Charles de Bussy and the "French" Adventurers in India (1746-­1806)

Journal title SOCIETÀ E STORIA
Author/s Massimiliano Vaghi
Publishing Year 2022 Issue 2021/174
Language Italian Pages 27 P. 673-699 File size 241 KB
DOI 10.3280/SS2021-174001
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Although it is impossible to consider the ancient French colonial empire as a homogeneous whole, the Author argues that, in India, there is substantial continuity between the Asian policies of the French Old Regime and those of the Revolution: the colonial and commercial rivalry with Britain, in fact, prevailed on the revolutionary ideology, following a practice that has remained unchanged in substance. In this regard, this article provides a comparative approach of the political and military activity of French officers and adventurers in the context of the Anglo-French-Indian wars. In particular, I focus on the figure of Charles de Bussy (1718?-1785), an officer of the French East India Company and therefore governor of French India, trying to compare his Indian policy both with that of Joseph-François Dupleix (1697-1763) - his most famous contemporary -, and with that of the "French" adventurers who worked in the service of the Indian sovereigns between 1763 and 1806.

Keywords: Charles de Bussy, India, France, Adventurers, French Colonialism.

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Massimiliano Vaghi, Charles de Bussy e gli avventurieri "francesi" in India (1746-­1806) in "SOCIETÀ E STORIA " 174/2021, pp 673-699, DOI: 10.3280/SS2021-174001