Changes

A useful and readable introduction to the history of Friends involvement in India. The extent of their influence in so many spheres may surprise some readers. Quaker beliefs brought a different perspective to areas such as commerce (the first Friends-owned merchant ship to reach Calcutta in 1815 was 'armed' against the French with wooden, replica guns), journalism, education and politics. In covering the lives of these men and women (expatriate, Anglo-Indian and Indian), Sykes includes "missed opportunities and mis-steps", as well as the positives.