[CSH Seminar] Empire of Contingency (2024): The author’s view, two years later (J. Flores)
The Centre de Sciences Humaines is pleased to invite you to the CSH Seminar
by
Jorge Flores
(University of Lisbon)
on
Empire of Contingency (2024): The author’s view, two years later
Followed by a discussion with Radhika Chadha, Miranda House, University of Delhi & Farhat Hasan, Delhi University
On
Monday, 12 October 2026, from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm IST
At
Centre de Sciences Humaines
IFI-CSH conference room (ground floor)
2 Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Road, New Delhi – 110011
Register to attend at CSH Delhi (TBA)
Register to attend online via Zoom (TBA)
Abstract:
In this talk, I will elaborate on the arguments and methods that shape my Empire of Contingency: How Portugal Entered the Indo-Persian World, whose South Asian edition just came out. The book explores the information and communication practices of the Portuguese empire in Mughal India and the Deccan sultanate between the 1570s and the 1690s. It uncovers the tenuous but ingenious informational and political apparatuses through which the Estado da Índia endeavoured to survive in a region moulded by the influence and power of the Mughal empire. Finally, I will reflect on the book’s life by looking in particular at how reviewers have assessed it since its publication in 2024.
Speaker:
Jorge Flores is Senior Researcher at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon. He is a social and cultural historian of the early modern Portuguese empire in Asia, with a special focus on South Asia and the empire’s relations with Mughal India. Besides Empire of Contingency: How Portugal Entered the Indo-Persian World (Penn Press, 2024; Permanent Black, 2026), Flores is the author of Unwanted Neighbours: The Mughals, the Portuguese, and Their Frontier Zones (OUP, 2018) and The Mughal Padshah: A Jesuit Treatise on Jahangir’s Court and Household (Brill, 2016; Manohar, 2026).
For more info contact:
co[dot]lefevre[at]csh-delhi[dot]com
david[dot]singh[at]csh-delhi[dot]com
CSH Seminars are in hybrid mode. Please pre-register for offline and online registration before Monday, 12 October, 2:00 p.m. IST.
To attend at the venue: Please note the room capacity is limited. Seats will be reserved on a first-come first-served basis. Kindly bring ID proof to be granted access to the venue.
