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Abstract

This thesis is a study of Murshidabad District, in Western Bengal, during the years 1765 to 1793. Its purpose is to examine how Murshidabad was affected by the rise of the English East India Company to power in Bengal at the expense of the Nawabs who had made Murshidabad city their capital and centre of administration. The introductory chapter establishes the extent of the District during the eighteenth century and narrates the history of the city's growth as a great trading centre and administrative headquarters. Chapter II deals with the markets and trade of Murshidabad city and of the principal river ports around it, and examines the pattern of exports and imports of the District. Chapter III is devoted to the manufactures of Murshidabad, especially the silk industry, and discusses the causes of their decline. Chapter IV describes the pattern of inland customs, the growth in this period of zamindari chaukis and lakhiraj ganjes and the attempt to abolish them, and analyses the new customs regulations promulgated by the Company and the extent of their success. Chapter V discusses the nature of the banking and currency systems in Bengal, with special emphasis on the changing part played by the local business houses. Chapter VI studies the size, importance and organisation of the Nawab's household. The decline in the political and financial fortunes of the Nawabs is examined, and the consequences for the District of that decline. Chapter VII attempts a general survey of the economic life of Murshidabad. Attention is particularly directed to the effect of the famine of 1769-70, of the transfer of the provincial capital to Calcutta with its consequent loss of employment opportunities in Murshidabad, and to changes in the levels of incomes and prices. The Conclusion reviews the decline of Murshidabad as a centre of administration and industry and ends with a picture of its position at the turn of the century.