Source: Prathamesh Godbole on TW
$45tr number is nonsense. The UK’s official estimate of its own national networth even TODAY is gbp 10tr. how would they take 45 100y ago? To put that number into perspective, $45tr is more than the worth of all gold mined in human history, which is estimated at $7tr. So unless England put pieces of the continental plate on ships and carted it off, forget 45, forget 7tr, even 10% of that isnt realistic.
Brits didnt have to ‘push india into poverty’- it was like this the entire time in Mughal rule. Bengal, used as proxy for comparisons, show wages that were 1/5th and 1/6th of London right in 1600. The Great Divergence began right ~1500, not 1800.
Apart from organized looting, the British’s discriminatory trade policies contributed to the De-industrialization of the Indian economy. India’s textile industry suffered significantly as a result of this policy. The Indian textile industry thrived till the late 17th century. Demand for Indian handwoven textiles was quite strong around the world, including the United Kingdom. However, as a result of the industrial revolution in the UK, they can now make cheaper machine-made clothing.
This is the actual important part- India did not industrialize, because the Raj prevented it. At the same time, it also destroyed older markets for export by imposing tariffs in their markets, while flooding India with machine made cheap goods. This is, ironically similar to what GOI did even AFTER independence, where we’ve got a bunch of trade agreements with countries that export us cheap goods- especially China, while politicians f** over our businesses for hafta
After the victory in the battle of Buxar in 1764, the EIC acquired revenue collection rights in Bengal first, thereafter got it extended across the sub-continent systematically. Later, they used 1/3rd portion of the tax revenue to purchase goods, instead of investing it in India.
How is this a loot? They collected taxes, paid market price for goods. Is it a trade deficit that would cause a silver shortage? Yes. Is it loot? No. Who is being looted?
The British used the massive profit gained by EIC to buy strategic raw materials such as Iron and timber to fuel their own industrial revolution back in Britain.
india didnt even have blast furnaces.
infrastructure was so poor + quality of smelted metal, that it was cheaper to ship bulk metals from Europe to indian ports than inland mines to port.