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Empress: Queen Victoria and India
In this engaging and controversial book, Miles Taylor shows how both Victoria and Albert were spellbound by India, and argues that the Queen was humanely, intelligently, and passionately involved with the country throughout her reign and not just in the last decades. Taylor also reveals the way in which Victoria’s influence as empress contributed significantly to India’s modernization, both political and economic. This is, in a number of respects, a fresh account of imperial rule in India, suggesting that it was one of Victoria’s successes.
408 pages, Hardcover
Published October 2, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 24, 2024
This recent history of Queen Victoria as ruler of India (1837-1901) will likely garner scant praise from critics of British affairs on the subcontinent. English historian Miles Taylor offers a tacit defense of benevolent despotism with a review of associated reforms and development. The book examines three main aspects of Victoria's reign: how the Queen became a popular symbol of counter balance to East India Company excess; how the Queen held more power in India than in Britain, where parliamentary government prevailed; and how the British led Government of India managed the Queen's image to advance it's agenda.
The story begins as the 1832 Reform Act established Parliament's Board of Control over East India Company de facto rule. The Crown had been reluctant to get involved with Indian domestic politics and left it to the Company to make treaties with local rulers, usually agreed to before the smoke of battle had cleared. The Company had grown to a royal stature, built a palace in Calcutta replete with a throne room, appointed rulers to princely states, and traveled by golden barge up the Ganges. Taylor proposes increased oversight of Indian affairs created opportunities for legal, financial, education and transportation reform.
Victoria became queen in 1837 at the age of eighteen and soon after married her cousin Prince Albert. In addition to producing a European dynasty with nine heirs she became known as a warrior queen. The Company conquered large swaths of Asia, including Sindh, the Punjab, Burma, and coastal regions of China during 1842-1853. The Duke of Wellington, military commander, and Lord Ellenborough, Conservative politician, were key players who secured rule for the Crown. Victoria and Albert were eager allies, the Queen pressing to be named Empress of India and the Prince pushing their daughter as Princess of Hong Kong.
Issuance of money and medals propagated a public image of the Queen, at times dressed in full Indian regalia. Victoria's appetite for tribute and trophies grew quickly from Kashmir shawls and captured cannons to golden thrones and the Kohinoor diamond. In this account the Crown is seen as greedier than the Company, which showed restraint if only for the sake of its own interests. Once Liberals were back in power a struggle began. At the time the Company had a private army twice the size of Britain's and accounted for half of world trade. Lack of control over this burgeoning giant had become a major cause for British concern.
An 1858 proclamation ended Company rule after suppression of the Sepoy Mutiny, as called by the British, or the First War of Independence as known to Indians. The Company was nationalized and the Crown took over its prerogatives. The Maharaja of the Sikhs was deposed to Buckingham Palace where Victoria cultivated an orientalist passion for India. Albert presided over the Indian exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1851 and had interest in indology. Visits from Indian nawabs were made to curry favor and Victoria christened Indian godchildren. A plea for evangelism was made by the Anglican church and Victoria obliged.
When Albert died in 1861 Victoria became the grey widow well known to the world. It is claimed she eschewed racism and guaranteed religious freedom for Indians. In 1876 PM Disraeli passed an act that made her Empress of India as she had long wished for. She celebrated her fiftieth year on the throne in 1887 and engaged a Muslim munshi who taught her Urdu, popularized in the 2017 film 'Victoria and Abdul' starring Dame Judith Dench. Her 1897 Diamond Jubilee was feted with far less fanfare and marked the birth of Indian nationalism. After her death in 1901 monuments were built, such as Lord Curzon's Victoria Memorial in Calcutta.
Taylor's survey of the Queen's effect on India reveals mixed results. Her accession proclamation was viewed as a Magna Carta by many Indians, and frequent appeals were made. To princely states beyond direct British control rights of nobility were upheld. The mercenary army was absorbed into the regular military. Civil service and courts didn't open much to Indians. The monetary system was updated but fiscal reform faltered and the salt tax left in place. Progress on railways, telegraphs and canals were more successful. Response to famines ranged from oblivious to negligent. Efforts to curtail production of opium were not her cup of tea.
There is something inherently absurd about a small island ruling vast continents and people on the other side of the world. In the age of empire few admitted this was wrong and it is not dwelled upon here. As a historian of Victorian Britain Taylor doesn't dabble in anachronistic judgments. The perspective taken is anglocentric; Indians are shadows in the halls of Windsor and Westminster. Viewed from the vantage point of monarchy it is revealing how strings were pulled from afar. Taylor is a good writer if at times a bit reserved. This is not a biography; few personal details are covered and yet Queen Victoria springs to life.
The story begins as the 1832 Reform Act established Parliament's Board of Control over East India Company de facto rule. The Crown had been reluctant to get involved with Indian domestic politics and left it to the Company to make treaties with local rulers, usually agreed to before the smoke of battle had cleared. The Company had grown to a royal stature, built a palace in Calcutta replete with a throne room, appointed rulers to princely states, and traveled by golden barge up the Ganges. Taylor proposes increased oversight of Indian affairs created opportunities for legal, financial, education and transportation reform.
Victoria became queen in 1837 at the age of eighteen and soon after married her cousin Prince Albert. In addition to producing a European dynasty with nine heirs she became known as a warrior queen. The Company conquered large swaths of Asia, including Sindh, the Punjab, Burma, and coastal regions of China during 1842-1853. The Duke of Wellington, military commander, and Lord Ellenborough, Conservative politician, were key players who secured rule for the Crown. Victoria and Albert were eager allies, the Queen pressing to be named Empress of India and the Prince pushing their daughter as Princess of Hong Kong.
Issuance of money and medals propagated a public image of the Queen, at times dressed in full Indian regalia. Victoria's appetite for tribute and trophies grew quickly from Kashmir shawls and captured cannons to golden thrones and the Kohinoor diamond. In this account the Crown is seen as greedier than the Company, which showed restraint if only for the sake of its own interests. Once Liberals were back in power a struggle began. At the time the Company had a private army twice the size of Britain's and accounted for half of world trade. Lack of control over this burgeoning giant had become a major cause for British concern.
An 1858 proclamation ended Company rule after suppression of the Sepoy Mutiny, as called by the British, or the First War of Independence as known to Indians. The Company was nationalized and the Crown took over its prerogatives. The Maharaja of the Sikhs was deposed to Buckingham Palace where Victoria cultivated an orientalist passion for India. Albert presided over the Indian exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1851 and had interest in indology. Visits from Indian nawabs were made to curry favor and Victoria christened Indian godchildren. A plea for evangelism was made by the Anglican church and Victoria obliged.
When Albert died in 1861 Victoria became the grey widow well known to the world. It is claimed she eschewed racism and guaranteed religious freedom for Indians. In 1876 PM Disraeli passed an act that made her Empress of India as she had long wished for. She celebrated her fiftieth year on the throne in 1887 and engaged a Muslim munshi who taught her Urdu, popularized in the 2017 film 'Victoria and Abdul' starring Dame Judith Dench. Her 1897 Diamond Jubilee was feted with far less fanfare and marked the birth of Indian nationalism. After her death in 1901 monuments were built, such as Lord Curzon's Victoria Memorial in Calcutta.
Taylor's survey of the Queen's effect on India reveals mixed results. Her accession proclamation was viewed as a Magna Carta by many Indians, and frequent appeals were made. To princely states beyond direct British control rights of nobility were upheld. The mercenary army was absorbed into the regular military. Civil service and courts didn't open much to Indians. The monetary system was updated but fiscal reform faltered and the salt tax left in place. Progress on railways, telegraphs and canals were more successful. Response to famines ranged from oblivious to negligent. Efforts to curtail production of opium were not her cup of tea.
There is something inherently absurd about a small island ruling vast continents and people on the other side of the world. In the age of empire few admitted this was wrong and it is not dwelled upon here. As a historian of Victorian Britain Taylor doesn't dabble in anachronistic judgments. The perspective taken is anglocentric; Indians are shadows in the halls of Windsor and Westminster. Viewed from the vantage point of monarchy it is revealing how strings were pulled from afar. Taylor is a good writer if at times a bit reserved. This is not a biography; few personal details are covered and yet Queen Victoria springs to life.
June 29, 2021
A great text detailing the special relationship that Queen Victoria, the Empress of India, had with the colony that she ruled over. In an objective manner, Taylor gives a great depiction of India and its feelings towards the crown beginning with a period during Company Rule all the way until years after the death of Queen Victoria. This was very much appreciated as one cannot simply read about the reign of Queen Victoria over India and fully understand how the British interacted with its Indian subjects. By taking a look at the larger picture, Taylor captures that unique bond the Queen had with many in the Indian aristocracy/royalty and all the way down to the regular fellow in India. I did have to go with a 4/5 because looking at the sources for the book, it was very heavy on those from North India and with only one South Indian Kannada source. Now understandably, North India, which housed the residences and administrative offices of the Viceroy, was bound to provide more sources as there was more going on in regard to the creation of documents on Queen Victoria. To only include a few South Indian sources, I think, does a disservice to the wide array of opinion and beliefs on Queen Victoria and it discounts how different North and South India can be. I must point out my own South Indian heritage out of literary integrity, but nonetheless this is my review and I do stand by it with the full belief it is not biased in any way.
May 15, 2021
This book was an enlightening read on the role Queen Victoria played in India. For whilst the presence of monarchy in India was in many instances controversial, Taylor subverts the notion that Victoria was merely a figurehead, instead her genuine interest and involvement in British India is emphasised.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews