論文

This article will explore the dynamism of indigenous trading systems in Bengal under colonial control through a case study of the grain trade. In 1794 the government attempted to stabilize prices and to prevent famines by establishing state-run grain storehouses, but these policies were unsuccessful. Two major factors contributed to this failure. First, the government had not fully understood the spatial geography of the Bengal grain trade ; second, there was strong resistance to market intervention from native traders. To understand the background factors that led to this failure, we need to examine the operation of the indigenous trading system which was centered on wholesale grain markets, known as ganjs. The ganjs played an important role in linking producing areas and town markets. The traders in ganjs held stores of grain in their granaries, and by using their knowledge, trade experience, information and trading networks, they controlled both prices, and supply and demand. In other words, although the expansion of Company rule brought major changes to the overall economy, indigenous trading systems adapted to the new situation and continued to play a significant economic role.

特集 : ベンガル社会経済史研究のフロンティア : 植民地期を中心に本稿は, 18世紀半ばから19世紀半ば(イギリス東インド会社統治期)のベンガルにおける脱工業化について, 近年のI. ラエの研究成果を踏まえて検討したものである。ラエは, 個別の産業をミクロレベルで検討するという新たな定義と方法論を提示し, 5つの産業の事例研究をおこなっている。本稿は, そのうちの製塩業の議論を中心に, 政府の政策を重視するラエ論の問題点を取りあげ, 異なる分析視角として現地市場の変化の重要性を指摘している。The article examines Bengal's "deindustrialization" from the 1750s to the 1850s. It first reviews the recent works by Indrajit Ray who introduced a novel micro/industry-wise approach to examine the issue and shows how he explained the decline of Bengal industries by using the salt industry as a case study, which was thought to be destroyed following an influx of English salt. It then demonstrates an alternative cause of the decline of the industry. While Ray emphasizes the government's discriminatory policies against Bengal salt, an alternative view attaches significant importance to the changes in the domestic salt market that influenced the government's policy making.