FOR ALL WITH AN INTEREST IN THE HISTORY
OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY AND THE BRITISH RAJ
The British in India Historical Trust presents live and online lectures by authors of recently published books of interest to descendants of the British in South Asia between 1600 and 1947 and all who want to know more about the East India Company and the British Raj. The proceeds from lectures fund annual book prizes for excellence in non-fiction historical writing on British India.
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Online lectures run from November to April and this year's programme is here. They are broadcast via Zoom and are available UK-wide and to an international audience. Lectures from the 2021-22 and 2022-23 series have been uploaded to YouTube as a free resource for all who are interested in the history of the British in South Asia. The playlist is available here.
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In 2024 The British in India presented two live lectures, ‘The Rise and Fall of the City of Lucknow’ by Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones and ‘Onward Christian Soldier: Havelock’s March to Cawnpore and Lucknow’ by Sir Mark Havelock-Allan. ​Next year’s lecture programme will be announced in early 2025.​​
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If you would like to be informed when booking opens for live and online lectures, and are not already on our mailing list, please sign up for news of lectures at the foot of this page.
FEATURED LECTURE
TUESDAY 10 DECEMBER 2024 18.30-20.30 GMT (ZOOM)
John Company's Armies: The Military Forces of British India
Peter Stanley
Composed of men of diverse ethnicities and faiths under the flag of the East India Company, the armies of British India conquered or controlled much of the Indian sub-continent by 1850. Four armies fought for ‘John Company’: the three presidency armies of Bengal, Madras and Bombay and the regiments of the British Army rented from the Crown by the Company. Together this collection of European and Native corps—regular and irregular—numbered over 300,000 uniformed men at its height.
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Peter Stanley traces how they were commanded, how they lived and died, and how they prepared for and fought major wars and faced dozens of insurrections and rebellions. He also examines the distinctive military culture they created that was decisively changed by the 1857 Mutiny.
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Peter Stanley is Research Professor in the Australian Centre for the Study of Armed Conflict and Society, University of New South Wales, and was Principal Historian at the Australian War Memorial from 1987-2007. His works on the Indian Army include John Company’s Armies: The Military Forces of British India 1824-1857 (2024); White Mutiny: British Military Culture in India; and Hul! Hul! The Suppression of the Santal Rebellion in British India, 1855.
BOOK PRIZES
Proceeds from lectures fund annual prizes for non-fiction historical writing on British India: The British in India Book Prize and The British in India Military History Book Prize. The results of The British in India Book Prize 2024 are given here.
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