In 1849-1850; By Direction Of the Right Hon. The Earl Of Dalhousie, Governor General
OPPOSING THE ANNEXATION OF OUDH
A Journey Through the Kingdom of Oude In 1849-1850; By Direction Of the Right Hon. The Earl Of Dalhousie, Governor General
Richard Bentley, 1858.
First edition. Two volumes. 8vo. In the original publisher's red pebble-grained cloth, with gilt lettering and decoration to spines. Folding map frontispiece to the first volume. A near fine set, the bindings bright with very little wear. Some wear to the hinges, with the upper hinge of the first volume cracked but holding. Small chip to corner of p. 332, not affecting text. A far better set than usually encountered.
In late 1848 Sleeman was commissioned by the Governor General of India, Lord Dalhousie, to travel through the kingdom of Oudh in the north of India. At the time, the region was a British protectorate, ruled by the Nawab of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah, and the prevailing sentiment of the Indian government was to annexe the kingdom.
Sleeman's task was to journey through the region and to submit:
"as fair and full a picture of the real state of the country, condition, and feeling of the people of all classes, and character of the Government under which they at present live".
Sleeman's report, and correspondence with Dalhousie, argued against the annexation of the region, stating that "the annexation of Oude would cost the British power more than the value of ten such kingdoms, and would inevitably lead to a mutiny of the Sepoys".
Following his return from Oudh, Sleeman's health worsened, and in 1854, a writer described his condition, "he has received one of those terrible warnings believed to indicate the approach of paralysis. With General Sleeman will depart the last hope of improvement in the condition of the unhappy country of Oude."
Eventually he was forced to leave India and head for medical assistance in England, but died on passage from Calcutta on the 10th February 1856, at the age of sixty-seven. Oudh had been annexed by the British just three days earlier.
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