GLORIOUS FAILURE: The Forgotten Story of French Imperialism in India

From the reign of Louis XIV to the downfall of Napoleon, France was an aggressive imperial power in South Asia. Exploding the myth of a benign French presence, Robert Ivermee reveals how France’s Indian empire relied on war-making, conquest, opportunistic alliances, regime change and slavery to pursue its ambitions. He shows how the French deployed new ideas, like freedom and the rights of man, to build an extensive empire in India—only to see it undermined by conflict with Indian rulers, competition with other nations and fatal strategic errors.​

Robert Ivermee is a historian of British and wider European colonialism in South Asia. He is Associate Professor at Sciences Po Grenoble, and the author of Glorious Failure and Hooghly.

This talk will be recorded and available online for a fortnight for those in different time zones or unable to attend. Links will be emailed to all ticket-holders.

General Admission: £5.00

Please contact the organiser if you would like to attend the lecture but are experiencing financial hardship. Or if you have any queries.