The Rivers of Bengal: The Role of the Fluvial Network in the Development of the Regional Economy, c.1600-1700

Abstract

This is a summary version of my M.Phil dissertation titled, Mughal Bengal: Ecology, Polity, Economy, 1605-1717 done under the supervision of Prof. Rajat Datta at the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU. In my dissertation as well as in this paper I have tried to underscore the importance of ecology in shaping the course of history. Bengal is a region with a very distinctive fluvial ecology. The Ganga-Bramhaputra river system together with its numerous tributaries and distributaries were the lifeline of the region. The rivers made the lands fertile and aided the production of agricultural surplus. This surplus could be traded very easily as the rivers provided a very efficient means of transport. Quick transport encouraged trade and commerce, which in turn fostered the growth of urban centres. These urban centres burgeoned along the banks of the rivers. The cheap availability of every necessity of life encouraged traders, particularly the European trading Companies like that of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English East India Company to start their trading operations in Bengal. The commercial centres of these European Companies were important cities as well. I have argued here that the overall development of the economy of Bengal in the seventeenth century was largely because the region was endowed with a fluvial network that made it fertile and economically viable, by fostering trade and commerce.