Paper short abstract:

This paper examines three moments of South Asian presence in Paris before and during the Revolution. From these cases, in which South Asians were guests or prisoners of the state, it traces a decisive shift in France's engagement with the Subcontinent.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines three moments of South Asian presence in Paris before and during the Revolution. In the first, the French government received nearly fifty cotton-weavers from Mysore, its principal strategic partner in the Subcontinent. Within a few years of their arrival, however, these weavers, sent to teach their techniques to the French, were dismissed as irrational and lazy. Even as they departed, new Mysorean guests arrived: a diplomatic embassy seeking an alliance. While Louis XVI rejected their proposals, the ambassadors' dress inspired new fashion trends in the French public. No longer a source of economic knowledge, Mysore now supplied exoticist inspiration. In a final case, a Bengali merchant was taken to Paris and forced by the revolutionary government to translate the Rights of Man in order to spread the Revolution's principles to South Asia. This unique propaganda effort reflected a desire to 'civilize' the Subcontinent.

From these cases, in which South Asians were guests or prisoners in Paris, this paper argues for a decisive shift in French attitudes to and engagement with the Subcontinent.