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For much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the British East India Company consolidated its rule over India, evolving from a trading venture to a colonial administrative force. Yet its territorial gains far outpaced its understanding of the region and the people who lived there, and its desperate efforts to gain knowledge of the area led to the 1815 appointment of army officer Colin Mackenzie as the first Surveyor General of India. This volume carefully reconstructs the life and career of Mackenzie, showing how the massive survey of India that he undertook became one of the most spectacular and wide-ranging knowledge production initiatives in British colonial history.
“I highly recommend Unearthing the Past to Forge the Future to anyone working on colonial India or on British colonialism more broadly. It is a unique study that is well-researched and well-executed.” • Newbooks.Asia
List of Illustrations
A Note on the Text and Sources
List of Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Scottish Experiences
Chapter 2. Building an East Indian Career
Chapter 3. On the Route: From Military Imperatives to the Tasks of Government
Chapter 4. Mackenzie’s Survey
Chapter 5. Mapping History, Producing Territory
Chapter 6. Knowledge for the Future
Chapter 7. The Past in the Present
Chapter 8. The Surveyor General
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index