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Lords of the East
London: Conway Maritime Press, 2000
HE824 .S87 2000
Prominent in the earliest exploration of South East Asia, the East India Company gradually won control of India, and led the Western penetration of China. Almost continual warfare, the scandals of the opium trade, and the famous ‘Tea Clipper Races‘ of the nineteenth century, makes the turbulent history of England's John Company fascinating reading, but this book delves further into the lives and lifestyles of the Company's servants, its peculiar commercial organisation, and the technical details of its ships, the lordly East Indiamen. These vessels are described in depth, as are less well known aspects of its shipping, like the Company's private navy - the Bombay Marine - and its contribution to the development of early steam navigation.
The tale of how the Honourable East India Company attained its unique position, despite the opposition of its European rivals, is handsomely recorded in this book. This is a fully revised edition of Lords of the East, including the new research gathered by the author in the years since the book was first published.
Quoted from dust jacket.