Scottish orientalism refers to the collective views of a group of
Scottish scholars of
oriental languages
A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Tur ...
, informed by the
Scottish Enlightenment, and applied to the culture and administration of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
though the
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 South ...
, from the end of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century.
The word "orientalist" is recorded in English from 1779. In its early days and in relation to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(rather than the Ottoman possessions) it connoted not only proficiency in languages of India, but also study of the culture, and advocacy of administration of the existing legal systems and customs. This attitude was opposed by both
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
and
Utilitarian
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charac ...
critics.
Background
Scottish dominance within
British orientalism at the end of the 18th century—the period after the death of
Sir William Jones
Sir William Jones (28 September 1746 – 27 April 1794) was a British philologist, a puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, and a scholar of ancient India. He is particularly known for his proposition of th ...
in 1794—was almost complete: the only leading exception was
Henry Thomas Colebrooke.
Rendall's theory
Rendall has identified a group of Scottish oriental scholars, under the influence of
Dugald Stewart
Dugald Stewart (; 22 November 175311 June 1828) was a Scottish philosopher and mathematician. Today regarded as one of the most important figures of the later Scottish Enlightenment, he was renowned as a populariser of the work of Francis Hut ...
and his view of "philosophical history". They bridge the gap between
William Robertson who warned of the
ethnocentrism into which the approach of
stadial history Conjectural history is a type of historiography isolated in the 1790s by Dugald Stewart, who termed it "theoretical or conjectural history," as prevalent in the historians and early social scientists of the Scottish Enlightenment. As Stewart saw it, ...
could betray Europeans, and
James Mill
James Mill (born James Milne; 6 April 1773 – 23 June 1836) was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He is counted among the founders of the Ricardian school of economics. He also wrote ''The History of Brit ...
who in ''
The History of British India
''The History of British India'' is a three-volume work by the Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher James Mill, charting the history of Company rule in India. The work, first published in 1817, was an instant succe ...
'' embraced the assumption of European superiority, in the case of
Hindu culture. These men all had contact with
Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...
, and comprise:
*
John Crawfurd
John Crawfurd (13 August 1783 – 11 May 1868) was a Scottish physician, colonial administrator, diplomat, and author who served as the second and last Resident of Singapore.
Early life
He was born on Islay, in Argyll, Scotland, the son of ...
*
Mountstuart Elphinstone
Mountstuart Elphinstone (6 October 1779 – 20 November 1859) was a Scottish statesman and historian, associated with the government of British India. He later became the Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) where he is credited with the open ...
*
William Erskine
*
Alexander Hamilton
*
Vans Kennedy
*
John Leyden
John Caspar Leyden, M.D., (8 September 1775 – 28 August 1811) was a Scottish indologist.
Biography
Leyden was born at Denholm on the River Teviot, not far from Hawick. His father, a shepherd, had contrived to send him to Edinburgh Univers ...
*
James Mackintosh
Sir James Mackintosh FRS FRSE (24 October 1765 – 30 May 1832) was a Scottish jurist, Whig politician and Whig historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a jo ...
.
*
Alexander Murray
Orientalism in government
Michael Fry has argued that there was a "Scottish orientalist regime", including Elphinstone. The views of Scottish administrators derived from the contemporary
Moderate
Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...
church party, and Scottish intellectuals including Robertson and
Adam Ferguson
Adam Ferguson, (Scottish Gaelic: ''Adhamh MacFhearghais''), also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S./20 June O.S. 1723 – 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Ferguson was sympathet ...
, leading to an accepting line on Indian custom and culture.
In literature
Strong sympathy for Indians was shown in the 1796 novel ''Translations of the Letters of a Hindoo Rajah'' (1796) by
Elizabeth Hamilton, sister of the orientalist
Charles Hamilton. The family was
Scots-Irish.
See also
*
:Scottish orientalists
Notes
References
*Philip Constable, ''Scottish Missionaries, 'Protestant Hinduism' and the Scottish Sense of Empire in Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century India'', The Scottish Historical Review. Vol. 86, No. 222, Part 2 (Oct., 2007), pp. 278–313. Published by: Edinburgh University Press.
*Jane Rendall, ''Scottish Orientalism: From Robertson to James Mill'', The Historical Journal Vol. 25, No. 1 (Mar., 1982), pp. 43–69. Published by: Cambridge University Press. {{JSTOR, 2638806
Scottish Enlightenment
Historiography of India
British East India Company
Orientalism
Philosophical schools and traditions