Commercial cash crop and the development of capitalist economy: A study of colonial tea plantations in Darjeeling hills
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Type
Article
Date
2018-03
Journal Title
Karatoya : North Bengal University journal of History
Journal Editor
Bhattacharya, Dahlia
Mondal, Amrita
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of North Bengal
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Sarkar, T. (2018). Commercial cash crop and the development of capitalist economy: A study of colonial tea plantations in Darjeeling hills. Karatoya : North Bengal University Journal of History, 11, 99–118. https://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/3940
Authors
Sarkar, Tahiti
Advisor
Editor
Abstract
The present study focuses primarily on the development of Darjeeling hills as a region of
tea plantation since the beginning of the mid-nineteenth century. The development of tea
plantation ushered in infusion of colonial capital, which completely altered the existing
feudal economy. Darjeeling’s potential and possibilities as a zone of tea cultivation had
attracted the immediate attention of the EIC officials who sought to transform the almost
uninhabited forested tract of Darjeeling into a tea region. Large tracts of virgin forest
and grasslands were cleared by British Planters and cultivated with tea. In establishing
and cultivating their estates it was apparent that the planters were initially able to secure
labor from the neighboring Nepal hills. In fact, tea as commercial plantation in
Darjeeling since early fifties of the nineteenth century had been a sheer coincidence
which was taken place as a part of larger imperial project. Since then tea continued to be
the backbone of the economy of Darjeeling hills. The expansion of tea industry in
Darjeeling had fundamentally altered the nature of political economy of Darjeeling hills
and that too at the cost of forests, ecology and environment in particular. The colonially
induced expanding tea plantation lovably called ‘imperial cash crop’, owned and
engineered by the British planters under the patronage of British East India Company
gave rise to an insular economy hitherto unknown by the indigenous people lived in so
far on tradition based subsistence economy. The substantial quantum of profits accrued
from Darjeeling tea used to be siphoned out to Europe and tea labourers had to be kept
satisfied with wages only. Such a situation gave rise to a kind of dependent development
economy in Darjeeling under the aegis of new technology transformation. In this way, as
a part of grand imperial political project, Darjeeling hill was drawn into the world
capitalist system.
Description
Citation
Accession No
Call No
Book Title
Edition
Volume
ISBN No
Volume Number
11
Issue Number
ISSN No
2229-4880
eISSN No
Pages
Pages
99 - 118