Historians explain the eighteenth-century origin of European colonialism in Asia either with the profile of the merchants or an argument about uneven power. This Element suggests that the environment was an important factor, too. With India (1600-1800) as the primary example, it says that the tropical monsoon climatic condition, extreme seasonality, and low land yield made the land-tax-based empires weak from within. The seaboard supplied a more benign environment. Sometime in the eighteenth century, a transformation began as the seaside traded more, generated complementary services, and encouraged the in-migration of capital and skills to supply these services. The birth of a new state from this base depended, however, on building connections inland, which was still a dangerous and uncertain enterprise. European merchants were an enabling force in doing this. But we cannot understand the process without close attention to geography.
By:
Tirthankar Roy (London School of Economics and Political Science) Imprint: Cambridge University Press Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 8mm
Weight: 287g ISBN:9781009524179 ISBN 10: 1009524178 Series:Elements in Economic History Pages: 100 Publication Date:10 April 2025 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Hardback Publisher's Status: Active
Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Escaping famines in the seventeenth century; 3. Forging connections in the eighteenth century; 4. Creating cities in the nineteenth century; 5. Beyond India; Appendix: change of place names; References.
