India's International Economy in the Nineteenth Century: An Historical Survey

In: Modern Asian studies, Volume 2, Issue 1, p. 31-50

Abstract

This paper stems from a dissatisfaction with the present state of historical writings on India's international economy in the nineteenth century. While the task of reducing the mass of literature available on the subject to a coherent and meaningful survey is a difficult and perhaps not a very fruitful exercise, it is rather easier to understand why such writings on Indian economic history in general and trade history in particular have remained confused and often internally contradictory.