We learn about the preparation for and voyage to India, for example. There are interesting examples of Company servants’ struggles to maintain health on the way and in the subcontinent. Thomas Cust and his family offer insights here. Cust, a captain in the Bengal Native Infantry, had recently returned from extended sick leave in South Africa when he died at Barrackpore in 1795. Only three years later, his daughter Susan, who had probably contracted tuberculosis in England before returning to Calcutta, was advised to go on a sea voyage for the benefit of her health. Perhaps most significantly, Provincial Society and Empire underscores the value and importance of the complex networks of patronage, kinship and friendship that helped to produce appointments and facilitate Company success in Asia. Here, Cumbria and its communities provide an invaluable case study. For example, Andrew Fleming Hudleston was helped to prepare for his voyage by his second cousin, the retired Company servant and Company director, John Hudleston. A grateful Andrew told his aunt, Isabella, that John was ‘very kind in assisting me in getting all things necessary for my outfit to India’ (122). In the years to come, advances in digitization should – theoretically at least – make this kind of approach even more time-efficient and rewarding. As it stands, Provincial Society and Empire undoubtedly illuminates social conditions in India and in Cumbria, as well as the personal and economic connections between them. It is to be hoped that it will also stimulate further investigation and encourage a more comprehensive overview of the regional impact of the East India Company across the British Isles.

中文翻译：

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陌生人之间的信任：现代英国的友好社会

例如，我们了解前往印度的准备工作和航行。有一些有趣的例子说明公司仆人在途中和次大陆努力保持健康。Thomas Cust 和他的家人在这里提供了见解。卡斯特是孟加拉土著步兵的一名上尉，最近他在 1795 年在 Barrackpore 去世时从南非的长期病假中回来。仅仅三年后，他的女儿苏珊可能在返回加尔各答之前在英国感染了肺结核。为了她的健康，她建议去海上航行。也许最重要的是，省级协会和帝国强调了复杂的赞助、亲属关系和友谊网络的价值和重要性，这些网络有助于产生任命并促进公司在亚洲的成功。这里，坎布里亚郡及其社区提供了宝贵的案例研究。例如，安德鲁·弗莱明·哈德勒斯顿 (Andrew Fleming Hudleston) 的第二个堂兄、已退休的公司仆人兼公司董事约翰·哈德勒斯顿 (John Hudleston) 帮助他准备航行。心存感激的安德鲁告诉他的阿姨伊莎贝拉，约翰“非常友善地帮助我将我的装备所需的所有东西都送到印度”（122）。在未来几年，数字化的进步应该——至少在理论上——使这种方法更加省时和回报。目前，省级社会和帝国无疑阐明了印度和坎布里亚郡的社会状况，以及它们之间的个人和经济联系。