Economic Outcomes from Contrasting Colonial Strategies by the East India Company and British Raj at an Inter-Regional Level Between 1757-1947

1757-1947 年间东印度公司和英属印度在区域间层面对比殖民战略的经济成果

• 批准号: 2884155
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2884155
• 关键词: Economic; Outcomes; Contrasting; Colonial; Strategies

My anticipated (general) area of research focus: Literature around the economic impact of British interference in India at a national level is abundant, however inter-regional variations, especially covering the western Tribal Areas and Balochistan have been relatively sparsely covered. On the one hand, the East India Company established the port cities of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta with the commercial opportunities here attracting the migration of many Indians (especially merchants and bankers). Eventually, institutions such as colleges and universities were established there making English language the lingua franca of the region, producing highly skilled doctors, civil servants and lawyers. The British Raj then expanded the access of these Indian merchants to overseas markets and the volume of trade through these three ports increased fivefold between 1863-1913. Other regions such as the United Provinces, Gujrat and Punjab experienced vast agricultural development with cultivated acreage across these regions increasing by a factor of 2.11 between 1600 and 1910, according to research by Professor Stephen Broadberry. In contrast, the Tribal Areas of western British India mainly experienced British military aggression and by 1947, there were no schools, hospitals, railways or other infrastructure within these Tribal Areas, except for those used exclusively by the British. In fact, the Waziristan region is reported to have had more troops stationed there in 1936 than anywhere else in the entire subcontinent. Other regions such as Bihar witnessed significant economic deindustrialisation in the 19th century. Balochistan and the Tribal Areas were given significant autonomy, although without any plans for economic development or institution building. This view is supported by Professors Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson who argue that colonisers less likely to settle in a specific region (possibly because of facing higher mortality like the British faced in the Tribal Areas and Balochistan), were more likely to establish extractive states there. These extractive states then determine the quality of institutions and the subsequent economic performance of the region. I would like to use regional British and Indian military mortality figures as a proxy for institutions, investigating heterogeneity across British Indian regions and then comparing it to the economic performances of these regions today to evaluate Acemoglu et al.'s hypothesis. Moreover, the Tribal Areas and Balochistan mainly consist of the Pashtun tribes of Mohmand, Shinwari, Achekzai and Kakar amongst many others, who were involuntarily separated from their fellow tribespeople between Afghanistan and British India in the late 19th century. I would like to compare the modern economic performances of these tribes settled in Balochistan and the Tribal Areas who have experienced the legacy of British colonial rule with their fellow identical tribespeople in Afghanistan who lived under the Durrani and Barakzai empires. This comparison can then hopefully be used as a robustness check of the overall long-term economic impact of the British colonial rule. By focusing on the economic impact of inter-regional variations of colonial strategies and covering the Tribal Areas and Balochistan amongst other British Indian regions, I will hopefully be filling up a gap within the academic discourse. Being natively fluent in Pashto and understanding Dari and Urdu, I would like to use primary and secondary sources in these languages to contribute to my research and to the wider academic discourse, from a non-European perspective.

我预期的（一般）研究重点：围绕英国在印度在国家一级干预的经济影响的文献丰富，但是区域间的变化，尤其是涵盖西方部落地区和Bal路支省的差异。一方面，东印度公司在这里建立了马德拉斯，孟买和加尔各答的港口城市，这里的商业机会吸引了许多印度人（尤其是商人和银行家）的迁移。最终，在那里建立了诸如大学和大学的机构，使英语是该地区的通用语言，生产高技能的医生，公务员和律师。然后，英国拉吉（Raj）扩大了这些印度商人进入海外市场的机会，并且通过这三个港口的贸易数量增加了1863 - 1913年之间的五倍。根据史蒂芬·布罗伯里（Stephen Broadberry）的研究，诸如联合省，古吉拉特和旁遮普省的其他地区经历了广泛的农业发展，在这些地区的种植面积增加了1600年至1910年之间的2.11倍。相比之下，不列颠印度西部的部落地区主要经历了英国军事侵略，到1947年，除了英国人仅由英国人使用的部落，没有这些部落地区的学校，医院，铁路或其他基础设施。实际上，据报道，瓦济里斯坦地区的部队在1936年的部队比整个次大陆的其他任何地方都多。比哈尔邦（Bihar）等其他地区在19世纪见证了大量的经济去工业化。 Bal路支省和部落地区具有重大的自主权，尽管没有任何经济发展或机构建设的计划。这种观点得到了Acemoglu，Johnson和Robinson教授的支持，他们认为殖民者不太可能定居在一个特定地区（可能是因为像在部落地区和Bal路支省的英国人面对更高的死亡率）更有可能在那里建立挖掘国家。然后，这些提取状态确定机构的质量以及该地区的后续经济表现。我想将英国和印度军事死亡人数数字作为机构的代理，调查整个英国印度地区的异质性，然后将其与当今这些地区的经济表现进行比较，以评估Acemoglu等人的假设。此外，部落地区和Bal路支省主要由Mohmand，Shinwari，Achekzai和Kakar的Pashtun部落组成，他们在19世纪后期与他们与阿富汗和不列颠印度之间的同胞之间不独特地分离。我想将这些部落定居在Bal路支省以及经历过英国殖民统治的遗产的现代经济表演与他们在阿富汗的同胞部落相同的部落，这些部落居住在杜拉兰和巴拉克齐帝国之下。然后，有望将这种比较用作对英国殖民统治的整体长期经济影响的鲁棒性检查。通过关注殖民战略区域间变化的经济影响，并涵盖了其他英国印度地区的部落地区和Bal路支省，我将有望在学术话语中填补空白。从非欧洲的角度来看，我想利用这些语言的主要和次要来源来为我的研究和更广泛的学术话语做出贡献。