The essays in the volume deal with a broad range factors integral to Indian history in the early modern era. They unfold many facets of the trade, politics and society of the country and offer new perspectives which will help dispel some long held misconceptions. The first part of the book is concerned mainly with trade and commerce in Bengal while subsequent chapters provide an extensive survey of maritime trade in the Indian Ocean and the unique contribution of Armenian communities in Dhaka's commercial and social life of the eighteenth century.

Part One: Trade 1.Maritime Trade in the Indian Ocean, c. 1600-1800 2. Armenians in Bengal Trade and Politics in the Eighteenth Century 3. No Ready Money? No Problem! The Role of Hundis (Bills of Exchange) in Early Modern India, c. 1600-1800 4. Indo-Persian Relations through Traders in the Pre-Modern Era 5. Multiple Currencies and their Complementary Relationship: The Indian Scenario: Early Modern Era 6. The Armenians in Dhaka Part Two: Politics 7. Sirajuddaullah, the English Company and the Plassey Conspiracy: A Reappraisal 8. The Surat Crisis of 1669: A Case Study of Mercantile Protest in Medieval India 9. The Imperatives of the Empire: Private Trade, Sub-imperialism and the British Attack on Chandernagore, March 1757 10. Greased Cartridge and the Dharma Sabha: A Myth Exposed Part Three: Society 11.Medieval Indian Society, State and Social Custom:Sati as a Case Study 12. 'First Ladies' of Early Eighteenth Century Murshidabad: Contrasting Roles and Characters 13. Birth and Expansion of Orientalism: Calcutta Madrasah 14. Identity and Composite Culture: The Bengal Case 15. Poetical Narratives and Historical Reality: A Study of the Bengali Literature, Fifteenth to Eighteenth Century 16. The Calcutta High Court: A Historical Perspective