‘Our friendly rivals’: rethinking the Great Game in Ya'qub Beg's Kashgaria, 1867–77

Abstract

The short-lived Emirate of Kashgaria was of strategic and commercial interest to both the Russian and British Empires. However, a close examination of the publications produced by the Russian and British missions to its ruler, Ya'qub Beg, militates against interpreting these missions as merely another episode of the Great Game, the century-long struggle for influence in Central and High Asia. Rather, Russian and British diplomats and travellers participated in a common culture of exploration, sharing a purpose and a European identity. This self-identification, in turn, was closely connected with the practice of exploration: objective measurement and scientific inquiry were coded as activities differentiating Russian and British travellers from the objects of their study. Although the information so gathered had political and strategic utility, the international networks and common values involved in its production established a network of mutual interests, respect, and cooperation even during moments of heightened geopolitical tension.