First edition of the first substantial book to be printed in Calcutta (preceded only by seven minor printed publications): an important document in 18th-century colonial politics.
A narrative of the insurrection is Hastingss own account of a major incident that proved to be a turning point in his career as Governor-General of Bengal. It refers to the case of Chait Singh, Raja of Benares, who from 1778 onwards (because of the war with France) was obliged to pay additional tribute to the East India Company. After he failed to pay in full in 1780, Hastings sent troops to Benares to put him under arrest. But the small British force was massacred by the Raja's men and the governor-general barely escaped with his life. In the next months, however, the insurgents were defeated again and again. Chait Singh took flight, and an augmented permanent tribute was imposed upon his successor. Hastings prevailed but his punitive conduct was condemned by the Companys directors, and initiated the train of events that led to his impeachment in 1787. In the Narrative - anticipating the censure of the incidents of his expedition in England - he produced, as a measure of precaution, documentary evidence of the rebellious intentions of the Raja.
Hastingss present account provided source material for Edgar Alan Poe's "Tale from the ragged mountain", first published in Godey's magazine (April 1844).
Provenance: an interesting contemporary manuscript note on p. 89 (and 94) reads: "All the letters markd thus x [= nos. 43-45, 53-54, 65-68, 83, 86 and 93, including three to Col. James Morgan] were sent inclosd in a quill, which the messenger (if searched by Cheit Sings people who watchd all the roads) might easily secrete; they were written in the smallest hand on the thinnest paper, rolld up in a round form, & put into a bit of a quill, seald at each end; the whole not larger than a pea". A pencil note on the front free endleaf suggests that the note is by Colonel James Morgan.
With armorial bookplate (gold on white leather) of Chandos Leigh (1791-1850), poet and literary patron, friend of Byron and distant cousin of Jane Austen. Manuscript notes at foot of pp. 89 and 94. With the binding expertly restored. Lacking the half-title; first leaves with some foxing, insignificant marginal tear in pp. 135-136, neat repair to foot of pp. 149-150, not affecting the text. Graham Shaw, Printing in Calcutta to 1800, no. 13.