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According to his kin, John Wompas was “no sachem,” although he claimed that status to achieve his economic and political ends. He drew on the legal and political practices of both Indians and the English—even visiting and securing the support of King Charles II—to legitimize the land sales that funded his extravagant spending. But he also used the knowledge acquired in his English education to defend the land and rights of his fellow Nipmucs. This book offers a window on seventeenth-century New England and the Atlantic world from the unusual perspective of an American Indian who, even though he may not have been what he claimed, was certainly out of the ordinary. Drawing on documentary and anthropological sources as well as consultations with Native people, the book shows how Wompas turned the opportunities and hardships of economic, cultural, religious, and political forces in the emerging English empire to the benefit of himself and his kin.

This book offers an account of the ongoing struggles and instability of India's political and economic institutions. India's ascent as a formidable power on the world stage and its geopolitical ramifications have received much attention in recent years. The text delves into the intricate inner workings of this great Asian nation to reveal an Indian state struggling to maintain national security, domestic order, and steady fiscal growth despite weaknesses in its economic and political institutions. The sobering account questions India's perceived strengths and domestic and foreign policy initiatives, while focusing on the South Asian giant's infrastructural and economic growth problems, opposition to reform, and other important hurdles the nation has faced and will continue to face over the coming decade and beyond.