SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This work, in the main, attempts a scrutiny of diverse aspects of Bengal in the reign of Aurangzib. In the first chapter the boundaries of Bengal during the period under discussion are discussed. The second chapter is devoted to the political condition of Bengal. The third deals with the provincial administration of the Mughals and its actual working. In the fourth attention is shifted to Bengal's commerce during the period. In the fifth chapter an attempt has been made to show the commercial relations of Bengal with the European trading companies, particularly the English East India Company. The chapter is divided into three sections; of these the first deals with the English East India Company's relations with the Mughal nawabs, the second with the Company's exports and imports, and the third discusses the activities of other European trading companies. The sixth chapter surveys the major aspects of social life in two sections, covering social structure and religion, and education. The whole study is summarized in the conclusion, and a study of the zamindars of Bengal is given in an appendix.