2018/10/17 by Tim Dyson · 1 citation
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Fell #Famine #BENGAL #Urbanization #Population #Empire #Geography #History #Period (music) #Economic history #Ancient history #Population growth #Development economics #Economy #Demography #Economics #Economic growth #Sociology #Cartography #Archaeology #Art
paper · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198829058.003.0005
openalex publication_date 2018/10/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
The turbulent eighteenth century saw the collapse of the Mughal Empire and the rise of the East India Company. Especially in relation to the century’s second half, views vary as to how much famines and warfare affected the population. Nevertheless, the number of deaths associated with the 1769–70 famine in Bengal has almost certainly been overstated. And the idea that there was a major reduction in the size of India’s population towards the end of the century is also questionable. Despite considerable uncertainty, the chapter concludes that it is most likely that the population increased slightly over the course of the eighteenth century. By 1821 there may have been around 200 million people, or even slightly more. At the end of the period, crude empirical data on the size of city populations become available. It seems doubtful that the level of urbanization fell greatly between 1707 and 1821.