Histoire philosophique et politique des établissements et du commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes

8 volumes and atlas. viii+437+3 pages with two frontispieces and index; x+316 pages with frontispiece and index; xii+440 pages with frontispiece and index; viii+308 pages with frontispiece and index; xi+296 with frontispiece, folding map and index; viii+287 pages with frontispiece and index; viii+326 pages with frontispiece and index. With Etat civil, politique et commercant du Bengale; ou histoire des conquetes & de l'administration de la Compagnie Angloise dans ce pays. Pour servir de suite a l'histoire philosophique & politique by William Bolts (1740?-1808) 2 volumes in 1. xxxii+166 pages with frontispiece; 170 pages with frontispiece and index. Atlas 50 engraved maps by Rigobert Bonne, 49 of which double-page and 1 folding, numbered 1-49, and 17 bis, 23 letterpress tables, some of which folding. Period mottled calf, flat spines in six (text) and seven (atlas) compartments, red and brown lettering pieces in the second and fourth, others with repeat decoration in gilt. Small octavo (7 1/2" x 5 1/4") bound in full leather with gilt decoration and lettering to spine and gilt ruled edges with ribbon markers. Atlas Quarto (11" x 8 1/4") bound quarter leather with gilt lettering to spine over marble. First published in 1770 (Amsterdam).

Guillaume Thomas Raynal was a French writer and man of letters during the Age of Enlightenment. In his Histoire philosophique des deux Indes, he had the assistance of various members of the philosophe côteries. Diderot is credited with a third of this work. The other chief collaborators were Pechméja, Baron d'Holbach, Paulze, Abbé Martin, and Alexandre Deleyre. The "philosophic" declamations perhaps constituted its chief interest for the general public, and its significance as a contribution to democratic propaganda. The Histoire went through many editions, being revised and augmented from time to time by Raynal; it was translated into the principal European languages, and appeared in various abridgments. Its introduction into France was forbidden in 1779; the book was burned by the public executioner, and an order was given for the arrest of the author, whose name had not appeared in the first edition. The book examines the East Indies, South America, the West Indies, and North America. The final chapter comprises theory around the future of Europe as a whole. Raynal also examines commerce, religion, slavery, and other popular subjects, all with a perspective from the French Enlightenment. Additional versions of the book included maps of the discussed regions.

William Bolts was a Dutch-born eighteenth-century merchant active in India. He began his career as an employee of the British East India Company, and subsequently became an independent merchant. He is best known today for his 1772 book, Considerations on India Affairs, which detailed the exploitation and despoliation of Bengal by the East India Company which began shortly after the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The observations and experiences he recorded offer a unique resource for scholars inquiring into the nature of early British rule in Bengal. Throughout his life, Bolts continued to propose and execute various trading ventures on his own behalf and in conjunction with various commercial and governmental partners. The ventures of individual traders like Bolts did much to spur governments and large corporations into the expansion of their own interests and empires.

Condition:

Corners bumped, corners gently bumped lacks the map for volume eight, Bolt's work else a very good set. Will require additional postage.