A History of the Mahrattas

One of the many famous 'administrator-historians' of India, James Grant Duff (1789–1858), Captain of the First Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, first arrived in India as a cadet at the age of sixteen. Quickly mastering the Marathi, Urdu, and Persian languages, Duff became well known for his ability to cut through the cultural divide, and was regarded as a valuable resource for the East India Company's expansion of trade. His wide-ranging network of connections enabled him to obtain unrestricted access to state papers, documents and temple archives. Consequently, Duff's history is comprehensive and thorough; it served as the best history of its kind for decades. More specific than the first, this second volume covers the years 1740 to 1785, focusing on the increasing influence of Europeans, and the political relations between governors of different states and between the native population and the English.