the great game special sales peter hopkirk

Seen against the wider canvas of British-Russian relations in the latter part of the 19th century, however, their influence on events was marginal: their actions were the pin-pricks on the edge of empire, frequently provoking temporary flare-ups of tension but rarely achieving any fundamental change of direction. “The Great Game was a story of personalities, of whom the most visible were the men on the spot. In the British case, the determination of policy was complicated by differences of perception and judgement – sometimes extreme – between the government in London and the administration in Calcutta/Simla, as well as by some vociferous sections of Parliament and public opinion, fed by a jingoistic press.” (page 5)Ģ. The drama lay more in the contest between the ‘peace’ and ‘war’ factions within each country than in relations between the central governments themselves. As a consequence, there was never any real danger that their respective inroads in Central Asia would lead to armed conflict between them. Formal and informal contacts were intense and business-like and each was truly concerned to minimise flashpoints.

The accounts of the main protagonists – and some histories of the period – suggest that this was a fraught and tense period in relations between the two Empires, during which, despite external courteous and ‘gentlemanly’ behaviour, ruthless intrigue was threatening peace and stability and that war was only narrowly avoided – the blame for which was generally attributed to the other side of the border from that on which the observer was standing.Ī dispassionate look at the official record of diplomatic intercourse between the two Powers, however, shows that, during the whole period, each behaved according to fairly clear and consistent rules. “The Game was indeed one of high stakes: the players came into close territorial contact and friction was inevitable.

I disagree with some of the emphasis in Hopkirk’s book, notably in my conclusions in the following extracts:ġ. I have updated my own chapter on the Great Game from the Odyssey book it can be dowloaded here.

Surprisingly, and perhaps illegally, the full text of the revised 2006 edition can be accessed on h. Much has been written about this period, most notably by Peter Hopkirk in his classic The Great Game, first published in 1990 by John Murray, London. The “Great Game” describes British and Russian rivalry for influence and control in Central Asia during the period from the mid 19th until the early 20th century.

The great game special sales peter hopkirk