Oriental Knowledge and Imperial Authority: The Asiatic Society of Bengal and Its Intellectual Networks

Founded in Calcutta in 1784, the Asiatic Society of Bengal played a foundational role in the production and global circulation of knowledge about Asia. This article re-examines the Society’s institutional history from its establishment under Sir William Jones through the late nineteenth century, situating it as a central node within an expanding transnational network of Orientalist inquiry. Drawing on key publications, including Asiatick Researches (1788–1839) and the Society’s centenary materials, the paper argues that the Society functioned simultaneously as a forum for scholarly exchange and as an intellectual apparatus of colonial governance. While presenting itself as a disinterested body devoted to the study of Asian languages, sciences, antiquities, and histories, the Society transformed local and indigenous knowledge into forms legible to European scientific and administrative frameworks. Its publications circulated widely across Europe and North America, shaping the development of comparative philology, ethnography, astronomy, and historical scholarship, and influenced figures associated with institutions such as the Société Asiatique in Paris, the Royal Prussian Academy in Berlin, and the American Oriental Society. By tracing the Society’s evolving membership, publication practices, and international relationships, this article highlights its dual role in both advancing scholarly knowledge and reinforcing the epistemic structures of empire. In doing so, it repositions the Asiatic Society of Bengal as a formative institution in the global history of Orientalism, rather than as a subsidiary of later metropolitan learned societies.