Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757-1857)

Indrajit Ray is Professor in the Department of Commerce at the University of North Bengal, India.

• 1. Introduction 2. Bullion Movement in Bengal during 1660-1860 3. Woes of Cotton Textile Industry: Competitive failures or Policy Discriminations? 4. Prosperous Silk Textile Industry: Traditional Edge of Comparative Advantages 5. Decline of Salt Manufacturing Industry: An Episode of Policy Discriminations 6. Ruin of the Shipbuilding Industry: Further Evidences of Discrimination 7. The Development and Decay of Indigo-Dye Manufacturing Industry: Role of Imperial Governance 8. Summary of Observations and Conclusions

"This book is of obvious importance to historians interested in the Indian economy. It will also be of interest to anyone trying to understand the response of the periphery to advances in the industrial center...I look forward to further extensions of his studies of Bengali industries." - Susan Wolcott, Binghamton University, Victorian Studies