Journeys to Empire - 9780521515023

Journeys to EmpireEnlightenment, Imperialism, and the British Encounter with Tibet, 17741904\nAuthor(s): Gordon T. Stewart\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521515023, 978-0521515023\nSynopsis\nThis fascinating study of two British missions to Tibet in 1774 and 1904 provides a unique perspective on the relationship between the Enlightenment and European colonialism. Gordon Stewart compares and contrasts the Enlightenment era mission led by George Bogle and the Edwardian mission of Francis Younghusband as they crossed the Himalayas into Tibet. Through the British agents' diaries, reports, and letters and by exploring their relationships with Indians, Bhutanese and Tibetans, Stewart is able to trace the shifting ideologies, economic interests and political agendas that lay behind British empire-building from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. This compelling account sheds.