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The Cambridge Economic History of India #1
The Cambridge Economic History of India, Volume 1: c.1200-c.1750
The Cambridge Economic History of India, published in two volumes, aims at tracing the changes in the economy of India from the thirteenth to the middle of the present century and beyond. The second volume covers the period 1757-1970, from the establishment of British rule to its termination, with epilogues on the post-Independence period. Part I opens with a broad description of the economy in the middle of the eighteenth century, then describes general economic trends in four main regions up to the middle of the nineteenth century, and includes a discussion of changes in the agrarian structure up to the end of 1947. Part II takes up various themes for the economy as a whole, while Part III deals with post-Independence developments in India and Pakistan. The Cambridge Economic History of India will be widely accepted as the standard work of reference on the subject, and the volumes will be of relevance to fields other than economic history, being the first major collaborative work of its kind to explore the shift of an advanced Asian civilization from pre-colonial times to independence.
543 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1982
About the author
Tapan Raychaudhuri
21 books35 followersTapan Raychaudhuri (8 May 1926– 26 November 2014) was an Indian historian specialising in British Indian history, Indian economic history and the History of Bengal.
He was a student of Ballygunge Government High School, Calcutta and Barisal Zilla School, Scottish Church College, Calcutta, where he completed his I.A. and finally Presidency College, Calcutta, where he completed his B.A. (Hons.) in history with a high first class. He completed his first D.Phil. in history at Calcutta University under the supervision of Sir Jadunath Sarkar and his second D.Phil. at Balliol College, Oxford under the supervision of Dr. C.C. Davies.
He started his career as a lecturer at the Department of Islamic History and Culture, Calcutta University. After his return from Britain he became a deputy director of the National Archives of India. He was a reader and then professor of history and director of the Delhi School of Economics and also of the department of history of Delhi University.
He was first a reader in Modern South Asian History and then professor of Indian History and Civilization and fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford from 1973-93. He was an emeritus fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford after retirement. He became a national research professor in India in 2010
Awards:
1. Watumull Prize awarded by the American Historical Association, 1982. (jointly with Irfan Habib) for the Cambridge Economic History of India.
2. Doctor of Letters 1993, University of Oxford.
3. Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of Calcutta.
4. Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of Burdwan.
5. Padma Bhushan in 2007 in recognition to his contributions to history.
He was a student of Ballygunge Government High School, Calcutta and Barisal Zilla School, Scottish Church College, Calcutta, where he completed his I.A. and finally Presidency College, Calcutta, where he completed his B.A. (Hons.) in history with a high first class. He completed his first D.Phil. in history at Calcutta University under the supervision of Sir Jadunath Sarkar and his second D.Phil. at Balliol College, Oxford under the supervision of Dr. C.C. Davies.
He started his career as a lecturer at the Department of Islamic History and Culture, Calcutta University. After his return from Britain he became a deputy director of the National Archives of India. He was a reader and then professor of history and director of the Delhi School of Economics and also of the department of history of Delhi University.
He was first a reader in Modern South Asian History and then professor of Indian History and Civilization and fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford from 1973-93. He was an emeritus fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford after retirement. He became a national research professor in India in 2010
Awards:
1. Watumull Prize awarded by the American Historical Association, 1982. (jointly with Irfan Habib) for the Cambridge Economic History of India.
2. Doctor of Letters 1993, University of Oxford.
3. Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of Calcutta.
4. Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of Burdwan.
5. Padma Bhushan in 2007 in recognition to his contributions to history.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 26, 2015
Comprehensive and detailed, a wonderful resource. Each topic covered (such as urban life, international trade, coinage, city organization, employment structure, urban lifestyle, administrative techniques, military organization, tax structure, agricultural production, prices, etc) is discussed from a three-fold perspective: first looking at North India, from the Indo-Gangetic plains to Bengal, then at Maharashtra and the Deccan together and then at the South, including Karnataka, TN and Kerala. This shifting allows us the reader to constantly compare the topics under discussion within India itself. it would have ben better if some comparison was also afforded with the rest of Asia and Europe under each division. The biggest takeaways are the role of cities in promoting trade and maintaining caste distinctions, the importance of the tax regimes in setting the tone for an empire's economic wake, and the insignificance of political changes as far as long established trade practices are concerned.
Most of the discussion centers on the Mughal period and on the early European phase, primarily due to the limitations of sources. The mature sultanate period is discussed cursorily and pre-1300 is barely touched upon. Pre-Vijayanagara in the south also gets no coverage. In fact, as far as the south is concerned, the book is not very useful. The North-East (Assam) comes in only as an after-thought, in a long appendix.
Despite all this, this Cambridge History is as comprehensive as it could have been with the limited space, though more could have been covered by limiting the amount of repetition that peppers this book. Beyond that most of the faults that can be found with it arise from the unfortunate limitations of source-material and scholarship in the Economic history of India.
Most of the discussion centers on the Mughal period and on the early European phase, primarily due to the limitations of sources. The mature sultanate period is discussed cursorily and pre-1300 is barely touched upon. Pre-Vijayanagara in the south also gets no coverage. In fact, as far as the south is concerned, the book is not very useful. The North-East (Assam) comes in only as an after-thought, in a long appendix.
Despite all this, this Cambridge History is as comprehensive as it could have been with the limited space, though more could have been covered by limiting the amount of repetition that peppers this book. Beyond that most of the faults that can be found with it arise from the unfortunate limitations of source-material and scholarship in the Economic history of India.
January 6, 2023
1. How did you end up stumbling upon this work?
I was visiting Powell's Book Store - there were many works to chose from, explore.
I am inclined to go with Science, Technology & Economics as my next interests.
This Month, I read mostly on Macroeconomics, which is interesting to me.
A Short answer is each issue might not be solved by neo-liberal policies.
Historically, there has been protectionism and free market, so answer is mix of economic policy.
I walked by Asian-India section, and I found this work.
2. What was my assumption before?
Before reading this work, I assumed Irfan Habib's Marxist perspective might involve something to do with Class Struggle et cetera.
Indian Historians from Nehru's era are painted with a label, and dismissed, instead of showing how they are wrong?
This work contains factual details.
Factual details from Agrarian Economy, Grains,
Currency System, Population, Towns and Cities, Standard of Living.
So, it is opposite to what I had assumed what it would narrate.
3. Who would you recommend this work?
Reference Work, Economic History with Facts, Historians who seek facts from early Indian History
Deus Vult,
Gottfried
I was visiting Powell's Book Store - there were many works to chose from, explore.
I am inclined to go with Science, Technology & Economics as my next interests.
This Month, I read mostly on Macroeconomics, which is interesting to me.
A Short answer is each issue might not be solved by neo-liberal policies.
Historically, there has been protectionism and free market, so answer is mix of economic policy.
I walked by Asian-India section, and I found this work.
2. What was my assumption before?
Before reading this work, I assumed Irfan Habib's Marxist perspective might involve something to do with Class Struggle et cetera.
Indian Historians from Nehru's era are painted with a label, and dismissed, instead of showing how they are wrong?
This work contains factual details.
Factual details from Agrarian Economy, Grains,
Currency System, Population, Towns and Cities, Standard of Living.
So, it is opposite to what I had assumed what it would narrate.
3. Who would you recommend this work?
Reference Work, Economic History with Facts, Historians who seek facts from early Indian History
Deus Vult,
Gottfried
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews