Thomas George Percival Spear (1901–1982) was a British historian of modern

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, in particular of its colonial period. He taught at both

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

and St. Stephen's College, Delhi.

Personal life and education

Born in Bath in 1901, Percival Spear attended Monkton Combe School and later St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he studied History. He spent some of his time there rowing in the Cambridge rowing team. He thereafter went to India and taught European and English history at St. Stephen's College, Delhi from 1924 to 1940. In 1943 Spear became a deputy secretary to the

government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in the department of information and broadcasting. He also served for a time in 1944 as a government whip in the Federal Assembly, the precursor to independent India's

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. After the war, Spear returned to Cambridge, becoming a Fellow and Bursar of Selwyn College and later a university lecturer in South Asian History. He spent a year at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

on a visiting professorship. Percival Spear was awarded the Order of Merit (OBE) in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginni ...

Writings

In his book ''Master of Bengal: Clive and his India'', Percival Spear wrote, "The dominion of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

was not desired in itself, but only as a safeguard for peaceful commercial operations ... Rule by legal fiction and by deputy was both safer and cheaper in the conditions of the time."

Selected bibliography

* A History of India Volume 2, 1956, * The Nabobs, 1932 * India, Pakistan and the West * The Twilight of the Mughals * India, a Modern History

References

Kenneth Ballhatchet Kenneth A. Ballhatchet (1922–1995) was a British historian and university professor. Biography He was born in Bristol on 29 November 1922. He was educated at Clifton College, Bristol. He graduated from Peterhouse College, Cambridge Univer ...

‘Spear, (Thomas George) Percival (1901–1982)’
rev., ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 9 Sept 2008 * Percival Spear, Master of Bengal : Clive and his India (London, Thames and Hudson, 1975, p 145)

External links

* Historians of India 1901 births 1982 deaths People educated at Monkton Combe School 20th-century English historians Officers of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-historian-stub