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Crop failure in fall 1768 and summertime 1769, as well as a smallpox outbreak that accompanied it, was regarded to be the obvious causes of the famine. Due to a dearth of skilled administration, the Business had outsourced collection of taxes, and the resulting uncertainties may well have exacerbated the famine’s impact. Grain sellers stopped giving peasants grain breakthroughs, however the capitalist model for transferring the merchants’ grain to certain other territories stayed in place; this same Company bought a large quantity of grain because of its military; as well as the Firm’s personal servants, as well as one‘s Indian Gomasthas, as well as one‘s Indian Gomasthas relationship with market wheat monopolies. The price of rice was doubled even by the end of 1769, and it could have tripled even by the end of 1770.
People will indeed die out there by the summers of 1770. Even though the monsoon that followed provided plenty of rain, it also brought illnesses, which many of the elderly succumbed to. Piracy within the Hooghly river basin continued for several years after that. Villages that were abandoned and overrun were prevalent. Nevertheless, population reduction was unequal, with northern Bengal and Bihar suffering the most, central Bengal considerably, and eastern Bengal barely marginally. In the Bengal basin in the east, recovery was likewise rapid.
AFTERMATH
About 7 and 10 million people perished, accounting for a quarter to a third of the total of the country. Cultivation losses were projected to represent a third of overall cultivation. Some academics believe that these figures are overstated, in part due to the absence of solid demographic data in 1770. Despite this, the hunger wreaked havoc on local traditions in the impacted areas. It was terrible for Bengal’s mulberries and cotton crops, and as a result, many of the deceased were spinner and weaver that had no food stocks. The drought expedited the demise of Bengal’s dual rule, with the Company quickly becoming the only administration.
The monsoon rains of 1770 offered some respite and a fresh outlook here on widespread depopulation – a message from the Council lamented the loss of many “industrious farmers and artisans.” As even the drought subsided the next year, much of the area was devoid of tillers.
BACKGROUND
The famine struck Bengal, which was governed by East India Business at the time. Portions of Assam, Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand were included in its territory, which comprised modern-day West Bengal, Bangladesh, plus portions of Assam, Odisha, Bihar, & Jharkhand. First, from the 16th century, it was a region of the Mughal empire, controlled by the nawab, or ruler. As the Mongol empire began to crumble in the 18th century, the nawab emerged virtually independent of the Mughal administration.
The Muslim Prince Shah Shuja awarded the British English East India Corporation the city of Calcutta within the seventeenth century. During the next century, the business gained monopoly commercial rights again for the region and established itself as Bengal’s dominating power. The East India Corporation destroyed royal Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah in the Siege of Plassey in 1757, colonizing huge sections of Bengal as a result. At Buxar in 1764, their army authority was confirmed. The Company has become the de facto leader of Bengal as a result of the ensuing treaty, which granted them revenue rights called dewan. In addition to trade gains, the corporation was awarded taxing privileges in 1764, and over the next few years, it had increased land income revenues by nearly 30%.
CONCLUSION
As a consequence of the famine, many agricultural regions became jungles for decades. This exacerbated the threat posed by thuggee or dacoit gangs in Bengal. The East India Company’s earnings climbed from 15 million rupees in 1765 to over 30 million rupees in 1777.
The famine occurred amid a series of livelihood problems that had been plaguing Bengal since the 18th century.
The failure of the rainfall in East Bengal resulted in a partial shortage of product in 1768, and market rates in early 1769 were higher than normal. The situation improved for a time in 1769, thanks to normal rainfall, and crops were even shipped to the Madras Presidency. By early September, the scenario had deteriorated once again, with crop failure conditions looming.
