Episode 111: Jonathan Eacott, India in the Making of Britain and America, 1700-1830

by Liz CovartDecember 6, 2016

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Neither colonial North America nor the United States developed apart from the rest of the world. Since their founding, both the colonies and the United States have participated in the politics, economics, and cultures of the Atlantic World.

And every so often, the politics, economics, and cultures of lands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans intersected with and influenced those of the Atlantic World. That’s why today, we’re going to explore the origins of the English trade with India and how that trade connected and intersected with the English North American colonies.

Our guide for this investigation is Jonathan Eacott, an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside and author of Selling Empire: India in the Making of Britain and America, 1700-1830.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Episode Summary

In this episode we explore the origins of the English trade with India and how that trade connected and intersected with the English North American colonies with Jonathan Eacott, an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside and author of Selling Empire: India in the Making of Britain and America, 1700-1830.

During our investigation, Jonathan reveals how trade between England and India developed; The English East India Company and its creation; And, the role England’s trade with India played in the development of the English North American colonies.

What You’ll Discover

English conceptions and perceptions of India in the late 16th century
How trade developed between England and India
17th-century English arguments for and against establishing a trade with India
The English East India Company
Why European countries created trade monopolies like the English East India Company
English North American involvement in the East India Trade
English-American perceptions of India in the 17th century
How colonial English Americans traded with India
The goods English American colonists wanted from India
How the English and English Americans paid and traded for goods from India
Competition between English East India Company and its foreign counterparts
Role enslaved peoples played in the development of the English trade with India
The role the English trade with India played in the development of slavery in North America
Calico and the Calico Acts
Parliament’s enforcement of the Calico Acts
How the British-American-Indian trade has informed our present-day
India’s role in the American Revolution

Links to People, Places, and Publications

Episode Sponsor

Cornell University Press

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Time Warp Question

In your opinion, what would have happened if India hadn’t existed? What would the lack of an India have meant for English colonization of North America?