Soldiering in Madras and the British Colonial Conquest through Military 1642-1857

This book explores the army of the English Company developed at Fort St. George and the functioning of gunpowder mill m Madras besides the new weapons of war and technology used during the period of Anglo-French struggle for power in the Carnatic. Trade in horses and elephants had continued as these traditional war animals were needed for the military. The study analyses the theatre of wars in the Carnatic (1746-48, 1749-54, 1757-63), focuses on the politics and territorial expansion by the English, battles fought by the paalayakaarars against the English (1757-85) and the successful territorial annexation by the English (1786-1801). The volume vividly describes the mutiny of the native soldiers at Vellore in 1806 and its impact, besides the colonial policies adopted by the English in Madras army (1807-57) and thereby broadens the prospects of colonial rule and through military strategy applied for leading to conquest.
S. Jeyaseela Stephen is former directeur, Institut pour études Indo-Européennes (2013-2023). He was Professor of Maritime History (2001-2013) at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. He has authored numerous books on the maritime history of early modern India. His books have been translated into Chinese, Danish, German and Tamil. He is the recipient of the Best Book Prize of the Year 1999 from the Government of Tamil Nadu. He received the Thiru Vi. Ka Award of 2023 by the Government of Tamil Nadu.