Accounts of the Gypsies of India (1886) (1st edition)

S$377.00

Accounts of the Gypsies of India (1886) (1st edition)

S$377.00

Title: Accounts of the Gypsies of India
Author: David MacRitchie, M J De Goeje
Publisher: London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1886. First and only edition. Very very rare.
Condition: Hardcover, green cloth with pattern red design. In very good condition except for occasional foxing. Firmly bound. Map complete and intact.

A tremendously important and early account of the origin of the Gypsies, a nomadic tribe that travelled out of India and changed the cultural landscape of the Middle East and Europe over the past thousand years. With a detailed thesis of Prof M J De Goeje that talks of the origins of the Gypsies among the “Jatt” tribe of India and their role in the history of Islam, Christianity, and the Middle East and Europe overall, in addition to their “characteristics”.

The second part deals with the Siege of Bhurtpoor during the Anglo-Maratha Wars of 1805, where the Gypsies of Jatt origin played a significant role coming from Kandahar, Afghanistan, where they had settled. The British forces were routed by the Jatt army, resulting in massive losses.