatic repertoires in South Asia took shape in response to local demands and conventions. Both Companies petitioned Mughal emperors in much the same way as Indian subjects did, and both relied on Mughal patrons to do so. Cast in the role of supplicants seeking imperial favour and protection, Company-envoys presented themselves as obliging participants in the ceremonial performance of an asymmetrical relationship. By tying commercial privileges to expectations of submission and service, the imperial government proceeded to incorporate these foreign actors into a domestic political framework.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | D History General and Old World > DS Asia | ||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > History | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | East India Company, Nederlandsche Oost-Indische compagnie, Diplomacy -- Economic aspects | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | The Historical Journal | ||||||||
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0018-246X | ||||||||
Official Date: | December 2019 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 62 | ||||||||
Number: | 4 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 875-898 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1017/S0018246X1900027X | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | This article has been accepted for publication in a revised form for publication in The Historical Journal https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical-journal | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Copyright Holders: | © Cambridge University Press 2019 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 12 June 2019 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 14 June 2019 | ||||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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