Description
This book is a multi-faceted study of the role of gardening in British India with several accompanying illustrations- it is a study of imperial history, environmental history, cultural history and women’s history . First, as a study in imperial history that shows how the British used landscape architecture to convey images of power to both themselves and the Indians. Second, as a study in environmental history, this book traces the way in which the British established a whole series of Botanical gardens centered at Kew in London. Tea and cincinchona (an antidote for malaria) were imported to be grown in India, while opium was forcibly exported to China. Without cincinchona, imperialism would have been medically impossible and without tea or opium, imperialism would have not been immensely profitable. Third, this is a study in cultural history, exploring how the British tried to modify India by creating their own cultural retreat – the hill station. Finally, this book deals with women’s history. Gardening became a means by which English women occupied themselves, creating a little England to alleviate the intense homesickness.
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