HowcanweexplaintheestablishmentandlongevityofBritishruleinIndiawithoutrecoursetotheclich矇sof“imperial“versus“nationalist“interpretations?Inthisnewhistory,RoderickMatthewsoffersamorenuancedview:oneof“obligeandrule“,thefoundationofcommonpurposebetweencolonizersandpowerfulIndians.Peace,PovertyandBetrayalarguesthatthiswasnotauniformlysystematicapproach,butratherastateofbeing:theBritishwereneverclearorconsistentintheirpolicies,andamongBritishandIndiansaliketherewerebothprogressiveandconservativeattitudestothestruggleovercolonization.Matthews’narrativealsotakesintheEastIndiaCompany,whichwasmanifestlyincompetentasarulerby1770,yetafter1820arguablybecametheworld’sfirstliberalgovernment.SkillfullytyingtheseambiguitiesandcomplexitiesofBritishruleinIndiatotheultimatestruggleforindependence,MatthewsillustratesthattheverydiversityofBritish-IndianrelationswasattheheartofthesocialchangesthatwouldleadtotheFreedomStruggleofthetwentiethcentury.Skeweringthesimplisticbinariesthatoftendominatethedebate,Peace,PovertyandBetrayalisafreshandgracefullywrittennarrativehistoryofBritishIndia.
