The Great Game: Documents

"The Great Game: Britain and Russia in Central Asia is a collection of key nineteenth century source texts. During this period, Central Asia was the focus of a vital political and diplomatic confrontation between Britain and Russia. From the viewpoints of London and Calcutta, there was the belief that the objective of the Tsars was to add India, the "Jewel in the British Crown", to the immense empire that Russia was in the process of building up in Asia. The collection includes papers by commentators on both sides, who wrote voluminously about their perceptions of the opposing threat. Other selections are by soldiers and adventurers also traversed the region, along with official documents providing invaluable insights into the private perceptions of both governments. This set divides the era of the 'Great Game' into three parts. The first stretches from the early years of the 1900s to the disastrous intervention in Afghanistan known as the First Anglo-Afghan War, 1839-42. The second spans the period between that conflict and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1878-80, while the third terminates with the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, which effectively marked the end of the confrontation."--Publisher's description.