Provides a key to rethinking some of the questions related to the 18th century. The Telegraph this volume is a commendable attempt to bring out essential aspects [of eighteenth century] --The Statesman ...useful compilation of the material on the political and economic history of India in the eighteenth century --The Book Review The eighteenth century the era of the fall of the Mughals, the rise of regional successor states, and the beginnings of British domination has been a topic of intense academic debate. Can these events be understood as revolutionary, involving the fall of a great Asian imperial system and the emergence of British colonial rule with entirely different priorities? Or, were there underlying continuities between the Mughals, their Indian successors, and the early British, which produced a more evolutionary pattern of change? This volume pulls together some of the best essays on a subject with a wide-ranging introduction and exhausti ve bibliography. Part of the prestigious Themes in Indian History series, it will be useful for teachers, researchers, and students of Mughal and Modern Indian history, economic history, and those interested in the establishment of colonial rule in South Asia.