Category 28 · Modern History
Economic Impact of British Rule
10 micro topics in Modern History for UPSC Prelims, in book order: Deindustrialisation: Ruin of Artisans and Handicraftsmen; One-Way Free Trade and the Tariff Policy; and 8 more.
-
28.1
Deindustrialisation: Ruin of Artisans and Handicraftsmen
British rule transformed India into a colonial economy, whose structure was set by British interests. After the Charter Act of 1813, cheap machine-made imports flooded India under one-way free trade, while tariffs of nearly 80 per…
-
28.2
One-Way Free Trade and the Tariff Policy
Between 1813 and the 1860s, India was integrated into British and world capitalism through free trade. Import duties were removed or reduced to nominal rates, British capitalists could freely develop plantations, trade and industry, and India…
-
28.3
Ruralisation and the Impoverishment of the Peasantry
Pushed back to the land by deindustrialisation, artisans increased the pressure on agriculture, while the government, interested only in maximising rents and its share of revenue, enforced the Permanent Settlement in large parts. Transferable land, summary…
-
28.4
Intermediaries, Absentee Landlordism and the Ruin of Old Zamindars
By 1815, half of the land in Bengal had passed to new owners: merchants, moneylenders and other moneyed town dwellers. The new zamindars, with more powers but few outlets for investment, resorted to land-grabbing and sub-infeudation,…
-
28.5
Commercialisation of Indian Agriculture
In the second half of the nineteenth century agriculture began to be influenced by commercial considerations. Specialised crops such as cotton, jute, groundnut, oilseeds, sugarcane and tobacco were grown for sale in national and international markets,…
-
28.6
Famines and Poverty Under British Rule
Regular famines became a common feature of daily life under British rule. In this account they were not just the result of food scarcity but a direct result of the poverty unleashed by colonial forces, and…
-
28.7
Late Development of Modern Industry
Indian industry was steadily destroyed: textiles were undercut, the ship-building industry was crushed by laws of 1813 and 1814 and heavy duties, and the steel industry was not allowed to grow freely. Modern machine industry began…
-
28.8
Railways and the Growth of Trade
Railways carried British goods to the remotest parts of India and helped raw materials move out, while British capital was invested in railways under a guarantee. The nationalists exposed the argument that the growth of foreign…
-
28.9
Economic Drain and the Nationalist Critique
After the 1860s nationalist thinkers moved from hope in British rule to a critique of the colonial economy. Dadabhai Naoroji's Poverty and UnBritish Rule in India put forward the theory of the economic drain: a part…
-
28.10
Three Stages of Colonialism in India
Marxist historians, especially Rajni Palme Dutt, identify three overlapping stages of British colonialism: merchant capital and direct appropriation (the Company's domination, 1757-1813), the colonialism of free trade (from the Charter Act of 1813 to the 1860s),…
← All Modern History categories
Frequently asked questions
Which topics are in Economic Impact of British Rule?
Economic Impact of British Rule has 10 micro topics in Modern History: Deindustrialisation: Ruin of Artisans and Handicraftsmen; One-Way Free Trade and the Tariff Policy; Ruralisation and the Impoverishment of the Peasantry; Intermediaries, Absentee Landlordism and the Ruin of Old Zamindars; Commercialisation of Indian Agriculture; Famines and Poverty Under British Rule; Late Development of Modern Industry; Railways and the Growth of Trade; Economic Drain and the Nationalist Critique; Three Stages of Colonialism in India.
Is Economic Impact of British Rule important for UPSC Prelims?
Economic Impact of British Rule is a part of the UPSC Prelims Modern History syllabus map on MaargX UPSC. Each of its 10 published topics has key terms, a Mains angle and practice questions.