This book attempts to understand the commercial and social history of erstwhile Bengal in terms o... more This book attempts to understand the commercial and social history of erstwhile Bengal in terms of its links with it neighbouring countries in the northern region of the Bay of Bengal. It touches upon the key issues in both maritime and territorial history such as the early medieval trade revolution and its impact on the borders of Bengal.The discussion focusses on Southeast Bengal - the most economically developed area of Bengal in terms of transport networks, agriculture, artisan products and trade. Most of this area underwent two major transformations in the twentieth century: once as a result of the formation of East Pakistan in 1947 and a second time after the formation of Bangladesh in 1971. The volume concludes with certain major issues of concern between India and Bangladesh at the turn of the twenty-first century.
Professor Shigeru Akita’s important publications focus on British imperial history and global his... more Professor Shigeru Akita’s important publications focus on British imperial history and global history, and highlight his use of the copious colonial archives. While not denying the importance of colonial archives for scholars, this essay explores the role of precolonial archives in understanding the history of a person, place, or region, underlining the archives’ importance but also pointing to some of the difficulties associated with their use when southeast Bengal of the early seventeenth-century is the topic. Moving away from the dispatches, letters, and consultations that constitute the “reality” of colonial South Asia, and using early modern travel narratives and maps instead, it shows a different spatial othering that arises through a faulty understanding of the pulling forces of shared connections. Events demonstrate the influence of factors other than geographic proximity, and instead of emphasizing sovereign states, as does cartography, they reveal mnemonic commercial and cultural itineraries linking distant places such as the southeast Bengal-Arakan (Bangladesh-Myanmar) coast and the Maldives Islands.
This review article emphasizes the importance of using the idea of material culture as a tool for... more This review article emphasizes the importance of using the idea of material culture as a tool for writing global histories of the maritime world. Taking the Indian Ocean as a case study, the article contends that the multiple, diverse avenues of communication reaching across its waters profoundly affected religions, cultures, and languages by way of texts and music, and through various types of imaginings like myths and invocations of sacred landscapes and seascapes. Investigations into these ideas and things not only direct our attention away from trade histories in the seas, they also counteract the maritime blindness that prevails in the academy, because the histories that result from these investigations are much more nuanced in their understanding of space/place. Material culture, through flows that are considered to be pluricultural in nature, can therefore provide a useful lens for studying the relationship between the local and the global.
This book attempts to understand the commercial and social history of erstwhile Bengal in terms o... more This book attempts to understand the commercial and social history of erstwhile Bengal in terms of its links with it neighbouring countries in the northern region of the Bay of Bengal. It touches upon the key issues in both maritime and territorial history such as the early medieval trade revolution and its impact on the borders of Bengal.The discussion focusses on Southeast Bengal - the most economically developed area of Bengal in terms of transport networks, agriculture, artisan products and trade. Most of this area underwent two major transformations in the twentieth century: once as a result of the formation of East Pakistan in 1947 and a second time after the formation of Bangladesh in 1971. The volume concludes with certain major issues of concern between India and Bangladesh at the turn of the twenty-first century.
Professor Shigeru Akita’s important publications focus on British imperial history and global his... more Professor Shigeru Akita’s important publications focus on British imperial history and global history, and highlight his use of the copious colonial archives. While not denying the importance of colonial archives for scholars, this essay explores the role of precolonial archives in understanding the history of a person, place, or region, underlining the archives’ importance but also pointing to some of the difficulties associated with their use when southeast Bengal of the early seventeenth-century is the topic. Moving away from the dispatches, letters, and consultations that constitute the “reality” of colonial South Asia, and using early modern travel narratives and maps instead, it shows a different spatial othering that arises through a faulty understanding of the pulling forces of shared connections. Events demonstrate the influence of factors other than geographic proximity, and instead of emphasizing sovereign states, as does cartography, they reveal mnemonic commercial and cultural itineraries linking distant places such as the southeast Bengal-Arakan (Bangladesh-Myanmar) coast and the Maldives Islands.
This review article emphasizes the importance of using the idea of material culture as a tool for... more This review article emphasizes the importance of using the idea of material culture as a tool for writing global histories of the maritime world. Taking the Indian Ocean as a case study, the article contends that the multiple, diverse avenues of communication reaching across its waters profoundly affected religions, cultures, and languages by way of texts and music, and through various types of imaginings like myths and invocations of sacred landscapes and seascapes. Investigations into these ideas and things not only direct our attention away from trade histories in the seas, they also counteract the maritime blindness that prevails in the academy, because the histories that result from these investigations are much more nuanced in their understanding of space/place. Material culture, through flows that are considered to be pluricultural in nature, can therefore provide a useful lens for studying the relationship between the local and the global.
Money is central to the functioning of economies, yet for the pre- modern period, our knowledge o... more Money is central to the functioning of economies, yet for the pre- modern period, our knowledge of monetary systems is still evolving. Until recently, historians of the medieval world have conflated the use of coins with a high degree of monetization. States without coinage were considered under-monetized. It is becoming more evident, however, that some medieval states used money in complex ways without using coinage. Moneys of account supplanted coins wholly or in part. But there is an imbalance of evidence: coins survive physically, while intangible forms of money leave little trace. This has skewed our understanding. Since coin usage has been well studied in the past, these essays flesh out our consideration of societies that used money but struck no coins. Absence or shortage of coining metals was not the causative factor: some of these societies had access to metal supplies but still remained coinless. Was this a strategic choice? Does it reflect the unique system of governance that developed in each kingdom? It is surely time to unravel this puzzle. This book examines money use in the Bay of Bengal world, using the case of medieval Bengal as a fulcrum. Situated between mountains and the sea, this region had simultaneous access to both overland and maritime trade routes. How did such ‘cashless’ economies function internally, within their regions and in the broader Indian Ocean context? This volume brings together the thoughts of a range of upcoming scholars (and a sprinkling of their elders), on these and related issues.
Uploads
Papers by Rila Mukherjee
Since coin usage has been well studied in the past, these essays flesh out our consideration of societies that used money but struck no coins. Absence or shortage of coining metals was not the causative factor: some of these societies had access to metal supplies but still remained coinless. Was this a strategic choice? Does it reflect the unique system of governance that developed in each kingdom?
It is surely time to unravel this puzzle. This book examines money use in the Bay of Bengal world, using the case of medieval Bengal as a fulcrum. Situated between mountains and the sea, this region had simultaneous access to both overland and maritime trade routes.
How did such ‘cashless’ economies function internally, within their regions and in the broader Indian Ocean context? This volume brings together the thoughts of a range of upcoming scholars (and a sprinkling of their elders), on these and related issues.