Peter James Marshall (born 1933 in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
) is a British historian known for his work on the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, particularly the activities of
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
servants in 18th-century Bengal, and also the history of British involvement in North America during the same period. He is not to be confused with his contemporary, the other P. J. Marshall, who chronicled the history of public transport in the British Isles.
Early life and education
He was educated at
Wellington College, Berkshire
Wellington College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 and ...
, and, following national service with the 7th (Kenya) Battalion,
King's African Rifles
The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions withi ...
, he took a first class honours degree in history at
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road.
Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...
, from where he received a D.Phil. in 1962.
Academic career and professional activities
Between 1959 and 1993, he taught in the history department at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
. He was appointed
Rhodes Professor of Imperial History
The Rhodes Professorship of Imperial History was one of the senior professorships in history at King's College London. Endowed by the Rhodes Trust in 1919, it was axed in 2022 over links to the colonial legacy of its namesake Cecil Rhodes. It was ...
in 1980, in which post he remained until his retirement.
Between 1965 and 1978, he served as a Member of the Editorial Committee for ''The Correspondence of Edmund Burke'', and between 1975 and 1981 he was Editor of ''
The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History''. He sat on the History Working Group for National Curriculum in England in 1989 and 1990. In 1987 he was appointed Vice-President of the
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...
, serving as President between 1997 and 2001. He has been a notable benefactor to the Society.
He is an Emeritus
Rhodes Professor of Imperial History
The Rhodes Professorship of Imperial History was one of the senior professorships in history at King's College London. Endowed by the Rhodes Trust in 1919, it was axed in 2022 over links to the colonial legacy of its namesake Cecil Rhodes. It was ...
at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, where he continues to lecture.
British in India
Marshall presents a revisionist interpretation, rejecting the view that the prosperity of Mughal Bengal gave way to poverty and anarchy in the colonial period. He instead argues that the British takeover did not mark any sharp break with the past. After 1765, British control was delegated largely through regional rulers and was sustained by a generally prosperous economy for the rest of the 18th century. Marshall also notes that the British raised revenue through local tax administrators and kept the old Mughal rates of taxation. His interpretation of colonial Bengal, at least until c. 1820, is one in which the British were not in full control, but instead were actors in what was primarily an Indian play, and in which their ability to keep power depended upon excellent co-operation with Indian elites. Marshall admits that much of his interpretation is still contested by many historians.
Selected publications
*''The Impeachment of Warren Hastings'', (Oxford, 1965)
*''The Correspondence of Edmund Burke'', vol. V, (Cambridge, 1965) (Assistant Editor)
*''The Correspondence of Edmund Burke'', vol. VII, (Cambridge, 1968) (Assistant Editor)
*''East Indian Fortunes: The British in Bengal in the Eighteenth Century'', (Oxford, 1976)
*''The Correspondence of Edmund Burke, vol. X'', (Cambridge, 1978) (Assistant Editor)
*''The Great Map of Mankind: British Perceptions of the World in the Age of Enlightenment'', (London, 1982) (Co-editor with G. Williams)
*''
The New Cambridge History of India
''The New Cambridge History of India'' is a major multi-volume work of historical scholarship published by Cambridge University Press. It replaced ''The Cambridge History of India'' published between 1922 and 1937.
The new history is being publis ...
'', II, 2, ''Bengal: the British Bridgehead: Eastern India, 1740 – 1828'', (Cambridge, 1988)
*''
The Oxford History of the British Empire
''The Oxford History of the British Empire'' is a five-volume history of the British Empire published by the Oxford University Press in 1998 and 1999. According to the publisher, the series "deals with the interaction of British and non-western s ...
'', vol. II, ''The Eighteenth Century'', (Oxford, 1998) (Contributor & Editor)
*''A Free Though Conquering People': Eighteenth-century Britain and its Empire'', (Aldershot, 2003)
*''The Making and Unmaking of Empires: Britain, India and America c. 1750 – 1783'', (Oxford, 2005)
Awards
*Doctor of Literature ''honoris causa'' by the
School of Advanced Study
The School of Advanced Study (SAS), a postgraduate institution of the University of London, is the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in 1994 and is ba ...
at the University of London, December 2008
*
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
*
Fellow of the British Academy
Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are:
# Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom
# C ...
Legacy
A Junior Research Fellowship bearing his name, and jointly administered by the Royal Historical Society and the
Institute of Historical Research
The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hous ...
at the University of London, where he is an honorary Fellow, is awarded annually to a doctoral student in history.
Bibliography
*Marshall, P. J., ''East Indian Fortunes: The British in Bengal in the Eighteenth Century'', (Oxford, 1976), pp. 284
*Marshall, P. J.,''The Making and Unmaking of Empires: Britain, India and America c. 1750 – 1783'', (Oxford, 2005), pp. 398
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, P. J.,
1933 births
Living people
Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford
Academics of King's College London
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of the British Academy
Fellows of the Royal Historical Society
Historians of South Asia
People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
Writers from Kolkata
Presidents of the Royal Historical Society
Fellows of King's College London