Welsh missionaries and British imperialism The Empire of Clouds in north-east India

In 1841 the Welsh sent their first missionary Thomas Jones to evangelise the tribal peoples of the Khasi Hills of north-east India. This book follows Jones from rural Wales to Cherrapunji, the wettest place on earth and now one of the most Christianised parts of India. As colonised colonisers, the Welsh were to have a profound impact on the culture and beliefs of the Khasis. The book also foregrounds broader political, scientific, racial and military ideologies that mobilised the Khasi Hills into an interconnected network of imperial control. Its themes are universal: crises of authority, the loneliness of geographical isolation, sexual scandal, greed and exploitation, personal and institutional dogma, individual and group morality. Written by a direct descendant of Thomas Jones, it makes a significant contribution in orienting the scholarship of imperialism to a much-neglected corner of India, and will appeal to students of the British imperial experience more broadly.

Andrew J. May is Associate Professor of History in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne.

General editor's introductionPrologueIntroductionPart I Preparations1. Some kind of preacher2. Voyaging: two places at once3. Networks and precursorsPart II The flag on the mountain4. Drawing the frontier5. The tranquillity of the borders6. The richest collections7. Creatures of a day: Christian soldiersPart III The work on the Hills8. The banner of the cross9. Cultural transactions: the letter and the gift10. Intimacy and transgressionPart IV The borderlands of law and belief11. The pen and the sabre12. The refulgent cross and the heathen carnival13. The country is oursConclusionEpilogueBibliographyIndex