An Economic History of India 1707–1857, 2nd Edition

This new edition of __An Economic History of Early Modern India__ extends the timespan of the analysis to incorporate further research. This allows for a more detailed discussion of the rise of the British Empire in South Asia and gives a fuller context for the historiography. In the years between the death of the emperor Aurangzeb (1707) and the Great Rebellion (1857), the Mughal Empire and the states that rose from its ashes declined in wealth and power, and a British Empire emerged in South Asia. This book asks three key questions about the transition. Why did it happen? What did it mean? How did it shape economic change? The book shows that during these years, a merchant-friendly regime among warlord-ruled states emerged and state structure transformed to allow taxes and military capacity to be held by one central power, the British East India Company. The author demonstrates that the fall of warlord-ruled states and the empowerment of the merchant, in consequence, shaped the course of Indian and world economic history. Reconstructing South Asia’s transition, starting with the Mughal Empire’s collapse and ending with the great rebellion of 1857, this book is the first systematic account of the economic history of early modern India. It is an essential reference for students and scholars of Economics and South Asian History. This new edition of An Economic History of Early Modern India extends the timespan of the analysis to incorporate further research. This allows for a more detailed discussion of the rise of the British Empire in South Asia and gives a fuller context for the historiography. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of figures 7 List of tables 8 List of maps 9 Preface 10 Chapter 1: Introduction 12 The emergence of British rule in India 13 Saviours or villains? 14 The shifting alliance theory 16 The superior force theory 18 The fiscal capacity theory 19 The new economy 21 Who gained? 22 Chapter outline 25 Notes 25 Chapter 2: State formation 28 The precolonial state 29 Awadh and Rohilkhand 32 Bengal 34 The Maratha dominion 39 Hyderabad 47 Mysore and Tanjore 48 Malabar and Travancore 50 Gujarat and Rajputana 51 Punjab 53 Assam 54 Sind 54 The last round of annexations 55 Conclusion 56 Notes 57 Chapter 3: State consolidation 60 The decline of the East India Company as a business 60 Building the fiscal foundations of the state 62 Military build-up 66 Reform of property right 67 Internal trade: Decline and revival 69 Public goods in British India 70 Princely states 72 Conclusion 73 Notes 73 Chapter 4: The agrarian order 76 Geography 77 The institutional setup before colonial rule: Landlords 77 The institutional setup before colonialism: Peasants 80 How institutions changed 81 Eastern India 82 Western India 84 Northern and central India 86 Southern India 90 Conclusion 91 Notes 92 Chapter 5: Conditions of business 95 The meaning of early-modern trade: incorporation or transformation? 1 95 The prehistory of the Indian Ocean trade 100 Indian Ocean trade: the eighteenth century 103 Private traders 104 Indian Maritime Merchants 106 Agents and associates 108 Artisans 111 Internal Overland Trade 112 Banking, finance, and modern forms of agency 115 Mobile transporters of southern India 118 Conclusion 120 Notes 121 Chapter 6: Towns 126 What was a town around 1700? 126 The seventeenth century 127 What do the numbers show? 130 De-urbanization: Delhi, Agra, Lahore, Dhaka 131 The emergence of regional capitals: Lucknow, Benares, Patna, Hyderabad, Pune 133 The ports: Surat, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Karachi 137 The morphology of the port town: one world, two worlds, many worlds? 140 Market towns 142 Conclusion 144 Notes 145 Chapter 7: Levels of living 148 The wage studies 149 Land yield 150 Population and income 155 Agriculture: expansion of trade and cultivation 156 Conclusion 158 Notes 158 Chapter 8: The rebellion of 1857–58 161 An uneven historiography 162 Source analysis 166 Disaffection 167 War supplies 171 Conclusion 177 Notes 179 Chapter 9: Conclusion 184 References 188 Index 204 agrarian,order;,British,Empire;,business,towns;,civilian,rebellion;,historiography;,Indian,businesses;,Indian,economic,history;,land,taxes;,living,standards;,military,capacity;,political,system;,state,consolidation;,state,formation agrarian order,British Empire,business towns,civilian rebellion,historiography,Indian businesses,Indian economic history,land taxes,living standards,military capacity,political system,state consolidation,state formation "This new edition of An Economic History of Early Modern India extends the timespan of the analysis to incorporate further research. This allows for a more detailed discussion of the rise of the British Empire in South Asia and gives a fuller context for the historiography. In the years between the death of the emperor Aurangzeb (1707) and the Great Rebellion (1857), the Mughal Empire and the states that rose from its ashes declined in wealth and power, and a British Empire emerged in South Asia. This book asks three key questions about the transition. Why did it happen? What did it mean? How did it shape economic change? The book shows that during these years, a merchant-friendly regime among warlord-ruled states emerged and state structure transformed to allow taxes and military capacity to be held by one central power, the British East India Company. The author demonstrates that the fall of warlord-ruled states and the empowerment of the merchant, in consequence, shaped the course of Indian and world economic history. Reconstructing South Asia's transition, starting with the Mughal Empire's collapse and ending with the great rebellion of 1857, this book is the first systematic account of the economic history of early modern India. It is an essential reference for students and scholars of Economics and South Asian History"-- Provided by publisher