A review of the book 'The Theft of India: The European Conquests of India, 1498-1765' written by Roy Moxham.
The Theft of India documents the intense rivalry for spoils that played out between the British, the French, the Dutch, the Portuguese and the impact this had on Indians. It details the political intrigue, the agreements and the betrayals, the oppression, swindling and greed of these foreign powers as they each tried to strengthen their grip on this vast and ‘exotic’ land.
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Coming up: A review of the book 'The Theft of India: The European Conquests of India, 1498-1765' written by Roy Moxham.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author:
Roy Moxham is a British writer, the author of historical books highlighting little-known historical facts.
Apart from this book, some of the books authored by him are: A Brief History of Tea, The Great Hedge of India, The Freelander among others.
He devotes most of his energy to writing and giving talks. He spends half his time in London and the other half travelling, principally in South and South-East Asia.
Let me read a brief description of the book:
QUOTE
In the three centuries that followed Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route from Europe to India, European powers made a beeline for India’s fabled riches, its spices, gold and gems. Though they ostensibly came for trade and commerce and the thrill of discovering a new land, the lines between exploration and exploitation soon blurred.
The Theft of India documents the intense rivalry for spoils that played out between the British, the French, the Dutch, the Portuguese and the impact this had on Indians. It details the political intrigue, the agreements and the betrayals, the oppression, swindling and greed of these foreign powers as they each tried to strengthen their grip on this vast and ‘exotic’ land.
Roy Moxham’s work, though, is no dry study of textual materials. Through probing research, he unearths eyewitness accounts and memoirs from the era. Moxham supplements these with an exhaustive study of academic works on the subject. The result is an unflattering picture of the ‘civilized’ West as it systematically strips India of its riches.
UNQUOTE
If you have ever read a standard colonial history textbook, you are probably familiar with a sanitized narrative of European arrival in India—one focused on "exploration," "trade routes," and "diplomacy."
In The Theft of India: The European Conquests of India, 1498–1765, author Roy Moxham strips away that polite veneer and delivers a fast-paced, unsparing account of how early European powers transitioned from desperate traders into systematic plunderers.
The book begins with Vasco da Gama's arrival in 1498 and ends around the Battle of Buxar in 1764 and the granting of Diwani rights to the East India Company, marking the consolidation of British dominance. This book is a grimly fascinating autopsy of early global capitalism and imperialism.
The book thoroughly dismantles the myth of the European "civilizing mission." Moxham exposes a persistent pattern of broken treaties, political assassinations, forced religious conversions, and calculated extortion. The "theft" in the title is treated not as a rhetorical flourish, but as a literal description of how a highly industrialized, economically prosperous subcontinent was systematically drained of its resources to fund European capitals.
One of the book's greatest strengths is its readability. At roughly 260 pages, the book avoids getting bogged down in dense academic jargon. Moxham has a gift for narrative pacing. He moves chronologically and geographically, making a highly complex period of history with dozens of shifting alliances remarkably easy to follow. His vivid descriptions of naval battles, diplomatic intrigues, religious conflicts and commercial rivalries bring the period to life.
Nevertheless, the work has certain limitations. Because the book covers nearly 270 years in a relatively short page count, some historical figures and complex Indian political dynamics—such as the gradual fragmentation of the Mughal Empire or the rise of the Marathas—are painted in broader strokes. It focuses heavily on what the Europeans did, occasionally at the expense of exploring the deeper internal vulnerabilities of the Indian kingdoms that allowed it to happen.
Final Verdict:
The Theft of India is a powerful, concise, and unapologetic look at the foundational mechanics of empire. It acts as an excellent entry point for anyone wanting to understand how Europe gained its foothold in Asia. Moxham does not mince words, and by letting the historical actors speak for themselves, he delivers a damning, deeply necessary correction to Eurocentric colonial nostalgia.
This book is highly recommended for anyone seeking a gritty, non-textbook perspective on this pivotal era in Indian (and world) history. It underscores that empire-building was rarely about glory—it was about theft on an industrial scale.
I give this book 4.25/5.
The book is currently available in Paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon India and in Hardcover and Paperback formats on Amazon USA. I have given the respective buy link in the show notes. Please check it out for the latest price.
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