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The Crisis of the North Indian Political Economy, 1825–45

C. A. Bayly

in Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion 1770-1870

This chapter focuses on the crisis in the political economy of north India during the period from 1825 to 1845. It suggests that the most striking fact about the downturn of the 1830s in north India ... More

This chapter focuses on the crisis in the political economy of north India during the period from 1825 to 1845. It suggests that the most striking fact about the downturn of the 1830s in north India was the way in which a wide range of adverse climatic, ecological, and monetary conditions converged. It explains that this crisis resulted from a disturbance of the links between state, commerce and agrarian society which had been established after 1740. It also argues that the decline of princely consumption and agrarian patronage in the intermediate economy magnified the disruption caused by a political assault on the north Indian monetary system and the collapse of the false commercial economy which had remitted its Europeans' political perquisites to Britain. This was not a crisis of modernisation, it represented the impact on the Indian localities of imperialism.Less

The Growth of Political Stability in India, 1780–1830

C. A. Bayly

in Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion 1770-1870

This chapter discusses some of the dynamic changes of the pre-colonial political order and the early period of British rule. It suggests that the developments in local agrarian and mercantile society ... More

This chapter discusses some of the dynamic changes of the pre-colonial political order and the early period of British rule. It suggests that the developments in local agrarian and mercantile society persisted under the fragile surface of early British rule and that growth of trade and the expansion of the cultivated area in the first thirty years of the nineteenth century signalled the transformation of society by the force of modern government and new export trades. It also highlights the continuity in dominant rural groups or in methods of administration over the boundary between pre-colonial and colonial north India during this period.Less

Conflict and Change in the Cities, 1800–57

C. A. Bayly

in Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion 1770-1870

This chapter discusses some aspects of urban society which provided a background to all these conflicts, specifically rapid population movement and poverty. It explains that relationship between ... More

This chapter discusses some aspects of urban society which provided a background to all these conflicts, specifically rapid population movement and poverty. It explains that relationship between political power, elite consumption, trade and the agrarian society established in the mid-eighteenth century had come under pressure by 1830 and this pressure originated in the incompatibility of the colonial state and the Indian successor regimes to the Mughal Empire. It argues that many conflicts between different social groups reflect the changing role of the state. The British had eroded the old forms of government and redistribution without replacing them with new system.Less

Memories of Underdevelopment: What Has Marxism Done for Medieval History, and What Can It Still Do?

Chris Wickham

in Marxist History-writing for the Twenty-first Century

This chapter examines the medieval history of Europe within the context of Marxism, discussing the changes in class conflicts and their role in determining the socio-economic developments of European ... More

This chapter examines the medieval history of Europe within the context of Marxism, discussing the changes in class conflicts and their role in determining the socio-economic developments of European countries. It determines the historical contributions Marxism has made to medieval history and the future challenges it has to face. The chapter focuses on Marxist medieval history, which was dominated by the three strands of production in agrarian and feudal societies: slave plantations, peasant farming, and wage labour.Less

The Building Blocks of Japan, Origins to 600

William Wayne Farris

in Japan to 1600: A Social and Economic History

This chapter traces the origins of certain basic structures—so-called building blocks—in Japan that were to last up to about 600 CE. It first provides an overview of Japanese geography and ecology ... More

This chapter traces the origins of certain basic structures—so-called building blocks—in Japan that were to last up to about 600 CE. It first provides an overview of Japanese geography and ecology and their impact on economy and society. It then considers hunting and gathering in the period 35,000 BP–900 BCE as well as the transition to agriculture that ushered in an agrarian society. It also examines the gradual evolution of a political consciousness under the Yamato state centered in the Kyoto-Osaka-Nara region. Finally, it discusses Japanese society and economy in 600, focusing on a number of important changes such as a dense and growing population, increasing area of land under cultivation, the emergence of industries such as salt making and metallurgy, the rise of various occupations like fishing and trading, and the establishment of the confederation as the typical political structure.Less

The Frontier within, Part II

Abe Kōbō and Richard F. Calichman

in The Frontier Within: Essays by Abe Kōbō

In this final essay, presented in this chapter, the text discusses the notion of the “frontier within” in relation to urban society. The theme of “frontier within” focuses on the question “What are ... More

In this final essay, presented in this chapter, the text discusses the notion of the “frontier within” in relation to urban society. The theme of “frontier within” focuses on the question “What are we human beings?” When we inquire into the nature of our society, status quo and present, a sense of security of everydayness (in which today appears like yesterday and tomorrow appears like today) pervades us. We then gradually extend the continuum of everydayness until we finally enter the framework of the state. Upon encountering the state, however, the particular sense or perception one has is that it possesses a different level or character than such frameworks as family, native hometown, society, or school. The texxt also considers the phrase “stateless person” as a notion of transcending and negating national borders, how money has created a certain universality of value, and how the Jews were confined within the ancient traditions of urban society. Finally, it talks about writing and style, artistic expression, shared sensibility, and agrarian society.Less

Introduction

Hy V. Luong

in Tradition, Revolution, and Market Economy in a North Vietnamese Village, 1925-2006

This introductory chapter first describes the village of Son-Duong, a rural community in the Red River delta of North Vietnam. It details how Son-Duong has withstood repeated foreign ravages ... More

This introductory chapter first describes the village of Son-Duong, a rural community in the Red River delta of North Vietnam. It details how Son-Duong has withstood repeated foreign ravages throughout the past century, first by the Chinese, then by the French, and finally by the Americans. At the same time it has undergone fundamental ecological, demographic, socioeconomic, and political changes in one the most important revolutions of our time. The chapter then sets out the book's purpose, which is to examine the revolutionary processes in the village of Son-Duong over the past eight decades as discovered through the voices of elderly villagers, the findings from archival and field research in France and North Vietnam, and a survey of village households. The remainder of the chapter discusses revolutionary processes in agrarian societies followed by a brief overview of the three parts of the book.Less

Commerce and Country

in Making Patriots

This chapter describes the evolution of America into a commercial republic. Although one of its founders, Thomas Jefferson, favored agrarian society, he drafted the bills abolishing primogeniture and ... More

This chapter describes the evolution of America into a commercial republic. Although one of its founders, Thomas Jefferson, favored agrarian society, he drafted the bills abolishing primogeniture and entail in his state of Virginia. This checked feudalism, with its “pseudo-aristocracy,” that depended on the stability of land ownership, thereby making land a commodity, to be bought or sold as readily as a stock, bond, or bale of cotton. Because of Jefferson's “reforms,” the farmer also came to depend on the “casualties and caprice of customers,” thereby laying the axe to his agrarian society. The Federalists, particularly James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, had a better understanding of the character of the American people, and of the form of government in which their rights could be secured. Hamilton had remarked that all Americans were looking forward with eager expectation and growing alacrity to this pleasing reward of their toils, which could only be achieved by multiplying the means of gratification and promoting the introduction and circulation of precious metals.Less