How British Rule Changed India’s Economy (eBook)

The Paradox of the Raj

Tirthankar Roy (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2019 | 1st ed. 2019
XV, 159 Seiten
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-030-17708-9 (ISBN)

Infos

This Palgrave Pivot revisits the topic of how British colonialism moulded work and life in India and what kind of legacy it left behind. Did British rule lead to India's impoverishment, economic disruption and famine? Under British rule, evidence suggests there were beneficial improvements, with an eventual rise in life expectancy and an increase in wealth for some sectors of the population and economy, notably for much business and industry. Yet many poor people suffered badly, with agricultural stagnation and an underfunded government who were too small to effect general improvements. In this book Roy explains the paradoxical combination of wealth and poverty, looking at both sides of nineteenth century capitalism.

Between 1850 and 1930, India was engaged in a globalization process not unlike the one it has seen since the 1990s. The difference between these two times is that much of the region was under British colonial rule during the first episode, while it was an independent nation state during the second.

Roy's narrative has a contemporary relevance for emerging economies, where again globalization has unleashed extraordinary levels of capitalistic energy while leaving many livelihoods poor, stagnant, and discontented. 

Tirthankar Roy is Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. His research interests include global history, the economic history of South Asia and industrialisation. 

Inhalt

Preface 7
Contents 9
List of Figures 10
List of Tables 13
Chapter 1 Introduction 14
Abstract 14
The Paradox of the Raj 14
Is the Paradox Explained? 20
The Creation of British India 22
Net Results 23
The Raj’s Success 26
The Raj’s Failure 29
The Story in a Nutshell and How It Relates to World History 32
Conclusion 34
Further Reading 36
Chapter 2 The Making of British India 37
Abstract 37
The Economy of the Inland 38
The Rise of the Seaboard 43
The Rise of the Company State 45
Why Did Trade Lead to an Empire? 48
Becoming a Government 49
New Trades 53
Shifts in Capital 59
The Mutiny and Its Aftermath 62
Conclusion 63
Further Reading 65
Chapter 3 The Business of the Cities 66
Abstract 66
Trade 67
Finance 70
Factories 73
‘Inputs’ into Factories: Labour, Capital, Management, and Technology 77
Business and Public Good 84
Artisans 87
Conclusion 89
Further Reading 90
Chapter 4 Unyielding Land 91
Abstract 91
Growth of Trade 92
The Regions 93
Peasants and Landlords 97
The Wage-Labourer 100
Moneylenders 102
The Colonist Model of Poverty: The Evil Lender 102
Another Theory: Limited Resource and High Risk 105
Conclusion 107
Further Reading 108
Chapter 5 A Poor State 109
Abstract 109
What Made a Colonial Government Colonial? 110
Funding the State 111
Drain: A Word Posing as a Theory 113
Not Enough Capital 115
The Currency Policy 117
Conclusion 119
References 120
Chapter 6 End of Famine 121
Abstract 121
Population Growth 122
Public Health 124
End of Famines 126
High Birth Rate and the Status of Women in India 132
The Bengal Famine 138
Conclusion 141
Further Reading 143
Chapter 7 A Different Story? The Princely States 144
Abstract 144
What Do We Know? 146
British India and the Princely States Compared 148
The Pattern of Economic Change 154
Did Independence Matter? 156
Conclusion 157
Further Reading 158
Chapter 8 Conclusion 159
Abstract 159
Index 163

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 18.5.2019
• Reihe/Serie: Palgrave Studies in Economic History
• Reihe/Serie: Palgrave Studies in Economic History
• Zusatzinfo: XV, 159 p. 25 illus., 6 illus. in color.
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Schlagworte: British colonialism in India • colonial India • Economic development in India • Economic history of British India • Economic history of British rule in India • Famine in British India • Globalization and India • Indian agricultural history • Indian Economic History • Indian manufacturing history • Indian merchant history • Nineteenth century globalization • Trading economy
• ISBN-10: 3-030-17708-4 / 3030177084
• ISBN-13: 978-3-030-17708-9 / 9783030177089