Monopolizing Knowledge

In this exploration of the colonial political economy of science through the East India Company's library and museum in Britain, Ratcliff shows how 'Company science' became part of the cultural fabric of Britain. This title is part of the Flip it Open Program and may also be available open access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

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In the nineteenth century, an ambitious new library and museum for Indian arts, sciences, and natural history was established. Run by government employees and funded with taxes, India's first national museum was thousands of miles away from the land from which it grew, in the City of London, within the headquarters of the East India Company. Jessica Ratcliff documents how the growth of science at the Company depended upon its sweeping monopoly privileges and its ability to act as a sovereign state in British India. She explores how 'Company science' became part of the cultural fabric of science in Britain and examines how it fed into Britain's dominance of science production within its empire, as well as Britain's rising preeminence on the scientific world stage. This title is part of the Flip it Open Program and may also be available open access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.