State formation and 'famine policy' in early colonial south India

Indian Economic and Social History Review

Volumn 39, Issue 4, 2002, Pages 351-380

  Ahuja, Ravi ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HEIDELBERG   (Germany)

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EID: 2442461312     PISSN: 00194646     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/001946460203900402     Document Type: Review

References (233)

1. For popular and official responses to famine in Mughal India see: Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India, 1556-1707 (2nd revised edn), Delhi, OUP, 1999, pp. 112-22. An interesting discussion of merchant responses to famine (and the popular perception of such responses) can be found in David Hardiman, Feeding the Baniya. Peasants and Usurers in Western India, Delhi, OUP, 1996, pp. 154-70. On famines in mediaeval South India and rulers' attitude towards them see, Angadipuram Appadorai, Economic Conditions in Southern India, 1000-1500 A.D. (K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, ed., Madras University Historical Series 12), Madras, 1936, Vol. 2, pp. 748-50.
2. For popular and official responses to famine in Mughal India see: Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India, 1556-1707 (2nd revised edn), Delhi, OUP, 1999, pp. 112-22. An interesting discussion of merchant responses to famine (and the popular perception of such responses) can be found in David Hardiman, Feeding the Baniya. Peasants and Usurers in Western India, Delhi, OUP, 1996, pp. 154-70. On famines in mediaeval South India and rulers' attitude towards them see, Angadipuram Appadorai, Economic Conditions in Southern India, 1000-1500 A.D. (K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, ed., Madras University Historical Series 12), Madras, 1936, Vol. 2, pp. 748-50.
3. For popular and official responses to famine in Mughal India see: Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India, 1556-1707 (2nd revised edn), Delhi, OUP, 1999, pp. 112-22. An interesting discussion of merchant responses to famine (and the popular perception of such responses) can be found in David Hardiman, Feeding the Baniya. Peasants and Usurers in Western India, Delhi, OUP, 1996, pp. 154-70. On famines in mediaeval South India and rulers' attitude towards them see, Angadipuram Appadorai, Economic Conditions in Southern India, 1000-1500 A.D. (K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, ed., Madras University Historical Series 12), Madras, 1936, Vol. 2, pp. 748-50.
4. See the useful compilation of data in Leela Visaria and Pravin Visaria, 'Population (1757-1947)', in Dharma Kumar, ed., The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol. II: c.1757-c.1970 (hereafter CEHI2), pp. 528-31.
5. David Arnold, 'Famine in Peasant Consciousness and Peasant Action: Madras, 1876-8', in Ranajit Guha, ed., Subaltern Studies III. Writings on South Asian History and Society, Delhi, 1994 (1st edn 1984), p. 64.
6. Sanjay Sharma, Famine, Philanthropy and the Colonial State. North India in the Early Nineteenth Century (in SOAS Studies on South Asia). Delhi, OUP, 2001, pp. 135-60, 229-33 and passim.
7. Sanjay Sharma, Famine, Philanthropy and the Colonial State. North India in the Early Nineteenth Century (in SOAS Studies on South Asia). Delhi, OUP, 2001, pp. 135-60, 229-33 and passim.
8. Cf. ibid., p. 4.
9. For the consequences of the Great Bengal Famine see Visaria and Visaria, 'Population (1757-1947)', p. 528, and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, 'Regional Economy (1757-1857: Eastern India', in CEHI2, pp. 299-3011. For a recent discussion of this and other subsistence crises in that region see Rajat Datta, 'Subsistence Crises, Markets and Merchants in Late Eighteenth Century Bengal', in Studies in History (new series) 10,1 (1994), pp. 81-104. For Adam Smith's assessment see The Wealth of Nations. Books I-III (with an introduction by Andrew Skinner), London, Penguin, 1986 (reprint of 1970 edn), pp. 175-76.
10. For the consequences of the Great Bengal Famine see Visaria and Visaria, 'Population (1757-1947)', p. 528, and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, 'Regional Economy (1757-1857: Eastern India', in CEHI2, pp. 299-3011. For a recent discussion of this and other subsistence crises in that region see Rajat Datta, 'Subsistence Crises, Markets and Merchants in Late Eighteenth Century Bengal', in Studies in History (new series) 10,1 (1994), pp. 81-104. For Adam Smith's assessment see The Wealth of Nations. Books I-III (with an introduction by Andrew Skinner), London, Penguin, 1986 (reprint of 1970 edn), pp. 175-76.
11. For the consequences of the Great Bengal Famine see Visaria and Visaria, 'Population (1757-1947)', p. 528, and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, 'Regional Economy (1757-1857: Eastern India', in CEHI2, pp. 299-3011. For a recent discussion of this and other subsistence crises in that region see Rajat Datta, 'Subsistence Crises, Markets and Merchants in Late Eighteenth Century Bengal', in Studies in History (new series) 10,1 (1994), pp. 81-104. For Adam Smith's assessment see The Wealth of Nations. Books I-III (with an introduction by Andrew Skinner), London, Penguin, 1986 (reprint of 1970 edn), pp. 175-76.
12. For the consequences of the Great Bengal Famine see Visaria and Visaria, 'Population (1757-1947)', p. 528, and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, 'Regional Economy (1757-1857: Eastern India', in CEHI2, pp. 299-3011. For a recent discussion of this and other subsistence crises in that region see Rajat Datta, 'Subsistence Crises, Markets and Merchants in Late Eighteenth Century Bengal', in Studies in History (new series) 10,1 (1994), pp. 81-104. For Adam Smith's assessment see The Wealth of Nations. Books I-III (with an introduction by Andrew Skinner), London, Penguin, 1986 (reprint of 1970 edn), pp. 175-76.
13. The French demographer Roland Lardinois estimates for the Tamil region a population downturn of between 15 and 20 per cent during the last one and half decades of the eighteenth century. Famine was among the major factors of this development. Roland Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation in Rural Tamil Nadu c. 1780-c. 1830', in Tim Dyson, ed., India's Historical Demography. Studies in Famine, Disease and Society (= Collected Papers on South Asia 8), London, Curzon Press, 1989, pp. 16-48, especially pp. 32-33. See also Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, pp. 136-45. For the 'Chalisa' famine see C.A. Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars. North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion 1770-1870, Delhi, OUP, 1992 (1st Indian edn), pp. 88-92 and passim; Sharma, Famines, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, pp. 30-35 and passim.
14. The French demographer Roland Lardinois estimates for the Tamil region a population downturn of between 15 and 20 per cent during the last one and half decades of the eighteenth century. Famine was among the major factors of this development. Roland Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation in Rural Tamil Nadu c. 1780-c. 1830', in Tim Dyson, ed., India's Historical Demography. Studies in Famine, Disease and Society (= Collected Papers on South Asia 8), London, Curzon Press, 1989, pp. 16-48, especially pp. 32-33. See also Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, pp. 136-45. For the 'Chalisa' famine see C.A. Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars. North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion 1770-1870, Delhi, OUP, 1992 (1st Indian edn), pp. 88-92 and passim; Sharma, Famines, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, pp. 30-35 and passim.
15. The French demographer Roland Lardinois estimates for the Tamil region a population downturn of between 15 and 20 per cent during the last one and half decades of the eighteenth century. Famine was among the major factors of this development. Roland Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation in Rural Tamil Nadu c. 1780-c. 1830', in Tim Dyson, ed., India's Historical Demography. Studies in Famine, Disease and Society (= Collected Papers on South Asia 8), London, Curzon Press, 1989, pp. 16-48, especially pp. 32-33. See also Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, pp. 136-45. For the 'Chalisa' famine see C.A. Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars. North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion 1770-1870, Delhi, OUP, 1992 (1st Indian edn), pp. 88-92 and passim; Sharma, Famines, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, pp. 30-35 and passim.
16. The French demographer Roland Lardinois estimates for the Tamil region a population downturn of between 15 and 20 per cent during the last one and half decades of the eighteenth century. Famine was among the major factors of this development. Roland Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation in Rural Tamil Nadu c. 1780-c. 1830', in Tim Dyson, ed., India's Historical Demography. Studies in Famine, Disease and Society (= Collected Papers on South Asia 8), London, Curzon Press, 1989, pp. 16-48, especially pp. 32-33. See also Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, pp. 136-45. For the 'Chalisa' famine see C.A. Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars. North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion 1770-1870, Delhi, OUP, 1992 (1st Indian edn), pp. 88-92 and passim; Sharma, Famines, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, pp. 30-35 and passim.
17. See especially Prasannan Parthasarathi, 'Rethinking Wages and Competitiveness in the Eighteenth Century: Britain and South India', Past and Present 158 (1998), pp. 79-109. For an alternative view, see the present author's 'Labour Relations in an Early Colonial Context: Madras, c. 1750-1800', in Modern Asian Studies Vol. 36(4), 2002, pp. 793-826. Here it is argued that a long-term trend of rising real wages was repeatedly punctured by sharp short-term fluctuations that implied severe subsistence risks for large sections of South India's society in the latter half of the eighteenth century.
18. See especially Prasannan Parthasarathi, 'Rethinking Wages and Competitiveness in the Eighteenth Century: Britain and South India', Past and Present 158 (1998), pp. 79-109. For an alternative view, see the present author's 'Labour Relations in an Early Colonial Context: Madras, c. 1750-1800', in Modern Asian Studies Vol. 36(4), 2002, pp. 793-826. Here it is argued that a long-term trend of rising real wages was repeatedly punctured by sharp short-term fluctuations that implied severe subsistence risks for large sections of South India's society in the latter half of the eighteenth century.
19. On the concept of 'improvement' in nineteenth century colonial discourse see Thomas R. Metcalf, Ideologies of the Raj (= New Cambridge History of India III. 4), Delhi, Foundation Books, 1995 (1st Indian edn), pp. 15-27.
20. Sharma, Famine, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, pp. 169-70, 230-31.
21. S. Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy in India (= Cambridge South Asian Studies 21), Cambridge, CUP, 1978, pp. 93-94.
22. Ravi Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, pp. 297-99.
23. Some of the above mentioned political and social implications are reported for early colonial Madras in B.V. Narayanswami Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', in Madras Tercentenary Commemoration Volume, London et al., 1939, pp. 73-87. For economic consequences see Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation', passim and Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, subchapter 4.2. Further evidence is presented below. For economic consequences see Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation', passim and Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, subchapter 4.2. Further evidence is presented below.
24. Some of the above mentioned political and social implications are reported for early colonial Madras in B.V. Narayanswami Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', in Madras Tercentenary Commemoration Volume, London et al., 1939, pp. 73-87. For economic consequences see Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation', passim and Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, subchapter 4.2. Further evidence is presented below. For economic consequences see Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation', passim and Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, subchapter 4.2. Further evidence is presented below.
25. Some of the above mentioned political and social implications are reported for early colonial Madras in B.V. Narayanswami Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', in Madras Tercentenary Commemoration Volume, London et al., 1939, pp. 73-87. For economic consequences see Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation', passim and Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, subchapter 4.2. Further evidence is presented below. For economic consequences see Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation', passim and Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, subchapter 4.2. Further evidence is presented below.
26. Appadorai, Economic Conditions in Southern India, Vol. 2, pp. 748-50. See also Velcheru Narayana Rao, David Shulman and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Symbols of Substance. Court and State in Nayaka Period Tamil Nadu, Delhi: OUP, 1992, pp. 67-72, 112.
27. Appadorai, Economic Conditions in Southern India, Vol. 2, pp. 748-50. See also Velcheru Narayana Rao, David Shulman and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Symbols of Substance. Court and State in Nayaka Period Tamil Nadu, Delhi: OUP, 1992, pp. 67-72, 112.
28. Oriental and India Office Collections, British Library, (hereafter OIOC), Paterson Diaries, Vol. 8, 30 May 1774, p. 115. There is also evidence that the Nawab established facilities for the distribution of food to the 'poor' in the town of Arcot in 1773; see N.S. Ramaswami, Political History of the Carnatic Under the Nawabs, Delhi, 1984, pp. 337-38. See also Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, p. 63; C.A. Bayly and Susan Bayly, 'Eighteenth-century State Forms and the Economy', in Clive Dewey, ed., Arrested Development in India. The Historical Dimension, New Delhi, 1988, pp. 69-70.
29. Oriental and India Office Collections, British Library, (hereafter OIOC), Paterson Diaries, Vol. 8, 30 May 1774, p. 115. There is also evidence that the Nawab established facilities for the distribution of food to the 'poor' in the town of Arcot in 1773; see N.S. Ramaswami, Political History of the Carnatic Under the Nawabs, Delhi, 1984, pp. 337-38. See also Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, p. 63; C.A. Bayly and Susan Bayly, 'Eighteenth-century State Forms and the Economy', in Clive Dewey, ed., Arrested Development in India. The Historical Dimension, New Delhi, 1988, pp. 69-70.
30. Oriental and India Office Collections, British Library, (hereafter OIOC), Paterson Diaries, Vol. 8, 30 May 1774, p. 115. There is also evidence that the Nawab established facilities for the distribution of food to the 'poor' in the town of Arcot in 1773; see N.S. Ramaswami, Political History of the Carnatic Under the Nawabs, Delhi, 1984, pp. 337-38. See also Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, p. 63; C.A. Bayly and Susan Bayly, 'Eighteenth-century State Forms and the Economy', in Clive Dewey, ed., Arrested Development in India. The Historical Dimension, New Delhi, 1988, pp. 69-70.
31. Oriental and India Office Collections, British Library, (hereafter OIOC), Paterson Diaries, Vol. 8, 30 May 1774, p. 115. There is also evidence that the Nawab established facilities for the distribution of food to the 'poor' in the town of Arcot in 1773; see N.S. Ramaswami, Political History of the Carnatic Under the Nawabs, Delhi, 1984, pp. 337-38. See also Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, p. 63; C.A. Bayly and Susan Bayly, 'Eighteenth-century State Forms and the Economy', in Clive Dewey, ed., Arrested Development in India. The Historical Dimension, New Delhi, 1988, pp. 69-70.
32. For 'Mughal famine policy', see Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India, pp. 112-22 and David L. Curley, 'Fair Grain Markets and Mughal Famine Policy in Late Eighteenth-Century Bengal', Calcutta Historical Journal 2, 1 (1977), pp. 1-26.
33. For 'Mughal famine policy', see Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India, pp. 112-22 and David L. Curley, 'Fair Grain Markets and Mughal Famine Policy in Late Eighteenth-Century Bengal', Calcutta Historical Journal 2, 1 (1977), pp. 1-26.
34. Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars, p. 102.
35. Little evidence is available for such village-level strategies of surviving a famine for eighteenth century South India. However, David Arnold's study of the severe South Indian famine of 1876-78 gives some indication of which techniques of coping with crises of subsistence were available a century earlier: Arnold, 'Famine in Peasant Consciousness and Peasant Action', pp. 75-81, 85-103. For the dissolution of relations of patronage and clientage during famines in the period under review, see Tamil Nadu State Archives (hereafter TNSA), Jaghire Records, Vol. 2, 16 July 1783, p. 57 ('The Humble Representation of the Head Tenants of the Honble Company's Jaghire to the Gentlemen of the Committee of Revenue'); OIOC, Board's Collection, Vol. 111 (F/4/111), Lionel Place, Report on Jagir 1799, § 79. See also Ravi Ahuja, 'Labour Unsettled: Mobility and Protest in the Madras Region, 1750-1800', Indian Economic and Social History Review 35(4), 1998, p. 392.
36. Little evidence is available for such village-level strategies of surviving a famine for eighteenth century South India. However, David Arnold's study of the severe South Indian famine of 1876-78 gives some indication of which techniques of coping with crises of subsistence were available a century earlier: Arnold, 'Famine in Peasant Consciousness and Peasant Action', pp. 75-81, 85-103. For the dissolution of relations of patronage and clientage during famines in the period under review, see Tamil Nadu State Archives (hereafter TNSA), Jaghire Records, Vol. 2, 16 July 1783, p. 57 ('The Humble Representation of the Head Tenants of the Honble Company's Jaghire to the Gentlemen of the Committee of Revenue'); OIOC, Board's Collection, Vol. 111 (F/4/111), Lionel Place, Report on Jagir 1799, § 79. See also Ravi Ahuja, 'Labour Unsettled: Mobility and Protest in the Madras Region, 1750-1800', Indian Economic and Social History Review 35(4), 1998, p. 392.
37. Little evidence is available for such village-level strategies of surviving a famine for eighteenth century South India. However, David Arnold's study of the severe South Indian famine of 1876-78 gives some indication of which techniques of coping with crises of subsistence were available a century earlier: Arnold, 'Famine in Peasant Consciousness and Peasant Action', pp. 75-81, 85-103. For the dissolution of relations of patronage and clientage during famines in the period under review, see Tamil Nadu State Archives (hereafter TNSA), Jaghire Records, Vol. 2, 16 July 1783, p. 57 ('The Humble Representation of the Head Tenants of the Honble Company's Jaghire to the Gentlemen of the Committee of Revenue'); OIOC, Board's Collection, Vol. 111 (F/4/111), Lionel Place, Report on Jagir 1799, § 79. See also Ravi Ahuja, 'Labour Unsettled: Mobility and Protest in the Madras Region, 1750-1800', Indian Economic and Social History Review 35(4), 1998, p. 392.
38. Little evidence is available for such village-level strategies of surviving a famine for eighteenth century South India. However, David Arnold's study of the severe South Indian famine of 1876-78 gives some indication of which techniques of coping with crises of subsistence were available a century earlier: Arnold, 'Famine in Peasant Consciousness and Peasant Action', pp. 75-81, 85-103. For the dissolution of relations of patronage and clientage during famines in the period under review, see Tamil Nadu State Archives (hereafter TNSA), Jaghire Records, Vol. 2, 16 July 1783, p. 57 ('The Humble Representation of the Head Tenants of the Honble Company's Jaghire to the Gentlemen of the Committee of Revenue'); OIOC, Board's Collection, Vol. 111 (F/4/111), Lionel Place, Report on Jagir 1799, § 79. See also Ravi Ahuja, 'Labour Unsettled: Mobility and Protest in the Madras Region, 1750-1800', Indian Economic and Social History Review 35(4), 1998, p. 392.
39. G.A. Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten zu Bekehrung der Heiden in Ostindien, Halle: Waisenhaus, 1776-94, 25. Stück, p. 61 (C.W. Gericke's Cuddalore diary, 12 February 1781); see also Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', p. 78.
40. G.A. Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten zu Bekehrung der Heiden in Ostindien, Halle: Waisenhaus, 1776-94, 25. Stück, p. 61 (C.W. Gericke's Cuddalore diary, 12 February 1781); see also Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', p. 78.
41. G.A. Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten zu Bekehrung der Heiden in Ostindien, Halle: Waisenhaus, 1776-94, 25. Stück, p. 61 (C.W. Gericke's Cuddalore diary, 12 February 1781); see also Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', p. 78.
42. See, e.g., Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India, pp. 112-22; Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars, pp. 88-90.
43. See, e.g., Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India, pp. 112-22; Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars, pp. 88-90.
44. OIOC, Board's Collection, Vol. 31 (F/4/31), Lionel Place, Report on the Jagir, 6 October 1795, § 24.
45. See below. More detailed evidence is presented in my Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, pp. 136-45.
46. This practice is discussed in my 'Labour Relations in an Early Colonial Context'.
47. Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, pp. 65-70; Sharma, Famine, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, pp. 53-58.
48. Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, pp. 65-70; Sharma, Famine, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, pp. 53-58.
49. R.H. Campbell and A.S. Skinner, eds, The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, Vol. 2(1), Oxford, OUP, 1979, pp. 524-43. On the reception of this text by colonial officials see Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, pp. 60-61, 66-80 and Edward P. Thompson, Customs in Common, London, Penguin, 1993, pp. 276-82.
50. R.H. Campbell and A.S. Skinner, eds, The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, Vol. 2(1), Oxford, OUP, 1979, pp. 524-43. On the reception of this text by colonial officials see Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, pp. 60-61, 66-80 and Edward P. Thompson, Customs in Common, London, Penguin, 1993, pp. 276-82.
51. R.H. Campbell and A.S. Skinner, eds, The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, Vol. 2(1), Oxford, OUP, 1979, pp. 524-43. On the reception of this text by colonial officials see Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, pp. 60-61, 66-80 and Edward P. Thompson, Customs in Common, London, Penguin, 1993, pp. 276-82.
52. Ibid., pp. 199-200, 269-70; Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, pp. 61-63.
53. Ibid., pp. 199-200, 269-70; Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, pp. 61-63.
54. The phenomenon of chronic labour scarcity in early colonial India has been noticed by many historians, but its implications for society and state were (for the South Indian case) first discussed in the following important essay, David Washbrook, 'Land and Labour in Late Eighteenth-Century South India: The Golden Age of the Pariah?', in P. Robb, ed., Dalit Movements and the Meanings of Labour in India, Delhi, OUP, 1993, pp. 68-86. I have attempted to qualify and further develop this argument in my articles 'Labour Unsettled: Mobility and Protest' and 'Labour Relations in an Early Colonial Context'.
55. David Ludden, 'World Economy and Village India, 1600-1900: Exploring Agrarian History of Capitalism', in S. Bose, ed., South Asia and World Capitalism, Delhi, OUP, 1990, p. 166.
56. Idem., Peasant History in South India, Delhi, OUP, 1989 (1st edn 1985), p. 79. See also ibid., pp. 77-81.
57. Idem., Peasant History in South India, Delhi, OUP, 1989 (1st edn 1985), p. 79. See also ibid., pp. 77-81.
58. For the role of agrarian magnates in the grain trade see Tsukasa Mizushima, Nattar and the Socio-Economic Change in South India in the 18th-19th Centuries, Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1986, pp. 269-71, 336-37. See also David Ludden, 'Agrarian Commercialism in Eighteenth Century South India: Evidence from the 1823 Tirunelveli Census', Indian Economic and Social History Review 25(4), 1988, p. 506. In the face of the militarisation of the regional economy that is observable for the second half of the century, the control of local authorities like garrison commanders and palaiyakkarar over markets and grain stores must have been considerable, but has to be researched more thoroughly. For the respective activities of British garrison commanders and of amildars (revenue collectors) of the Nawab see, e.g., OIOC. Paterson Diaries, Vol. 3, 26 August 1772, p. 214; ibid., 27 July 1772, pp. 220-23; ibid., 4 August 1772, p. 231. The German missionary Benjamin Schultze included the following account of a fictitious 'Prince of the Town' in his 'dialogues' (originally written for language teaching in contemporary Madras): 'He that is next after our King, buys for himself all Sort[s] of Grain, put[s] all in his Granaries and locks them up. [...] we had a plentiful Harvest, and though the Husbandmen would come to this Town to sell them, our Prince won't give any Body Leave to do so. [...] If he would give Leave, immediately the Grains would be sold at low Price, but when he gives no Leave, the Inhabitants will needs [sic!] be forced to buy from his own Hands at a very high Rate.' [Benjamin Schultze], The large and reknowned town of the English Nation in the East-Indies upon the coast of Coromandel, Madras [...], Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750, 25th dialogue, p. 59.
59. For the role of agrarian magnates in the grain trade see Tsukasa Mizushima, Nattar and the Socio-Economic Change in South India in the 18th-19th Centuries, Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1986, pp. 269-71, 336-37. See also David Ludden, 'Agrarian Commercialism in Eighteenth Century South India: Evidence from the 1823 Tirunelveli Census', Indian Economic and Social History Review 25(4), 1988, p. 506. In the face of the militarisation of the regional economy that is observable for the second half of the century, the control of local authorities like garrison commanders and palaiyakkarar over markets and grain stores must have been considerable, but has to be researched more thoroughly. For the respective activities of British garrison commanders and of amildars (revenue collectors) of the Nawab see, e.g., OIOC. Paterson Diaries, Vol. 3, 26 August 1772, p. 214; ibid., 27 July 1772, pp. 220-23; ibid., 4 August 1772, p. 231. The German missionary Benjamin Schultze included the following account of a fictitious 'Prince of the Town' in his 'dialogues' (originally written for language teaching in contemporary Madras): 'He that is next after our King, buys for himself all Sort[s] of Grain, put[s] all in his Granaries and locks them up. [...] we had a plentiful Harvest, and though the Husbandmen would come to this Town to sell them, our Prince won't give any Body Leave to do so. [...] If he would give Leave, immediately the Grains would be sold at low Price, but when he gives no Leave, the Inhabitants will needs [sic!] be forced to buy from his own Hands at a very high Rate.' [Benjamin Schultze], The large and reknowned town of the English Nation in the East-Indies upon the coast of Coromandel, Madras [...], Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750, 25th dialogue, p. 59.
60. For the role of agrarian magnates in the grain trade see Tsukasa Mizushima, Nattar and the Socio-Economic Change in South India in the 18th-19th Centuries, Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1986, pp. 269-71, 336-37. See also David Ludden, 'Agrarian Commercialism in Eighteenth Century South India: Evidence from the 1823 Tirunelveli Census', Indian Economic and Social History Review 25(4), 1988, p. 506. In the face of the militarisation of the regional economy that is observable for the second half of the century, the control of local authorities like garrison commanders and palaiyakkarar over markets and grain stores must have been considerable, but has to be researched more thoroughly. For the respective activities of British garrison commanders and of amildars (revenue collectors) of the Nawab see, e.g., OIOC. Paterson Diaries, Vol. 3, 26 August 1772, p. 214; ibid., 27 July 1772, pp. 220-23; ibid., 4 August 1772, p. 231. The German missionary Benjamin Schultze included the following account of a fictitious 'Prince of the Town' in his 'dialogues' (originally written for language teaching in contemporary Madras): 'He that is next after our King, buys for himself all Sort[s] of Grain, put[s] all in his Granaries and locks them up. [...] we had a plentiful Harvest, and though the Husbandmen would come to this Town to sell them, our Prince won't give any Body Leave to do so. [...] If he would give Leave, immediately the Grains would be sold at low Price, but when he gives no Leave, the Inhabitants will needs [sic!] be forced to buy from his own Hands at a very high Rate.' [Benjamin Schultze], The large and reknowned town of the English Nation in the East-Indies upon the coast of Coromandel, Madras [...], Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750, 25th dialogue, p. 59.
61. For the role of agrarian magnates in the grain trade see Tsukasa Mizushima, Nattar and the Socio-Economic Change in South India in the 18th-19th Centuries, Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1986, pp. 269-71, 336-37. See also David Ludden, 'Agrarian Commercialism in Eighteenth Century South India: Evidence from the 1823 Tirunelveli Census', Indian Economic and Social History Review 25(4), 1988, p. 506. In the face of the militarisation of the regional economy that is observable for the second half of the century, the control of local authorities like garrison commanders and palaiyakkarar over markets and grain stores must have been considerable, but has to be researched more thoroughly. For the respective activities of British garrison commanders and of amildars (revenue collectors) of the Nawab see, e.g., OIOC. Paterson Diaries, Vol. 3, 26 August 1772, p. 214; ibid., 27 July 1772, pp. 220-23; ibid., 4 August 1772, p. 231. The German missionary Benjamin Schultze included the following account of a fictitious 'Prince of the Town' in his 'dialogues' (originally written for language teaching in contemporary Madras): 'He that is next after our King, buys for himself all Sort[s] of Grain, put[s] all in his Granaries and locks them up. [...] we had a plentiful Harvest, and though the Husbandmen would come to this Town to sell them, our Prince won't give any Body Leave to do so. [...] If he would give Leave, immediately the Grains would be sold at low Price, but when he gives no Leave, the Inhabitants will needs [sic!] be forced to buy from his own Hands at a very high Rate.' [Benjamin Schultze], The large and reknowned town of the English Nation in the East-Indies upon the coast of Coromandel, Madras [...], Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750, 25th dialogue, p. 59.
62. For the role of agrarian magnates in the grain trade see Tsukasa Mizushima, Nattar and the Socio-Economic Change in South India in the 18th-19th Centuries, Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1986, pp. 269-71, 336-37. See also David Ludden, 'Agrarian Commercialism in Eighteenth Century South India: Evidence from the 1823 Tirunelveli Census', Indian Economic and Social History Review 25(4), 1988, p. 506. In the face of the militarisation of the regional economy that is observable for the second half of the century, the control of local authorities like garrison commanders and palaiyakkarar over markets and grain stores must have been considerable, but has to be researched more thoroughly. For the respective activities of British garrison commanders and of amildars (revenue collectors) of the Nawab see, e.g., OIOC. Paterson Diaries, Vol. 3, 26 August 1772, p. 214; ibid., 27 July 1772, pp. 220-23; ibid., 4 August 1772, p. 231. The German missionary Benjamin Schultze included the following account of a fictitious 'Prince of the Town' in his 'dialogues' (originally written for language teaching in contemporary Madras): 'He that is next after our King, buys for himself all Sort[s] of Grain, put[s] all in his Granaries and locks them up. [...] we had a plentiful Harvest, and though the Husbandmen would come to this Town to sell them, our Prince won't give any Body Leave to do so. [...] If he would give Leave, immediately the Grains would be sold at low Price, but when he gives no Leave, the Inhabitants will needs [sic!] be forced to buy from his own Hands at a very high Rate.' [Benjamin Schultze], The large and reknowned town of the English Nation in the East-Indies upon the coast of Coromandel, Madras [...], Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750, 25th dialogue, p. 59.
63. For the role of agrarian magnates in the grain trade see Tsukasa Mizushima, Nattar and the Socio-Economic Change in South India in the 18th-19th Centuries, Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1986, pp. 269-71, 336-37. See also David Ludden, 'Agrarian Commercialism in Eighteenth Century South India: Evidence from the 1823 Tirunelveli Census', Indian Economic and Social History Review 25(4), 1988, p. 506. In the face of the militarisation of the regional economy that is observable for the second half of the century, the control of local authorities like garrison commanders and palaiyakkarar over markets and grain stores must have been considerable, but has to be researched more thoroughly. For the respective activities of British garrison commanders and of amildars (revenue collectors) of the Nawab see, e.g., OIOC. Paterson Diaries, Vol. 3, 26 August 1772, p. 214; ibid., 27 July 1772, pp. 220-23; ibid., 4 August 1772, p. 231. The German missionary Benjamin Schultze included the following account of a fictitious 'Prince of the Town' in his 'dialogues' (originally written for language teaching in contemporary Madras): 'He that is next after our King, buys for himself all Sort[s] of Grain, put[s] all in his Granaries and locks them up. [...] we had a plentiful Harvest, and though the Husbandmen would come to this Town to sell them, our Prince won't give any Body Leave to do so. [...] If he would give Leave, immediately the Grains would be sold at low Price, but when he gives no Leave, the Inhabitants will needs [sic!] be forced to buy from his own Hands at a very high Rate.' [Benjamin Schultze], The large and reknowned town of the English Nation in the East-Indies upon the coast of Coromandel, Madras [...], Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750, 25th dialogue, p. 59.
64. TNSA, Jaghire Records, Vol. 6, 3 June 1786, p. 361.
65. OIOC, Paterson Diaries, Vol. 8, 30 May 1774, p. 115. See also ibid., 12 June 1774, p. 142.
66. OIOC, Paterson Diaries, Vol. 8, 30 May 1774, p. 115. See also ibid., 12 June 1774, p. 142.
67. See Ahuja, 'Labour Unsettled: Mobility and Protest in the Madras Region', p. 386. See also below.
68. The most important study of this is still J.D. Gurney, The Debts of the Nawab of Arcot, 1763-78, unpublished doctoral dissertation, Oxford University, 1968. See especially pp. 44-46, 59-60.
69. Quoted from Ambirajan, Classical Political Economy and British Policy, p. 67.
70. Datta, 'Subsistence Crises, Markets and Merchants'.
71. Sinnappah Arasaratnam, Maritime Commerce and English Power. Southeast India 1750-1800 (= Asian Studies Association of Australia, ed., South Asian Publications Series 11). New Delhi, Sterling, 1996, p. 117.
72. See also ibid., Chapters 5 and 6.
73. Evidence for such 'sinecurist practices' is abundant. For an interesting case concerning the 'master attendant' (port captain) that occurred as late as in 1796, see subchapter 3.7 of my Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit. However, the East India Company's servants were transformed into well-paid bureaucrats in the same decade under the governorship of Lord Cornwallis. See Metcalf, Ideologies of the Raj, pp. 21-22.
74. An 'insider report' on these practices can be found in OIOC, Paterson Diaries, Vol. 4, 17 February 1773, p. 188.
75. The regulation of prices of such commodities is, for instance, recorded in TNSA, Public Department Sundries (hereafter PS), Vol. 16 (Board of Police, 1770-71), pp. 61-64, 90f; OIOC, Madras Public Proceedings (hereafter MPP), P/240/66, 9 February 1787, pp. 161-82; TNSA, PS, Vol. 61 (Police Committee 1797-98), pp. 27-31; TNSA, PS, Vol. 64 (price and wage regulations 1798), pp. 1-29; TNSA, Military Department Sundries, Vol. 139 (1811), 'Police Regulation, No. 6. A Regulation for Markets'.
76. The regulation of prices of such commodities is, for instance, recorded in TNSA, Public Department Sundries (hereafter PS), Vol. 16 (Board of Police, 1770-71), pp. 61-64, 90f; OIOC, Madras Public Proceedings (hereafter MPP), P/240/66, 9 February 1787, pp. 161-82; TNSA, PS, Vol. 61 (Police Committee 1797-98), pp. 27-31; TNSA, PS, Vol. 64 (price and wage regulations 1798), pp. 1-29; TNSA, Military Department Sundries, Vol. 139 (1811), 'Police Regulation, No. 6. A Regulation for Markets'.
77. The regulation of prices of such commodities is, for instance, recorded in TNSA, Public Department Sundries (hereafter PS), Vol. 16 (Board of Police, 1770-71), pp. 61-64, 90f; OIOC, Madras Public Proceedings (hereafter MPP), P/240/66, 9 February 1787, pp. 161-82; TNSA, PS, Vol. 61 (Police Committee 1797-98), pp. 27-31; TNSA, PS, Vol. 64 (price and wage regulations 1798), pp. 1-29; TNSA, Military Department Sundries, Vol. 139 (1811), 'Police Regulation, No. 6. A Regulation for Markets'.
78. The regulation of prices of such commodities is, for instance, recorded in TNSA, Public Department Sundries (hereafter PS), Vol. 16 (Board of Police, 1770-71), pp. 61-64, 90f; OIOC, Madras Public Proceedings (hereafter MPP), P/240/66, 9 February 1787, pp. 161-82; TNSA, PS, Vol. 61 (Police Committee 1797-98), pp. 27-31; TNSA, PS, Vol. 64 (price and wage regulations 1798), pp. 1-29; TNSA, Military Department Sundries, Vol. 139 (1811), 'Police Regulation, No. 6. A Regulation for Markets'.
79. The regulation of prices of such commodities is, for instance, recorded in TNSA, Public Department Sundries (hereafter PS), Vol. 16 (Board of Police, 1770-71), pp. 61-64, 90f; OIOC, Madras Public Proceedings (hereafter MPP), P/240/66, 9 February 1787, pp. 161-82; TNSA, PS, Vol. 61 (Police Committee 1797-98), pp. 27-31; TNSA, PS, Vol. 64 (price and wage regulations 1798), pp. 1-29; TNSA, Military Department Sundries, Vol. 139 (1811), 'Police Regulation, No. 6. A Regulation for Markets'.
80. This is clearly stated in a letter of Governor Macartney and his Council to Bengal: OIOC, MPP, P/240/53, 29 July 1781, pp. 656-57. See also OIOC, Letters to England, E/4/309, 30 October 1781, § 7.
81. This is clearly stated in a letter of Governor Macartney and his Council to Bengal: OIOC, MPP, P/240/53, 29 July 1781, pp. 656-57. See also OIOC, Letters to England, E/4/309, 30 October 1781, § 7.
82. Henry Dodwell, 'Transport and the Second Mysore War', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 3, 1924, pp. 266-72, see especially p. 267.
83. Henry Davison Love, Vestiges of Old Madras (Indian Records Series), New York, AMS, 1968 (reprint of 1913 edn), Vol. 3, p. 558; Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 73-78, Bericht der Königlich-Dänischen Missionarien in Ostindien [hereafter Hallische Berichte], 67-72 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750-52, p. 1227 (Madras diary, 15 April 1747); ibid., 91-97 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1762-64, p. 897 (mission report 1759-60); Gustav Friderich Gerbett, Ost-Indische Natur-Geschichte. Sitten und Alterthümer insonderheit bei den Malabaren, so aus den Berichten der Köngl. Dänischen Mission zusammen getragen, Halle, Waisenhaus, 1752, p. 77. See also, Hallische Berichte, 37-43 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1735-38, p. 446 (Madras diary, 9 September 1734) and ibid., p. 447-48 (Madras diary, 2 October 1734).
84. Henry Davison Love, Vestiges of Old Madras (Indian Records Series), New York, AMS, 1968 (reprint of 1913 edn), Vol. 3, p. 558; Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 73-78, Bericht der Königlich-Dänischen Missionarien in Ostindien [hereafter Hallische Berichte], 67-72 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750-52, p. 1227 (Madras diary, 15 April 1747); ibid., 91-97 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1762-64, p. 897 (mission report 1759-60); Gustav Friderich Gerbett, Ost-Indische Natur-Geschichte. Sitten und Alterthümer insonderheit bei den Malabaren, so aus den Berichten der Köngl. Dänischen Mission zusammen getragen, Halle, Waisenhaus, 1752, p. 77. See also, Hallische Berichte, 37-43 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1735-38, p. 446 (Madras diary, 9 September 1734) and ibid., p. 447-48 (Madras diary, 2 October 1734).
85. Henry Davison Love, Vestiges of Old Madras (Indian Records Series), New York, AMS, 1968 (reprint of 1913 edn), Vol. 3, p. 558; Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 73-78, Bericht der Königlich-Dänischen Missionarien in Ostindien [hereafter Hallische Berichte], 67-72 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750-52, p. 1227 (Madras diary, 15 April 1747); ibid., 91-97 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1762-64, p. 897 (mission report 1759-60); Gustav Friderich Gerbett, Ost-Indische Natur-Geschichte. Sitten und Alterthümer insonderheit bei den Malabaren, so aus den Berichten der Köngl. Dänischen Mission zusammen getragen, Halle, Waisenhaus, 1752, p. 77. See also, Hallische Berichte, 37-43 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1735-38, p. 446 (Madras diary, 9 September 1734) and ibid., p. 447-48 (Madras diary, 2 October 1734).
86. Henry Davison Love, Vestiges of Old Madras (Indian Records Series), New York, AMS, 1968 (reprint of 1913 edn), Vol. 3, p. 558; Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 73-78, Bericht der Königlich-Dänischen Missionarien in Ostindien [hereafter Hallische Berichte], 67-72 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750-52, p. 1227 (Madras diary, 15 April 1747); ibid., 91-97 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1762-64, p. 897 (mission report 1759-60); Gustav Friderich Gerbett, Ost-Indische Natur-Geschichte. Sitten und Alterthümer insonderheit bei den Malabaren, so aus den Berichten der Köngl. Dänischen Mission zusammen getragen, Halle, Waisenhaus, 1752, p. 77. See also, Hallische Berichte, 37-43 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1735-38, p. 446 (Madras diary, 9 September 1734) and ibid., p. 447-48 (Madras diary, 2 October 1734).
87. Henry Davison Love, Vestiges of Old Madras (Indian Records Series), New York, AMS, 1968 (reprint of 1913 edn), Vol. 3, p. 558; Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 73-78, Bericht der Königlich-Dänischen Missionarien in Ostindien [hereafter Hallische Berichte], 67-72 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750-52, p. 1227 (Madras diary, 15 April 1747); ibid., 91-97 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1762-64, p. 897 (mission report 1759-60); Gustav Friderich Gerbett, Ost-Indische Natur-Geschichte. Sitten und Alterthümer insonderheit bei den Malabaren, so aus den Berichten der Köngl. Dänischen Mission zusammen getragen, Halle, Waisenhaus, 1752, p. 77. See also, Hallische Berichte, 37-43 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1735-38, p. 446 (Madras diary, 9 September 1734) and ibid., p. 447-48 (Madras diary, 2 October 1734).
88. Henry Davison Love, Vestiges of Old Madras (Indian Records Series), New York, AMS, 1968 (reprint of 1913 edn), Vol. 3, p. 558; Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 73-78, Bericht der Königlich-Dänischen Missionarien in Ostindien [hereafter Hallische Berichte], 67-72 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1750-52, p. 1227 (Madras diary, 15 April 1747); ibid., 91-97 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1762-64, p. 897 (mission report 1759-60); Gustav Friderich Gerbett, Ost-Indische Natur-Geschichte. Sitten und Alterthümer insonderheit bei den Malabaren, so aus den Berichten der Köngl. Dänischen Mission zusammen getragen, Halle, Waisenhaus, 1752, p. 77. See also, Hallische Berichte, 37-43 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1735-38, p. 446 (Madras diary, 9 September 1734) and ibid., p. 447-48 (Madras diary, 2 October 1734).
89. Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 76-78.
90. R.A. Dalyell, Memorandum on the Madras Famine of 1866. Printed for the Information of the Madras Central Famine Relief Committee, Madras, 1867, pp. 10-12.
91. See also Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', p. 78.
92. Records of Fort St George (printed in Madras, 1930-53) [hereafter RFSG], Diary and Consultation Books (Public Department) [hereafter DCB], 13 August 1750, p. 151.
93. Records of Fort St George (printed in Madras, 1930-53) [hereafter RFSG], Diary and Consultation Books (Public Department) [hereafter DCB], 13 August 1750, p. 151.
94. For these calculations, see Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, p. 228, footnote 296.
95. RFSG, DCB, 2 October 1752, p. 181.
96. Hallische Berichte, 91-97 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1762-64, p. 897 (brief mission report for 1 May 1759 to 31 December 1760).
97. OIOC, MPP, P/240/19, 10 December 1761, pp. 58-64; RFSG, DCB, 27 October 1760, p. 312.
98. OIOC, MPP, P/240/19, 10 December 1761, pp. 58-64; RFSG, DCB, 27 October 1760, p. 312.
99. Archiv der Franckeschen Stiftung, Halle (Saale) [hereafter AFS], II D 40: 4, Kurtzgefaßte Nachricht von dem Fortgang der Evangelischen Mission zu Madras im Jahr 1763 (brief report for 1763 by Johann Philipp Fabricius and Johann Christian Breithaupt), 31 December 1763; ibid., I B 53:27, letter from Johann Christian Breithaupt to Pastor Breithaupt in Wernigerode, 17 February 1764. See also Hallische Berichte, 98-103 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1765-68, pp. 385-88, 391-92.
100. Archiv der Franckeschen Stiftung, Halle (Saale) [hereafter AFS], II D 40: 4, Kurtzgefaßte Nachricht von dem Fortgang der Evangelischen Mission zu Madras im Jahr 1763 (brief report for 1763 by Johann Philipp Fabricius and Johann Christian Breithaupt), 31 December 1763; ibid., I B 53:27, letter from Johann Christian Breithaupt to Pastor Breithaupt in Wernigerode, 17 February 1764. See also Hallische Berichte, 98-103 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1765-68, pp. 385-88, 391-92.
101. Archiv der Franckeschen Stiftung, Halle (Saale) [hereafter AFS], II D 40: 4, Kurtzgefaßte Nachricht von dem Fortgang der Evangelischen Mission zu Madras im Jahr 1763 (brief report for 1763 by Johann Philipp Fabricius and Johann Christian Breithaupt), 31 December 1763; ibid., I B 53:27, letter from Johann Christian Breithaupt to Pastor Breithaupt in Wernigerode, 17 February 1764. See also Hallische Berichte, 98-103 cont., Halle, Waisenhaus, 1765-68, pp. 385-88, 391-92.
102. A drastic reduction of agricultural productivity in the 'Jagir', i.e. the district surrounding Madras, is, for instance, mentioned a few years later in OIOC, Paterson Diaries, Vol. 7, 22 December 1773, pp. 135-36.
103. Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten zu Bekehrung der Heiden in Ostindien, Vol. 1, p. 349 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt to D. Franke, 22 January 1770).
104. Arnold, 'Famine in Peasant Consciousness and Peasant Action', pp. 85-88.
105. E.P. Thompson's observation that 'food riots' occurred only during a 'transitional phase' in the development of a '"modern" national "free market"' in various parts of the worlds may be relevant here. Thompson, Customs in Common, pp. 293-94; see also ibid., pp. 295-303.
106. E.P. Thompson's observation that 'food riots' occurred only during a 'transitional phase' in the development of a '"modern" national "free market"' in various parts of the worlds may be relevant here. Thompson, Customs in Common, pp. 293-94; see also ibid., pp. 295-303.
107. OIOC, MPP, P/240/36, 3 December 1773, p. 809.
108. Ibid., P/240/37, 6 May 1774, p. 318.
109. Ibid., 19 March 1774, pp. 211-12.
110. Ibid., 6 May 1774, pp. 317-19.
111. Ramaswami, Political History of the Carnatic Under the Nawabs, pp. 337-38.
112. OIOC, MPP, P/240/37, 6 May 1774, pp. 319-20.
113. Ibid., 13 May 1774, pp. 326-27; ibid., 16 May 1774, pp. 330-32; ibid., 30 May 1774, pp. 352-54; ibid., 3 June 1774, pp. 357-63.
114. Ibid., 13 May 1774, pp. 326-27; ibid., 16 May 1774, pp. 330-32; ibid., 30 May 1774, pp. 352-54; ibid., 3 June 1774, pp. 357-63.
115. Ibid., 13 May 1774, pp. 326-27; ibid., 16 May 1774, pp. 330-32; ibid., 30 May 1774, pp. 352-54; ibid., 3 June 1774, pp. 357-63.
116. Ibid., 13 May 1774, pp. 326-27; ibid., 16 May 1774, pp. 330-32; ibid., 30 May 1774, pp. 352-54; ibid., 3 June 1774, pp. 357-63.
117. See also OIOC, Paterson Diaries, Vol. 8, 30 May 1774, p. 114.
118. Ibid., 1 June 1774, pp. 115-16.
119. OIOC, MPP, P/240/37, 3 June 1774, pp. 361-62.
120. Ibid., 6 June 1774, pp. 376-77; ibid., 13 June 1774, pp. 390-91.
121. Ibid., 6 June 1774, pp. 376-77; ibid., 13 June 1774, pp. 390-91.
122. Ibid., P/242/9, 21 December 1798, pp. 3986-87. Anderson, a doctor, mentions the year 1773, but it is probable that he referred to the crisis of 1774.
123. Ibid., P/240/39, 7 April 1775, pp. 436-37.
124. This diagram is based on various materials presented in this article. Considering the fragmentary character of the sources and methodical problems, I have not tried to distinguish periods of dearth from periods of famine (i.e. periods of excess mortality). However, the famine of 1781-83 clearly stands out among the century's subsistence crises in that it was the only one to cause a substantial demographic and economic downturn in the region.
125. Cf.: Curley, 'Fair Grain Markets and Mughal Famine Policy'. See also Sharma, Famine, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, pp. 35-37, 48-52 and passim.
126. Cf.: Curley, 'Fair Grain Markets and Mughal Famine Policy'. See also Sharma, Famine, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, pp. 35-37, 48-52 and passim.
127. Valuable summaries, though written from a colonial perspective, are: Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, pp. 229-36 and Dalyell, Memorandum on the Madras Famine of 1866, pp. 12-17. Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 79-82, contains little additional information but several inaccuracies. Another older article is only interesting as a specimen of colonial ideology but misleading as a historical study. S.V. Chari, 'Famine Relief in Madras 150 Years Ago', Indian Historical Records Commission Proceedings 6, 1924, pp. 78-84.
128. Valuable summaries, though written from a colonial perspective, are: Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, pp. 229-36 and Dalyell, Memorandum on the Madras Famine of 1866, pp. 12-17. Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 79-82, contains little additional information but several inaccuracies. Another older article is only interesting as a specimen of colonial ideology but misleading as a historical study. S.V. Chari, 'Famine Relief in Madras 150 Years Ago', Indian Historical Records Commission Proceedings 6, 1924, pp. 78-84.
129. Valuable summaries, though written from a colonial perspective, are: Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, pp. 229-36 and Dalyell, Memorandum on the Madras Famine of 1866, pp. 12-17. Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 79-82, contains little additional information but several inaccuracies. Another older article is only interesting as a specimen of colonial ideology but misleading as a historical study. S.V. Chari, 'Famine Relief in Madras 150 Years Ago', Indian Historical Records Commission Proceedings 6, 1924, pp. 78-84.
130. Valuable summaries, though written from a colonial perspective, are: Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, pp. 229-36 and Dalyell, Memorandum on the Madras Famine of 1866, pp. 12-17. Naidu, 'Famines in the City of Madras', pp. 79-82, contains little additional information but several inaccuracies. Another older article is only interesting as a specimen of colonial ideology but misleading as a historical study. S.V. Chari, 'Famine Relief in Madras 150 Years Ago', Indian Historical Records Commission Proceedings 6, 1924, pp. 78-84.
131. Lardinois, 'Deserted Villages and Depopulation'; Arasaratnam, Maritime Commerce and English Power, pp. 109-17.
132. OIOC, MPP, P/240/48, 11 October 1779, p. 611; ibid., P/240/50, 15 February 1780 (no page given); ibid., 19 May 1780, pp. 285-87; ibid., 3 June 1780, p. 334.
133. OIOC, MPP, P/240/48, 11 October 1779, p. 611; ibid., P/240/50, 15 February 1780 (no page given); ibid., 19 May 1780, pp. 285-87; ibid., 3 June 1780, p. 334.
134. OIOC, MPP, P/240/48, 11 October 1779, p. 611; ibid., P/240/50, 15 February 1780 (no page given); ibid., 19 May 1780, pp. 285-87; ibid., 3 June 1780, p. 334.
135. OIOC, MPP, P/240/48, 11 October 1779, p. 611; ibid., P/240/50, 15 February 1780 (no page given); ibid., 19 May 1780, pp. 285-87; ibid., 3 June 1780, p. 334.
136. OIOC, MPP, P/240/51, 28 July 1780, p. 547, ibid., 29 July 1780, pp. 549-50.
137. OIOC, MPP, P/240/51, 28 July 1780, p. 547, ibid., 29 July 1780, pp. 549-50.
138. Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, p. 229.
139. OIOC, MPP, P/240/52, 24 April 1781, p. 305; see also ibid., P/240/51, 27 October 1780, p. 942.
140. OIOC, MPP, P/240/52, 24 April 1781, p. 305; see also ibid., P/240/51, 27 October 1780, p. 942.
141. Ibid., P/240/52, 19 May 1781, pp. 428-29.
142. Ibid., 9 June 1781, pp. 559-60.
143. Ibid., pp. 468-69.
144. Ibid., pp. 470-73.
145. Ibid., pp. 554-55; see also ibid., pp. 547-53.
146. Ibid., pp. 554-55; see also ibid., pp. 547-53.
147. OIOC, MPP, P/240/53, 6 July 1781, pp. 634-38.
148. Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, p. 230.
149. OIOC, MPP, P/240/53, 27 July 1781, pp. 651-52.
150. Ibid., pp. 648-51. This prohibition had been decreed five years earlier: ibid., P/240/41, 17 May 1776, p. 277.
151. Ibid., pp. 648-51. This prohibition had been decreed five years earlier: ibid., P/240/41, 17 May 1776, p. 277.
152. OIOC, MPP, P/240/53, 29 July 1781, pp. 655-56.
153. The influence of 'Bengal private shippers to Madras' is suspected by Arasaratnam, Maritime Commerce and English Power, p. 117. For the bargaining power of Bengal grain merchants see Datta, 'Subsistence Crises, Markets and Merchants'.
154. The influence of 'Bengal private shippers to Madras' is suspected by Arasaratnam, Maritime Commerce and English Power, p. 117. For the bargaining power of Bengal grain merchants see Datta, 'Subsistence Crises, Markets and Merchants'.
155. OIOC, MPP, P/240/53, 14 September 1781, pp. 826-28; TNSA, Military Department Proceedings (hereafter MC), Vol. 76C, 28 September 1781, p. 2907.
156. OIOC, MPP, P/240/53, 14 September 1781, pp. 826-28; TNSA, Military Department Proceedings (hereafter MC), Vol. 76C, 28 September 1781, p. 2907.
157. See especially the following mission reports: Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 25 Stück, p. 49 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt, 13 September 1781); ibid., p. 53 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt, 25 January 1782). See also ibid., p. 76 (C.W. Gericke's Cuddalore diary, 3 November to 15 December 1781). Large scale influx of famine refugees into Madras City is also recorded in OIOC, Letters to England, E/4/309, 30 October 1781, § 7.
158. See especially the following mission reports: Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 25 Stück, p. 49 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt, 13 September 1781); ibid., p. 53 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt, 25 January 1782). See also ibid., p. 76 (C.W. Gericke's Cuddalore diary, 3 November to 15 December 1781). Large scale influx of famine refugees into Madras City is also recorded in OIOC, Letters to England, E/4/309, 30 October 1781, § 7.
159. See especially the following mission reports: Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 25 Stück, p. 49 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt, 13 September 1781); ibid., p. 53 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt, 25 January 1782). See also ibid., p. 76 (C.W. Gericke's Cuddalore diary, 3 November to 15 December 1781). Large scale influx of famine refugees into Madras City is also recorded in OIOC, Letters to England, E/4/309, 30 October 1781, § 7.
160. See especially the following mission reports: Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 25 Stück, p. 49 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt, 13 September 1781); ibid., p. 53 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt, 25 January 1782). See also ibid., p. 76 (C.W. Gericke's Cuddalore diary, 3 November to 15 December 1781). Large scale influx of famine refugees into Madras City is also recorded in OIOC, Letters to England, E/4/309, 30 October 1781, § 7.
161. OIOC, MPP, P/240/53, 5 October 1781, p. 922.
162. OIOC, MPP, P/240/54, 14 June 1782, p. 612-13.
163. Ibid., 12 July 1782, pp. 670-71.
164. Ibid., 1 February 1782, pp. 62-64.
165. Arasaratnam, Maritime Commerce and English Power, p. 115; Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, p. 232.
166. Arasaratnam, Maritime Commerce and English Power, p. 115; Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, p. 232.
167. OIOC, MPP, P/240/54, 24 May 1782, pp. 538-42.
168. That prominent merchants and other Indian notables did not engage in 'charitable' practices on this occasion is difficult to imagine, since generous donations to temples or for the distribution of food to Brahmins was central to their mode of building up a (even commercially important) good reputation. See Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, p. 55. A reference to the distribution of food to the 'poor' by Indian notables in Madras can be found in V. Raghavan, ed., 'The Sarva-Deva-Vilasa. Critical Historical Study', The Adyar Library Bulletin 22(1-2), 1958, 110-12.
169. That prominent merchants and other Indian notables did not engage in 'charitable' practices on this occasion is difficult to imagine, since generous donations to temples or for the distribution of food to Brahmins was central to their mode of building up a (even commercially important) good reputation. See Ahuja, Die Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, p. 55. A reference to the distribution of food to the 'poor' by Indian notables in Madras can be found in V. Raghavan, ed., 'The Sarva-Deva-Vilasa. Critical Historical Study', The Adyar Library Bulletin 22(1-2), 1958, 110-12.
170. OIOC, MPP, P/240/54, 24 May 1782, p. 542.
171. This social function of 'charity' for grain traders and moneylenders has been observed for later periods in Arnold, 'Famine in Peasant Consciousness and Peasant Action', p. 99, and, for Western India, in Hardiman, Feeding the Baniya, pp. 154-62.
172. This social function of 'charity' for grain traders and moneylenders has been observed for later periods in Arnold, 'Famine in Peasant Consciousness and Peasant Action', p. 99, and, for Western India, in Hardiman, Feeding the Baniya, pp. 154-62.
173. Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 25 Stück, p. 61 (C.W. Gericke's Cuddalore diary, 12 February 1781).
174. Ibid., 28 Stück, p. 407 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt in Vepery, 16 July 1782); ibid., p. 410 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Cuddalore, 24 July 1782) ; ibid., 27 Stück, p. 334 (letter from C.W. Gerickes in Cuddalore, 30 July 1782); OIOC, MPP, P/240/55, 6 August 1782, pp. 746-47.
175. Ibid., 28 Stück, p. 407 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt in Vepery, 16 July 1782); ibid., p. 410 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Cuddalore, 24 July 1782) ; ibid., 27 Stück, p. 334 (letter from C.W. Gerickes in Cuddalore, 30 July 1782); OIOC, MPP, P/240/55, 6 August 1782, pp. 746-47.
176. Ibid., 28 Stück, p. 407 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt in Vepery, 16 July 1782); ibid., p. 410 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Cuddalore, 24 July 1782) ; ibid., 27 Stück, p. 334 (letter from C.W. Gerickes in Cuddalore, 30 July 1782); OIOC, MPP, P/240/55, 6 August 1782, pp. 746-47.
177. Ibid., 28 Stück, p. 407 (letter from J.C. Breithaupt in Vepery, 16 July 1782); ibid., p. 410 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Cuddalore, 24 July 1782) ; ibid., 27 Stück, p. 334 (letter from C.W. Gerickes in Cuddalore, 30 July 1782); OIOC, MPP, P/240/55, 6 August 1782, pp. 746-47.
178. Ibid., 22 September 1782, pp. 905-7.
179. Ibid., 30 September 1782, p. 943.
180. Ibid., P/240/57, 21 August 1783, p. 1174.
181. On the increasing importance of annadana since the sixteenth century, see Narayana Rao, Symbols of Substance, pp. 67-72. For annadana in Madras in the period under review, see the will of the prominent merchant Chokappa Chitty in OIOC, Madras Wills, L/AG/34/29/193, 1791 (part 2), pp. 639-40. For another reference to such practices in Madras see OIOC, Paterson Diaries, Vol. 5, 29 May 1773, p. 145.
182. On the increasing importance of annadana since the sixteenth century, see Narayana Rao, Symbols of Substance, pp. 67-72. For annadana in Madras in the period under review, see the will of the prominent merchant Chokappa Chitty in OIOC, Madras Wills, L/AG/34/29/193, 1791 (part 2), pp. 639-40. For another reference to such practices in Madras see OIOC, Paterson Diaries, Vol. 5, 29 May 1773, p. 145.
183. On the increasing importance of annadana since the sixteenth century, see Narayana Rao, Symbols of Substance, pp. 67-72. For annadana in Madras in the period under review, see the will of the prominent merchant Chokappa Chitty in OIOC, Madras Wills, L/AG/34/29/193, 1791 (part 2), pp. 639-40. For another reference to such practices in Madras see OIOC, Paterson Diaries, Vol. 5, 29 May 1773, p. 145.
184. OIOC, MPP, P/240/55, 4 October 1782, pp. 947-49; see also ibid., 5 October 1782, p. 957.
185. OIOC, MPP, P/240/55, 4 October 1782, pp. 947-49; see also ibid., 5 October 1782, p. 957.
186. Ibid., 9 October 1782, pp. 960-61.
187. For another view see Arasaratnam, Maritime Commerce and English Power, p. 112.
188. This declaration is recorded in OIOC, MPP, P/240/55, 15 November 1782, pp. 1183-95.
189. Ibid., pp. 1192-93.
190. Ibid., 12 October 1782, pp. 100-2.
191. Sharma, Famine, Philanthropy and the Colonial State, p. 76.
192. Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 27 Stück, p. 337 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Madras, 2 November 1782); Innes Munro, A Narrative of the Military Operations on the Coromandel Coast Against the Combined Forces of the French, Dutch, and Hyder Ally Cawn from the Year 1780 to the Peace in 1784 in a Series of Letters, London, 1789, pp. 298-99; Jacob Haafner, Lotgevallen op eene Reize van Madras over Tranquebar naar het Eiland Ceilon, Haarlem, 1806, p. 88 (fn. †); Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Madras, Vol. 1, New Delhi, 1985 (reprint of 1908 edn), p. 79.
193. Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 27 Stück, p. 337 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Madras, 2 November 1782); Innes Munro, A Narrative of the Military Operations on the Coromandel Coast Against the Combined Forces of the French, Dutch, and Hyder Ally Cawn from the Year 1780 to the Peace in 1784 in a Series of Letters, London, 1789, pp. 298-99; Jacob Haafner, Lotgevallen op eene Reize van Madras over Tranquebar naar het Eiland Ceilon, Haarlem, 1806, p. 88 (fn. †); Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Madras, Vol. 1, New Delhi, 1985 (reprint of 1908 edn), p. 79.
194. Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 27 Stück, p. 337 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Madras, 2 November 1782); Innes Munro, A Narrative of the Military Operations on the Coromandel Coast Against the Combined Forces of the French, Dutch, and Hyder Ally Cawn from the Year 1780 to the Peace in 1784 in a Series of Letters, London, 1789, pp. 298-99; Jacob Haafner, Lotgevallen op eene Reize van Madras over Tranquebar naar het Eiland Ceilon, Haarlem, 1806, p. 88 (fn. †); Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Madras, Vol. 1, New Delhi, 1985 (reprint of 1908 edn), p. 79.
195. Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 27 Stück, p. 337 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Madras, 2 November 1782); Innes Munro, A Narrative of the Military Operations on the Coromandel Coast Against the Combined Forces of the French, Dutch, and Hyder Ally Cawn from the Year 1780 to the Peace in 1784 in a Series of Letters, London, 1789, pp. 298-99; Jacob Haafner, Lotgevallen op eene Reize van Madras over Tranquebar naar het Eiland Ceilon, Haarlem, 1806, p. 88 (fn. †); Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Madras, Vol. 1, New Delhi, 1985 (reprint of 1908 edn), p. 79.
196. OIOC, MPP, P/240/55, 3 December 1782, pp. 1321-22.
197. Ibid., 15 November 1782, p. 1203; ibid., 22 November 1782, pp. 1247-49; Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 27 Stück, p. 337 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Madras, 2 November 1782).
198. Ibid., 15 November 1782, p. 1203; ibid., 22 November 1782, pp. 1247-49; Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 27 Stück, p. 337 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Madras, 2 November 1782).
199. Ibid., 15 November 1782, p. 1203; ibid., 22 November 1782, pp. 1247-49; Freylinghausen, ed., Neuere Geschichte der Evangelischen Missions-Anstalten, 27 Stück, p. 337 (letter from C.W. Gericke in Madras, 2 November 1782).
200. Haafner, Lotgevallen op eene Reize, pp. 85-87.
201. Munro, A Narrative of the Military Operations, p. 296.
202. Ibid., pp. 298-99.
203. OIOC, Paul Benfield, Correspondence & Papers, Vol. 2, MSS.EUR.C.307, Benfield to Atkinson, 13 August 1783. See also ibid., letter to Lord Shelbourne, undated, c. 1782-83.
204. OIOC, Paul Benfield, Correspondence & Papers, Vol. 2, MSS.EUR.C.307, Benfield to Atkinson, 13 August 1783. See also ibid., letter to Lord Shelbourne, undated, c. 1782-83.
205. See for instance OIOC, Palk MSS (IOR Neg 4382), No. 383, G. Baker to R. Palk, 10 October 1784 (quoted in my Mobility and Protest, p. 391).
206. See for instance OIOC, Palk MSS (IOR Neg 4382), No. 383, G. Baker to R. Palk, 10 October 1784 (quoted in my Mobility and Protest, p. 391).
207. OIOC, MPP. P/240/55, 29 November 1782, p. 1282.
208. Ibid., 20 December 1782, pp. 1400-3.
209. Campbell and Skinner, eds, Glasgow Edition of Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, Vol. 2.1, p. 158; for the 'assize' in England see Thompson, Customs in Common, pp. 194, 199-200, 222-23, 290.
210. Campbell and Skinner, eds, Glasgow Edition of Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, Vol. 2.1, p. 158; for the 'assize' in England see Thompson, Customs in Common, pp. 194, 199-200, 222-23, 290.
211. OIOC, MPP, P/240/55, 21 December 1782, pp. 1430-31.
212. Arasaratnam, Maritime Commerce and English Power, p. 115;
213. OIOC, MPP, P/240/56, 7 February 1783, pp. 154-56.
214. Ibid., p. 156 and India Gazette, 28 December 1782, quoted in Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, p. 233.
215. Ibid., p. 156 and India Gazette, 28 December 1782, quoted in Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, p. 233.
216. Ibid., p. 156 and India Gazette, 28 December 1782, quoted in Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, p. 233.
217. Love, Vestiges of Old Madras, Vol. 3, p. 236.
218. OIOC, MPP, P/240/56, 17 February 1783, p. 208.
219. OIOC, Benfield Papers, Vol. 2, 'Translation of a written declaration in the Tallangah Tongue made by Veerah Soamy', 28 February 1783, and further papers in this volume. See also OIOC, MPP, P/240/56, 23 May 1783, pp. 491-92.
220. OIOC, Benfield Papers, Vol. 2, 'Translation of a written declaration in the Tallangah Tongue made by Veerah Soamy', 28 February 1783, and further papers in this volume. See also OIOC, MPP, P/240/56, 23 May 1783, pp. 491-92.
221. Ibid., P/240/57, 26 July 1783, p. 1056.
222. Ibid., 29 July 1783, pp. 1060-61; ibid., 7 August 1783, p. 1105-6.
223. Ibid., 29 July 1783, pp. 1060-61; ibid., 7 August 1783, p. 1105-6.
224. Ibid., P/241/14, 1 September 1789, pp. 2533-34.
225. The policies adopted by the colonial administration on occasion of these later subsistence crises are described in greater detail in Ahuja, Erzeugung kolonialer Staatlichkeit, pp. 323-26.
226. See footnote 59.
227. See footnote 67.
228. OIOC, MPP, P/242/9, 22 December 1798, p. 4079.
229. See footnote 61.
230. OIOC, MPP, P/241/30, 24 January 1792, p. 375.
231. Ibid., 7 February 1792, pp. 490-91.
232. See footnote 122.
233. See footnote 67.