{"product_id":"9781787388277","title":"Peace, Poverty and Betrayal : A New History of British India by Roderick Matthews","description":"How can we explain Britain's long rule in India beyond the clich?s of `imperial' versus `nationalist' interpretations? In this new history, Roderick Matthews tells a more nuanced story of `oblige and rule', the foundation of common purpose between colonisers and powerful Indians.   Peace, Poverty and Betrayal argues that this was more a state of being than a system: British policy was never clear or consistent; the East India Company went from a manifestly incompetent ruler to, arguably, the world's first liberal government; and among British and Indians alike there were both progressive and conservative attitudes to colonisation. Matthews skilfully illustrates that this very diversity and ambiguity of British-Indian relations also drove the social changes that led to the struggle for independence.   Skewering the simplistic binaries that often dominate the debate, Peace, Poverty and Betrayal is a fresh and elegant history of British India.\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305580081525,"sku":"9781787388277","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781787388277.jpg?v=1762797860","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/9781787388277","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}