A Colonial Affair: Commerce, Conversion, and Scandal in French India

by Danna Agmon

Overview

Danna Agmon's gripping microhistory is a vivid guide to the "Nayiniyappa Affair" in the French colony of Pondicherry, India. The surprising and shifting fates of Nayiniyappa and his family form the basis of this story of global mobilization, which is replete with merchants, missionaries, local brokers, government administrators, and even the French royal family.

Agmon's compelling account draws readers into the social, economic, religious, and political interactions that defined the European colonial experience in India and elsewhere. Her portrayal of imperial sovereignty in France's colonies as it played out in the life of one beleaguered family allows readers to witness interactions between colonial officials and locals.

Thanks to generous funding from Virginia Tech and its participation in TOME, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501752032
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Danna Agmon is Associate Professor of History at Virginia Tech.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
The Actors
Introduction
Part One
1. The Elusive Origins of a Colonial Scandal
2. Kinship as Politics
Part Two
3. The Denial of Language
4. Conflict at Court
Part Three
5. Between Paris and Pondichéry
6. Archiving the Affair
Epilgoue
Notes
Index

What People are Saying About This

Richard B. Allen

A Colonial Affair is a compelling illustration of the ways in which insights from other disciplines, in this case anthropology, can deepen our understanding of the nature and dynamics of the social, economic, political, and other interactions that were an integral component of the colonial experience in India and elsewhere.

Catherine Desbarats

A Colonial Affair is highly readable and just the perfect length for a course book. It will generate fruitful discussions not just of substance, such as the respective natures of colonies and empires, but also of method. We can learn a great deal by parsing a single ‘scandal’ from a variety of angles.

David Washbrook

Danna Agmon's dazzling study of French India at the turn of the eighteenth century highlights facets of the encounter between Europe and India that we have often missed. It suggests the possibilities of a different kind of colonialism to that which eventuated under the English. It also tells a rattling good yarn.

Sue Peabody

This smart, nuanced, and well-researched investigation reveals the role of powerful Tamil brokers within the fractious commercial and spiritual enterprise of French India. Danna Agmon foregrounds the role of indigenous brokers in French attempts to establish their Indian Ocean trading base. A lively microhistory founded in legal records, A Colonial Affair animates and analyzes the larger problem of imperial authority in an intricate and often overlooked corner of empire. An informative and engaging read!

Editorial Reviews

This book is strong on the internal tensions of early French rule in India.... Agmon ably conveys the sense of a transitional period between a relationship of commercial equals [between the French and indigenous intermediaries] to one of colonial master and servant.... [A] welcome addition to the history of French India [and]... a fascinating glimpse into an early French colonial period when Catholic conversion was the stamp of trust.

American Historical Review

Because Agmon has carefully, cogently, and insightfully analyzed the events and significance of Nayiniyappa's trial, readers might find themselves impelled to read A Colonial Affair from cover to cover at one sitting!

International Bulletin of Mission Research

Agmon's prose is sophisticated, clear and flowing, and she successfully guides the reader through all of the affair's complexities.

-- "French Review"

Because Agmon has carefully, cogently, and insightfully analyzed the events and significance of Nayiniyappa's trial, readers might find themselves impelled to read A Colonial Affair from cover to cover at one sitting!

-- "International Bulletin of Mission Research"

Danna Agmon peels back the layers of this fascinating series of events with consummate skill; she has the sure touch of a historian whose confidence is well earned.... As with any microhistory, the ultimate test is whether the story told opens new perspectives on broader themes. By this criterion, Agmon has passed with flying colors.

-- "Journal of Modern History"

Revisiting an often forgotten scandal in an obscure corner of France's eighteenth-century empire--the Nayiniyappa Affair and Pondichéry, respectively--Agmon draws our attention to the shifting dynamic of conflict and collaboration that underlay the French imperial project in India. The result is a valuable reminder of the contested nature of early modern colonial power, all set against a compelling backdrop of personal tragedy and posthumous redemption.... [C]ompellingly argued and beautifully written.

-- "H-France Reviews"

This book is strong on the internal tensions of early French rule in India.... Agmon ably conveys the sense of a transitional period between a relationship of commercial equals [between the French and indigenous intermediaries] to one of colonial master and servant.... [A] welcome addition to the history of French India [and]... a fascinating glimpse into an early French colonial period when Catholic conversion was the stamp of trust.

-- "American Historical Review"

From the Publisher

"Far from being a mere account of one man's misfortune, the narrative presents multivalent and layered meanings that deepen the reader's understanding of the establishment of French sovereignty in colonial India.... Agmon's prose is sophisticated, clear and flowing, and she successfully guides the reader through all of the affair's complexities."

FRENCH REVIEW

"Compellingly argued and beautifully written. Engaging scholarship always inspires new questions, and A Colonial Affair will make a valuable addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in the histories of early modern France, colonial India, or the contradiction-laden dynamics of empires more generally."

H-FRANCE

"One might not think of mission history or historical analysis as gripping. However, because Agmon has carefully, cogently, and insightfully analyzed the events and significance of Nayiniyappa's trial, readers might find themselves impelled to read A Colonial Affair from cover to cover at one sitting!"

International BUlletin of Mission Research

Agmon's prose is sophisticated, clear and flowing, and she successfully guides the reader through all of the affair's complexities.

French Review

Revisiting an often forgotten scandal in an obscure corner of France's eighteenth-century empire—the Nayiniyappa Affair and Pondichéry, respectively—Agmon draws our attention to the shifting dynamic of conflict and collaboration that underlay the French imperial project in India. The result is a valuable reminder of the contested nature of early modern colonial power, all set against a compelling backdrop of personal tragedy and posthumous redemption.... [C]ompellingly argued and beautifully written.

H-France Reviews

Danna Agmon peels back the layers of this fascinating series of events with consummate skill; she has the sure touch of a historian whose confidence is well earned.... As with any microhistory, the ultimate test is whether the story told opens new perspectives on broader themes. By this criterion, Agmon has passed with flying colors.

Journal of Modern History

"Danna Agmon's dazzling study of French India at the turn of the eighteenth century highlights facets of the encounter between Europe and India that we have often missed. It suggests the possibilities of a different kind of colonialism to that which eventuated under the English. It also tells a rattling good yarn."

David Washbrook

"This smart, nuanced, and well-researched investigation reveals the role of powerful Tamil brokers within the fractious commercial and spiritual enterprise of French India. Danna Agmon foregrounds the role of indigenous brokers in French attempts to establish their Indian Ocean trading base. A lively microhistory founded in legal records, A Colonial Affair animates and analyzes the larger problem of imperial authority in an intricate and often overlooked corner of empire. An informative and engaging read!"

Sue Peabody

"A Colonial Affair is highly readable and just the perfect length for a course book. It will generate fruitful discussions not just of substance, such as the respective natures of colonies and empires, but also of method. We can learn a great deal by parsing a single ‘scandal’ from a variety of angles."

Catherine Desbarats

"A Colonial Affair is a compelling illustration of the ways in which insights from other disciplines, in this case anthropology, can deepen our understanding of the nature and dynamics of the social, economic, political, and other interactions that were an integral component of the colonial experience in India and elsewhere."

Richard B. Allen