Abstract
The paper is based on an analysis of an unpublished source - the account books of Richard Wellesley, Governor-General of Bengal (1798-1805). These books by means of figures and expenditure items tell a detailed story about the British household in India, about dozens of servants, material objects, activities and expenses that formed and maintained the everyday routine and regularity of colonial life. A specific non-narrative source allows us to look at the everyday side of colonial life and administration in terms of money and discipline. The chosen angle raises the question of the cost and methods of constructing the image of the colonial power, which at the same time sought to look honest, efficient, transparent, restrained, keep costs within the given limits and had to demonstrate wealth and imperial status.
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