#Review: Governors of Empire by Amar Farooqui

Reading Governors of Empire felt like sitting through a meticulously researched history lecture—one that’s dense, detailed, and quietly riveting. Amar Farooqui traces the East India Company’s journey from a profit-seeking trading collective to a full-fledged colonizing machine, focusing on the governors who engineered this transformation. What stands out most is his refusal to romanticize empire; every page carries a historian’s restraint and a moral undertone that subtly questions the human cost behind the imperial “achievement.”

The portraits of Robert Clive, Warren Hastings, and Charles Cornwallis are particularly compelling—painted not as heroes but as shrewd administrators maneuvering through politics, greed, and ambition. Farooqui’s prose is academic but never inaccessible; it rewards patient readers who enjoy contextual depth over narrative flair. I found myself admiring how seamlessly he weaves economic motives with military conquest, reminding us that colonialism wasn’t just about power—it was also about profit.

That said, Governors of Empire is not an easy weekend read. The sheer volume of names, treaties, and annexations can feel overwhelming, especially for those unfamiliar with 18th- and 19th-century Indian history. A few more narrative transitions or human-interest anecdotes might have made the historical journey smoother.

Still, this is a significant and illuminating work. Farooqui writes with authority and empathy, making us reconsider the very architecture of colonial rule.

Recommended? Absolutely—for history enthusiasts, researchers, and anyone who enjoys understanding how power quietly rewrites the world.

Find this book here.