"The man on Earth i should dread as an Enemy". The Administration of Thomas Saunders during the War in the Deccan (1750-1755)

Journal title SOCIETÀ E STORIA
Author/s Elena Valdameri
Publishing Year 2012 Issue 2012/135
Language Italian Pages 36 P. 5-40 File size 546 KB
DOI 10.3280/SS2012-135002
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This paper deals with the political action of Thomas Saunders, functionary of the East India Company and Governor of Madras during a period of crucial importance for the future of the British presence in India. The author argues that Saunders, generally underestimated by the scholars, actually covered a key role in the Carnatic war and was able to oppose the French hegemonic plans with tenacity and promptness, understanding its dangerousness. Bereft of a well-structured project of conquest and to some degree still tied to the mentality of a trading agent, Saunders can be considered as a transitional figure between the mercantile colonialism and the informal colonialism: convicted that the supremacy strategy which he adopted was only motivated by the Anglo-Franco-Indian war and to give up at the end of the contest, the Governor of Madras could not go as far as Robert Clive, the famous conqueror of Bengal.

Keywords: India, Saunders, colonialism, Carnatic wars, East India Company, Anglo- French Rivalry

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Elena Valdameri, "The man on Earth i should dread as an Enemy". The Administration of Thomas Saunders during the War in the Deccan (1750-1755) in "SOCIETÀ E STORIA " 135/2012, pp 5-40, DOI: 10.3280/SS2012-135002