Britain’s Imperial Muse: The Classics, Imperialism, and the Indian Empire, 1784–1914 PDF
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Britain’s Imperial Muse BRITAIN AND THE WORLD Edited by The British Scholar Society Editors: James Onley, University of Exeter, UK A. G. Hopkins, University of Texas at Austin, USA Gregory Barton, The Australian National University, Australia Bryan Glass, Texas State University, USA Other titles in the Britain and the World series include: IMPERIAL ENDGAME: Britain’s Dirty Wars and the End of Empire Benjamin Grob-Fitzgibbon SCIENCE AND EMPIRE: Knowledge and Networks of Science in the British Empire, 1850–1970 Brett Bennett and Joseph M. Hodge (editors) BRITISH DIPLOMACY AND THE DESCENT INTO CHAOS The Career of Jack Garnett, 1902–1919 John Fisher ORDERING INDEPENDENCE: The End of Empire in the Anglophone Caribbean 1947– 1967 Spencer Mawby BRITISH IMAGES OF GERMANY: Admiration, Antagonism and Ambivalence, 1860– 1914 Richard Scully THE ANGLO-AMERICAN PAPER WAR: Debates about the New Republic, 1800–1825 Joe Eaton BRITISH POLICY IN THE PERSIAN GULF, 1961–1968: Conceptions of Informal Empire Helene von Bismarck Forthcoming titles include: CINEMA AND SOCIETY IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE, 1895–1940 James Burns THE PAX BRITANNICA: Navy and Empire Barry Gough THE BRITISH ABROAD SINCE THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Vol. 1: Travellers and Tourists Vol. 2: Experiencing Imperialism Martin Farr and Xavier Guégan (editors) THE SOUL OF THE EMPIRE: Australian and New Zealand Cities in the British World c.1880– 1939 John Griffiths Britain and the World Series Standing Order ISBN 978–0–230–24650–8 hardcover Series Standing Order ISBN 978–0–230–24651–5 paperback (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller, or write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England Britain’s Imperial Muse The Classics, Imperialism, and the Indian Empire, 1784–1914 C.A. Hagerman Assistant Professor of History, Albion College, Michigan, USA Palgrave macmillan © C.A. Hagerman 2013 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-0-230-27861-5 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-32643-3 ISBN 978-1-137-31642-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137316424 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. To Michelle My alpha and omega This page intentionally left blank Contents Series Editors’ Preface viii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 1 Classical Education and Britain’s Imperial Elite 17 2 Classical Discourse: Imperial Dimensions 37 3 Classical Discourse and British Imperial Identity: the Nature of Empire 54 4 Classical Discourse and British Imperial Identity: the Civilizing Mission 68 5 Classical Discourse and British Imperial Identity: the Imperial Character 89 6 Classical Discourse and the Decline and Fall of Empires 108 7 Classical Discourse and British Conceptions of India 129 8 Classical Discourse in British India I: Coping with Life in India 150 9 Classical Discourse in British India II: Secret Knowledge 169 Conclusion 187 Notes to Text 193 References 238 Index 260 vii Series Editors’ Preface Britain’s Imperial Muse: The Classics, Imperialism, and the Indian Empire, 1784–1914 is the eighth book in the Britain and the World series, edited by The British Scholar Society and published by Palgrave Macmillan. From the sixteenth century onward, Britain’s influence on the world became progres- sively profound and far-reaching, in time touching every continent and subject, from Africa to South America and archaeology to zoology. Although the histories of Britain and the world became increasingly intertwined, mainstream British history still neglects the world’s influence upon domes- tic developments and British overseas history remains largely confined to the study of the British Empire. This series takes a broader approach to British history, seeking to investigate the full extent of the world’s influence on Britain and Britain’s influence on the world. Chris Hagerman’s book explores how the culture of the Greco-Roman clas- sics influenced the way in which the British elite viewed their Empire. Many senior British officials in India and the wider Empire shared an extensive edu- cation in the ancient classics that endowed them with a common frame of ref- erence. As a result, traces of Ancient Greek and Roman civilization – language, literature, art, philosophy, history – permeated elite British culture to a remark- able extent. This ‘classical discourse’ served as both a source and support for an important nexus of imperial ideas in the metropole: empire’s magnificence, the civilizing mission, the causes of imperial decline, the character of imperial peoples, and the nature of India. Colonial officials in India made frequent use of Latin or Ancient Greek in their correspondence and conversations, connect- ing their beliefs and actions to the ideas and events of the classical world. One of the most famous examples of this is Sir Charles Napier’s attributed despatch notifying his superiors of his unauthorised conquest of Sindh in 1843: peccavi (Latin for “I have sinned”), an epigram that also made justifying reference to Julius Caesar’s celebrated conquest of Gaul. As obvious as the influence of the classics has been on the culture of British imperialism in India, this is the first book to examine the subject at length. It is based on exhaustive research in periodicals, government publications, histories, editions of ancient sources, diaries, letters, poems, novels, and material culture (coins, sculpture, architec- ture, painting, and commemorative monuments). Britain’s Imperial Muse is a fascinating and compelling read, and we highly recommend it to you. Editors, Britain and the World: James Onley, University of Exeter A. G. Hopkins, University of Texas at Austin Gregory Barton, The Australian National University Bryan Glass, Texas State University viii Acknowledgements No project of this sort comes to fruition without incurring a great many debts. At the University of Toronto, where this project began in earnest, I drew heavily on the expertise and guidance of many talented scholars and teachers. Special thanks are due to my doctoral supervisor, Milton Israel, to the other members of my dissertation committee, Lori Loeb, Jennifer, Mori, and Sydney Astor, and to exemplary mentors Timothy D. Barnes, Timothy Brook, and most especially Denis Smyth. I must also single out B.M. Gough, who first introduced me to British Imperial History at Wilfrid Laurier University. At Albion College, where this project came to its long-overdue conclusion, I would like to thank my colleagues in the History Department, particularly Deborah Kanter – an unparalleled chair and mentor – and the students who have populated my seminars on Classicism and the West. Thanks also to the staff at Palgrave Macmillan past and present: Michael Strang, Ruth Ireland, Jen McCall, and Clare Mence, as well as the series editors from Britain and the World, especially James Onley. The anonymous readers who demonstrated such fair-minded and thorough professionalism have my deepest thanks; needless to say any mistakes that remain are mine alone. Finally, thanks to my family and friends for their patience and unflagging support. To Michelle, for whom it is utterly insufficient, merci. At various stages this project received timely and generous financial sup- port from the University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies and History Department, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and the Albion College Faculty Development Fund. For permission to reprint parts of C. Hagerman, ‘Secret ciphers, secret knowledge and imperial power: the classics in British India’ published in Victorian Newsletter, no. 113 (Spring 2008) pp. 1–21, thanks to Deborah Logan and the Victorian Newsletter. And with kind permission from Springer Science+Business Media: extracts from the International Journal of the Classical Tradition: ‘“In the footsteps of the Macedonian conqueror”, Alexander the Great and British India’, 15, no. 3–4 (2009) pp. 344–92, C. Hagerman. The cover illustration, the Leadenhall Street Mosaic, appears with the per- mission of the Trustees of the British Museum / City of London Museum. ix
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