Origins of colonialism : why geography mattered / Tirthankar Roy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roy, Tirthankar, author.

Series:

Cambridge elements. Elements in economic history 2977-1358

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Imperialism.

Europe--Colonies--Asia--History.

Europe.

Europe--Colonies--Asia--Administration--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (91 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Summary:

Historians explain the eighteenth-century origin of European colonialism in Asia either with the profile of the merchants or an argument about uneven power. This Element suggests that the environment was an important factor, too. With India (1600-1800) as the primary example, it says that the tropical monsoon climatic condition, extreme seasonality, and low land yield made the land-tax-based empires weak from within. The seaboard supplied a more benign environment. Sometime in the eighteenth century, a transformation began as the seaside traded more, generated complementary services, and encouraged the in-migration of capital and skills to supply these services. The birth of a new state from this base depended, however, on building connections inland, which was still a dangerous and uncertain enterprise. European merchants were an enabling force in doing this. But we cannot understand the process without close attention to geography.

Contents:

Introduction

Escaping famines in the seventeenth-century

Forging connections in the eighteenth-century

Creating cities in the nineteenth-century

Beyond India.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 14 Mar 2025).

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-009-52416-X

1-009-52421-6

1-009-52418-6

OCLC:

1574120684