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Between Boston and Bombay

Cultural and Commercial Encounters of Yankees and Parsis, 1771–1865

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  • © 2019

Overview

Authors:
  1. Jenny Rose

    1. Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, USA

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  • Examines the hitherto unexplored contributions of the Parsis of Gujarat and Bombay to the material and intellectual culture of America from just before independence to the end of the Civil War

  • Contributes to scholarly efforts to internationalize the history of the early American republic

  • Draws upon an comprehensive array of previously untapped primary sources

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xx
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Arrivals: Parsis, Pilgrims and Puritans

    • Jenny Rose
    Pages 1-32

  3. “A Nice Morality” (1771–1798)

    • Jenny Rose
    Pages 33-70

  4. A Shawl Handkerchief and a Cabinet of Curiosities (1799–1806)

    • Jenny Rose
    Pages 71-106

  5. Merchant Princes, Missionaries and a Man-of-War (1807–1815)

    • Jenny Rose
    Pages 107-139

  6. A Passage to and from India (1816–1835)

    • Jenny Rose
    Pages 141-180

  7. Gods and Temples, Ice and the Whale (1836–1851)

    • Jenny Rose
    Pages 181-229

  8. Consuls, Industrial Innovations and a Walking Stick (1852–1865)

    • Jenny Rose
    Pages 231-275

  9. A Final Coda: Fragrant Memories?

    • Jenny Rose
    Pages 277-286

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 287-328
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Keywords

About this book

A few years after the American declaration of independence, the first American ships set sail to India. The commercial links that American merchant mariners established with the Parsis of Bombay contributed significantly to the material and intellectual culture of the early Republic in ways that have not been explored until now. This book maps the circulation of goods, capital and ideas between Bombay Parsis and their contemporaries in the northeastern United States, uncovering a surprising range of cultural interaction. Just as goods and gifts from the Zoroastrians of India quickly became an integral part of popular culture along the eastern seaboard of the U.S., so their newly translated religious texts had a considerable impact on American thought. Using a wealth of previously unpublished primary sources, this work presents the narrative of American-Parsi encounters within the broader context of developing global trade and knowledge.

Reviews

“Rose’s research will be a useful guide for anyone plotting their own dives into the topics, people, and places she includes in her case studies. Those interested in exploring the personal networks that undergirded commercial and religious exchanges will find territory for further investigation well-mapped here; Rose’s narrative and detailed bibliography will be especially useful for plotting new explorations … . Rose has revealed many new details about the early connections between Americans and Bombay Parsis … .” (Dael Norwood, The New England Quarterly, Vol. 94 (4), December, 2021) “Jenny Rose has performed a remarkable feat of in-depth research and an invaluable service for scholars seeking to globalize the study of American history. I came away from the book convinced that India more generally, and the Parsis more particularly, ought to occupy a more prominent place in our accounts of early U.S. contacts with the wider world. Brimming with important insights into the influence of India upon America and vice versa, it blends an astonishingly diverse array of sources in order to tell an overlooked story of early America’s transnational connections.” (Brian Rouleau, Associate Professor of History, Texas A&M University, USA)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, USA

    Jenny Rose

About the author

Jenny Rose teaches Zoroastrian Studies at Claremont Graduate University, California, USA, one of the few institutions worldwide to offer such a course. She has written two books on the religion—Zoroastrianism: An Introduction and Zoroastrianism: A Guide for the Perplexed—and lectures extensively across North America, Europe, and India.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Between Boston and Bombay

  • Book Subtitle: Cultural and Commercial Encounters of Yankees and Parsis, 1771–1865

  • Authors: Jenny Rose

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25205-2

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-25204-5Published: 15 November 2019

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-25207-6Published: 15 November 2020

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-25205-2Published: 06 November 2019

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XX, 328

  • Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations, 11 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: US History, World History, Global and Transnational History, History of Southeast Asia, Cultural History

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