{"id":908,"date":"2026-04-19T04:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T04:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/?p=908"},"modified":"2026-06-22T04:10:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T04:10:35","slug":"industries-of-birbhum-in-late-eighteenth-century-and-the-role-of-john-cheap-a-historical-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/2026\/04\/19\/industries-of-birbhum-in-late-eighteenth-century-and-the-role-of-john-cheap-a-historical-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Industries of Birbhum in Late Eighteenth Century and the Role of John Cheap: A Historical Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><u><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since ancient times, Birbhum district has been known as an industrially rich region of West Bengal. Although it is an agricultural region, Birbhum is a notable name in the development of small and cottage industries along with agriculture. Industries such as silk, cotton, lac, sugar, indigo etc. have become a means of livelihood for people in Birbhum since ancient times, as a means of profitable business. Although Birbhum is mainly an agricultural district, cottage industries of various types of other small-scale industries were once extremely developed in this district. At one time, about 10,000 people were employed in the traditional cotton, silk, lac, indigo, and iron industries in this district every day [1].<sup> <\/sup>Such an industrially rich Birbhum naturally became the centre of attraction for foreigners. After obtaining the Diwani in 1765 AD, the East India Company&#8217;s monopoly was established on the economy of Bengal.&nbsp; Although even before this, various European merchants were setting up their trading posts in different parts of Bengal. Birbhum was no exception. The arrival of Armenians, Dutch, French, and English had also started here long before. But before 1782 AD, the development of industry in Birbhum was not particularly observed under the initiative of the Company. However, the person whose initiative led to the special development of industry in Birbhum during the Company&#8217;s rule was Mr. John Cheap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Objectives<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Foreign merchants started arriving in Birbhum from the middle of the 18<sup>th<\/sup> century. Dutch, Armenian, Portuguese, French, Scottish and English merchants started coming repeatedly to the industrially rich Birbhum to promote trade and commerce. Many of them built huts and started living here to promote the economic prosperity of Birbhum. Many of them took the initiative to enrich the economy of Birbhum. These foreign merchants enriched the regional history of Birbhum. Therefore, the contribution of these foreign merchants to regional history is memorable. One of them was John Cheap. This Mr. Cheap greatly accelerated the economic prosperity of Birbhum during the early days of colonial rule. But unfortunately, no research work has been done on the contribution of this Chip Saheb to the regional history of Birbhum.&nbsp; As a result, there is an irreparable deficiency in the study of the regional history of industrially rich Birbhum. The purpose of this article is to fill that deficiency in the regional history of Birbhum by highlighting the contribution of John Cheap in the regional history of Birbhum. In discussing the contribution of Cheep in the article under discussion, three issues are quite important,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Contribution of John Cheap to the economic field of Birbhum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Role of John Cheap in the development of cottage industries and small industries in Birbhum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Role of John Cheap in the social field as well as the economy of colonial Birbhum.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Formation of Birbhum District &amp; Background of the Study<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1765 AD, when the Company acquired the Diwani of Bengal-Bihar-Orissa, the dual system of governance began in Bengal. At this time, the state governance was somewhat different. Administrative responsibility was in the hands of the Nawab of Murshidabad. And the responsibility for revenue collection and expenditure was on the directors of the British East India Company. But from within the dual system of governance at that time, the leaders of the East India Company were making every effort to take over the entire administration, including defence, into their own hands [2]. This Dual system of Government gradually decreased the economy of Bengal. Dewan Reza Khan and Sitab Ray started torturing the people to collect the land tax. In the meantime, the great famine started in Bengal in 1770 AD (1176 BS). The famine destroyed the whole economy of Bengal. In this context, the Company Government started to think about the economy of Bengal and took some steps to stabilise the situation. As a result of this, Warren Hastings came as the Governor General of Bengal. The arrival of Warren Hastings as the Governor General of Bengal in 1772 ended the dual system of rule, and the Company&#8217;s initiative began to bring back prosperity to the economy of Bengal. In this situation, in 1782, John Cheap came to Birbhum as a resident under the Bengal Civil Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From 1765 to 1785, Birbhum was ruled from Murshidabad. A royal representative would occasionally visit Rajnagar, the capital of Birbhum Rajas, to supervise the work. An English supervisor would monitor the revenue collection system [3]. In the meantime, in 1770 AD (1176 BS), the terrible famine took place. The socio-economic situation of Bengal was devastated by the outbreak of famine. The economic decline that had already been noticed due to the famine of 1770 led to mass uprisings in various parts of West Bengal. This mass uprising spread from Burdwan and Murshidabad to Birbhum. The panicked government decided to make several administrative changes to suppress the uprising. As part of this, a separate district was created in 1786, comprising Birbhum and Bishnupur. The new headquarters of this district was established in Hyderabad, a small village in Birbhum [4]. A few days later, the area of \u200b\u200bthe new headquarters was increased by the addition of Siuri to Hyderabad, and within two decades, Siuri became the district headquarters, absorbing Hyderabad. The headquarters of the Collector and Magistrate, Kachari, was established here, and the offices of the Assistant Collector and Magistrate were established in Bishnupur [5].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the situation improved somewhat due to the great activity of the Collector, Magistrate, Sepoys, and soldiers in the new administrative system, it was not possible for the government to be completely secure. In the meantime, permanent settlement was implemented in Bengal. The territorial structure of the district was changed again due to the new land settlement. In 1793, Bishnupur was separated from Birbhum and attached to Burdwan, and Birbhum became a completely independent district. However, this system did not last long.&nbsp; In 1809, Birbhum was again included in the Murshidabad district and brought under the control of an Assistant Collector. His headquarters were established at Suri. In 1820, Birbhum regained its status as a separate district. From 1820, Birbhum&#8217;s separate administrative existence as a district during the colonial period remained intact until 1855 [6].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>History of the Industrial Sector of Birbhum and the Role of Mr. John Cheap<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regarding the industrial economy of Birbhum, the rural industrial production was an integral part of agriculture. In the era of total lack and uncertainty in the communication system, a self-sufficient rural economy was developed with one or a group of villages far away from the administrative or military centre. Agriculture could be called its foundation. For mutual benefit, several distinct groups or castes were created based on the professions practiced by men, such as farmers, weavers, blacksmiths, potters, carpenters, teachers, priests, etc., all of them constituted the rural society and community. Agriculture was the main livelihood of Birbhum; 90 to 95 per cent of people were engaged in agriculture. Other professions or livelihoods were associates and assistants to agriculture. Although the assistant professions were small in number, they were not insignificant. They met various essential needs of the agricultural society. For example, various craftsmen made houses, furniture, various agricultural implements, utensils, wearable clothes, etc. Professionals like teachers and priests taught, they worshipped, and performed rituals according to their specific professions. The district did not yet have a monetary economy. Economic exchange was carried out through the barter system. Various artisans and professionals used to help the village community throughout the year, and received their reward in the crops. Sometimes, some of the workers, like blacksmiths, potters, weavers, etc., also had small plots of land for cultivation. They would cultivate it in their spare time for extra income [7]. With the development of roads and the administrative system, the currency economy penetrated the villages, somewhat weakening the exchange system since the pre-colonial period. However, it happened slowly and to a limited extent. In fact, it especially expanded and strengthened during the British period. Increased trade and commerce, the use of significant amounts of currency by the European merchant community to purchase export goods, the demand for a large amount of currency to meet the rent of cultivation and government revenue as a result of the reorganization of the land revenue system and the adoption of strict measures to collect government dues, all these gave a great momentum to the circulation of currency in Birbhum as well as in the rest of the country. Roads also helped in the development of the communication system. As a result of the widespread introduction of the currency economy, the structure of the village society based on professions gradually began to break down. The self-sufficiency of the rural economy, the ancient isolation of the village with the village, and the village with the administrative centre began to break down. The most extensive, complex, and strict administrative system in the history of the district was introduced through British rule.&nbsp; This fundamental change, which hindered all classes of people from being entangled in the strong web of merchant and industrial capital, hit the artisans the hardest, except for the peasantry. Many of them took up agriculture simply to survive. This increased the pressure on the land and intensified the agricultural crisis [8].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several features can be observed in the economy of Birbhum since the pre-British period. One of these was the <em>Dadan<\/em> system. Much of the industrial economy of Birbhum depended on advance money or <em>Dadan<\/em>. As an ancient custom of <em>Dadan<\/em>, it played an essential role everywhere in agriculture, industry, and trade in Birbhum and all over Bengal. In 1837, an English business expert, named John Crawford, wrote, &#8221; The poverty of the people is so widespread that no laborious enterprise is possible without some advance of money at exorbitant interest for the purpose of taking great risks and making great profits. In Birbhum, the Dadan system was an important medium in almost all industries [9].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another feature of Birbhum&#8217;s industrial economy was the emergence of a middle class, who were the revenue collector, namely the <em>Gomastas<\/em> and the wholesalers. These classes emerged in all the important industries of Birbhum. The revenue collectors had to be experts with complete knowledge and experience in business. The <em>Kuthials <\/em>would trust him with money to buy goods. In a certain month, he would go to the villages of the artisans with a cash box and some people, to give <em>Dadan<\/em> [10]. These people consisted of a clerk, who was called <em>Muhuri<\/em>, a treasurer, three or four <em>Tagadadars,<\/em> and a few foot soldiers, called <em>paiks <\/em>with sticks and spears. To facilitate his work, the revenue collector would employ a number of brokers. The brokers would keep a close eye on the artisans receiving Dadan so that they could not waste money or break the contract. Moreover, it was the job of the broker to check the <em>Dadan<\/em> products or, if necessary, buy the goods in cash from the market.&nbsp; The importance of a good broker was immense in protecting the interests of the investor. In the eyes of a foreign expert merchant, brokers generally kept a detailed account of the situation in the district. These brokers were considered wholesalers in some fields [11].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John Cheap was initially the Commercial Resident of Sonamukhi of Bankuar. In that time, Sonamukhi was attached to the Birbhum district. When Mr. Cheap arrived in Birbhum in 1782, the economic condition of Birbhum was poor. The economy of Birbhum was in a state of turmoil due to the great famine of 1770 and drought. He was particularly keen to strengthen this poverty-stricken and troubled economy. He established his business centre in the north-western part of Surul village, located 2 miles west of Bolpur and 20 miles south of Sadar Suri, and built a large kuthi and established his office there.&nbsp; He was the owner of the silk and cotton industries [12]. The first Commercial Resident of Birbhum was Mr. John Cheap, who came to India as a member of the Bengal Civil Service in 1782 and held the post of Resident for 41 years. He lived chiefly at Surul, 20 miles from Suri, where his residence consisted of a pile of buildings surrounded by artificial tanks and spacious gardens, encircled by a strong wall, which gave the place a look of a fortress rather than of a private dwelling. Such, in fact, it was, for sepoys were posted at Surul to guard the factory. Here, Mr. Cheap held an unofficial court; the villagers referred their disputes to his arbitration. Little parties arrived every morning, one bearing a wild beast and expecting the reward; another guarding a captured dacoit; a third requesting protection against a threatened attack on their village; a fourth to procure the adjustment of some dispute about their water-courses or landmarks. In such matters, the law gave Mr. Cheap no power; but in the absence of efficient courts, public opinion had accorded jurisdiction to an influential person who chose to assume it, and the Commercial Resident\u2019s decision was speedy, inexpensive, and usually just [13].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the main industries of Birbhum was the cotton or <em>Garha <\/em>cloth industry. From the beginning of the eighteenth century, this <em>Garha <\/em>cloth market spread to various countries in Western India, the Near East, England, and Europe. The Armenians were probably the first foreign merchants to come to Birbhum, followed shortly by the Gujaratis and, in contemporary times, by the French. The period from 1764 to 1778 was a particularly favourable time for the rapid growth of the private business of the French merchants. The French merchants were financed by the employees of the English company. This business was very profitable [14].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John Cheap was the owner of the silk and cotton industry. Therefore, his first industrial enterprise was centred around cotton and silk [15]. At that time, there were 1,000 households of the weaving class living in Surul village and its surrounding areas. It was known that Lalchand Singha of the Singha family of Raipur brought this weaving class from his former residence of Chandrakona of Medinipur and settled them in Raipur, Surul, and nearby villages [16]. They mainly made <em>Garha <\/em>cloth. <em>Garha <\/em>cloth is a short or thin cloth made of native yarn. Their daily clothes were woven by about 1,000 thanas. In the late 18<sup>th<\/sup> century, the East India Company did business of about four and a half to six and a half lakh rupees in this industry. John Cheap started his business with this weaving class. These weavers sold their cloth to Mr. Cheap. As a result, the weavers, the local landlords, and the company all benefited [17].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This weaving industry in Birbhum flourished under the leadership of John Cheap. In the 1790s, the market for Bengali looms in Europe was somewhat soft. Despite this, the investment in the weaving industry of Birbhum was quite encouraging. Dr. Ranjan Gupta has shown that in 1792, the English company had acquired 2,20,724 places for 2,20,224 rupees, and the next year, they acquired 59,800 places at a cost of 3,23,454 rupees [18]. In 1798 and 1799, the quantity of cotton cloth produced was 54,480, and this was sold for Rupees 2,52,653 sikka and Rupees 2,46,602 sikka, respectively [19].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this prosperity of the textile industry of Birbhum soon declined. In 1795, for various reasons, the fire of resistance of the weavers against the British spread throughout the district, which resulted in the destruction of the prosperous textile industry of Birbhum. Ranjan Gupta wrote that the war in Europe was at its peak due to the French Revolution. To protect the textile industry of the country, the British government had already increased prohibitive import duties on foreign products. The market for the Bengali textile industry in England and Europe shrank drastically, and its destructive effect spread to the textile industry of Birbhum, especially from 1806 onwards. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the textile industry of Birbhum was destroyed.<sup> <\/sup>Birbhum&#8217;s profitable silk trade attracted European merchants from the very beginning. The first person to take initiative in the development of the silk industry in Birbhum was Bigranti.[20] In 1783, he took a lease of several lands in Ganutia for silk production. But before he could take any special initiative in silk cultivation, he died, and in 1785, James Frussard bought the Ganutia silk factory. Although Mr. Frushard ran the silk trade from here, he did not see any profit in that business for various reasons.&nbsp; When Mr. Frushard died in 1807, the company purchased the Ganutia silk factory for 15,000 Rupees in 1808 to pay the remaining rent.&nbsp; Finally, Mr. Cheap took the lease of the hut from the company for Rupees 3415 [21].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was another reason for Mr. Cheap&#8217;s interest in the silk business. At the beginning of Mr. Cheap\u2019s activities, about 1,000 yards of yarn were woven daily in Surul [22]. But the silk cloth business was more profitable than the yarn cloth business. And the silk of Birbhum was of such high quality that it once found a place in the Mughal hinterland. The company had a monopoly on the raw silk business of Bengal until 1783. At that time, the company used to buy silk from local traders. But at the end of the eighteenth century, when the silk business was making losses, the company stopped investing in the silk business. As a result, private traders got the opportunity to establish dominance in the silk business of Bengal, and based on this source, foreign traders began to buy Birbhum silk.&nbsp; became involved in the business [23].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Cheap did not want to miss this profitable business opportunity. So, it seems that he bought the house of Ganutia from the company. Mr. Cheap often went from Surul to Ganutia by palanquin. Under his management, the profit of Ganutia&#8217;s silk business increased. This industry of Birbhum had flourished so much at that time that it is known that the French also tried to associate themselves with this business [24]. Another notable achievement of Mr. John Cheap was the introduction of indigo cultivation in Birbhum. He was the first person to start the herbal indigo production system in the southern part of greater Birbhum in 1795 AD. Later, on his advice, many indigo houses (<em>Neel Kuthis<\/em>) were established in places like Supur, Ilambazar, Bishanpur, Harishkona, Simulia, Dori Maureshwar, Sekhpur, Khairashol, Notungram, Alinagar, Madhaipur, Daronda, etc [25]. He always maintained good relations with the indigo farmers and advised other indigo house owners to behave similarly with the indigo farmers. As a result, the farmers never got a chance to oppose the owners. It is said that due to the outstanding leadership of Mr. Cheap, indigo production and indigo business in Birbhum became quite profitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The indigo factories of Birbhum district continued to produce indigo for 87 years. Finally, when chemical indigo production started in Europe in the second half of the 19th century, these indigenous indigo factories were closed. Although the indigo factory of Supur continued to produce for some time, it is said that it was closed in 1887 AD. It was the teachings of Mr. Cheap that brought this success to the indigo factories of Birbhum. Moreover, the possibility of unrest that was seen in other places in Bengal around indigo cultivation was not seen in Birbhum. It is worth mentioning that this was possible due to the outstanding efficiency of Mr. John Cheap [26]. Another notable industry of Birbhum was the lac industry. Birbhum&#8217;s lac has gained popularity since ancient times. The main centre of the lac industry of Birbhum was Ilambazar. The local Nuri community was associated with this industry.&nbsp; As demand for Indian lac grew steadily in Europe in the 18th century, the East India Company began to invest in the industry and became involved with the lac industry in Ilambazar, although the company did not establish any lac production facilities there.&nbsp; The company used to buy lac from local manufacturers [27].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Cheap was the first foreigner to join the lac industry of Ilambazar. He had been involved in this industry since 1792. It is known that in that year the company had allocated 10,000 Rupees to Cheep Saheb to collect 500 maunds of lac.[28] It is not known that Mr. Cheap had built any lac factory in Ilambazar on his own initiative. However, he was quite aware of investing in the lac industry. In June 1797, he is known to have informed the higher authorities that he could collect 500 to 800 maunds of lac from Birbhum at the rate of Rs. 20 per maund.[29] But the company could not invest in the lac industry at that time due to various financial reasons. Moreover, the lac industry of Ilambazar was considerably damaged by the attack of bandits in 1789. However, it is known that Mr. Cheap was allocated Rupees 9915 from the East India Company to buy 544 maunds of lac at the rate of 16 rupees 8 annas each.[30] After that, it is not known that the company made any further investment in the lac industry of Ilambazar of Birbhum.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another important cottage industry of Birbhum was the sugar industry. There was a good market for sugar both inside and outside the Birbhum district. The external market mainly meant the neighbouring districts and various subahs or provinces within India. It is not known whether Birbhum or Bengal sugar was exported outside India before or at the beginning of the eighteenth century. From 1757 onwards, due to political unrest, the great famine of the 1770s, and the excessive increase in the price of the product and the obstacles and costs of transportation, the production and export of sugar inevitably decreased [31]. The first person whose name is found in the development of the sugar industry in Birbhum is John Paterson [32]. Later, John Cheap was associated with this industry. Under the leadership of Mr. Cheap, the sugar industry of Birbhum also saw a booming market. The revival of the sugar industry of Birbhum took place in the early nineteenth century. Mr. Cheap was the first to start producing jaggery in an advanced process in Birbhum. As a result, the sugar industry was able to see a considerable amount of profit [33]. The Charter Act of 1813 ended the company&#8217;s monopoly in India.&nbsp; As a result, a large number of foreign traders came to Bengal and heated the market. The sugar market of the contemporary district and Calcutta depended largely on the sugar industry of Birbhum. Not only British traders, but also native traders were associated with the sugar industry of Birbhum. Over time, this industry went on the path of decline due to various reasons. During the survey from 1848 to 1852, Captain Sherwill saw at least 45 sugar factories in Birbhum [34].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Mr. Cheap in the Mirror of Society of Birbhum<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After serving as the Resident of Birbhum for 41 years, this great personality finally passed away in 1828 AD at his <em>Kuthibari<\/em> in Ganutia. By establishing stability in the economic sector of poverty-stricken Birbhum, he bound the people of Birbhum in eternal debt. According to Arnab Majumdar, in the uncontrolled free market of this country, that is, in the free trade area of \u200b\u200bthe greater Birbhum district, which is rich in various cottage industries, where iron, sugar, silk and cotton cloth (garment cloth) and later herbal indigo, lac (gala) and coal etc. were produced, extracted and exported to outside India, most of the merchants who came to this country were extremely selfish and greedy in nature. Their only job was to exploit the almost uneducated, traditionally educated, skilled labourers of Birbhum, who were standing on a very weak economy, in various ways. Their only goal was profit. Among them, a few decent people with a poor, compassionate, and elegant character also came here. Mr. Cheap was one of these poor, compassionate, and elegant characters [35].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Cheap was truly an exceptional character in the history of the industrial development of Birbhum. As a British resident in Birbhum, he came and made Birbhum his own. He was particularly skilled in manufacturing, processing, and export business. Under his well-organized and properly smooth management, one industry after another developed in Birbhum. He had no distance from the workers. Through love and affection for his children, he made them improve their performance.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only in business, but he also became one with the people of Birbhum. He used to be by the side of the common villagers in their happiness and sorrow, in their troubles and dangers. He became their guardian. He took necessary measures to protect the people from the hands of bandits in Surul. Moreover, he used to settle the disputes of the local people through compromise. However, he never showed white supremacist behaviour. His behaviour with the poor villagers was always friendly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the resident of Birbhum, Mr. Cheap made Birbhum his own and also became one with the people of this country.&nbsp; With culture. He could speak in the rural Bengali dialect, he was well acquainted with the social customs, religious reforms, etc. of the local people. It is said that once Mr. Cheap faced losses in the silk business. He was quite embarrassed by this. Then, when the local employees of the hut suggested to him to perform Durga Puja, he happily agreed and performed Durga Puja for four days in <em>kuthi<\/em> of Surul following the rules as per the scriptures. It is known that seventeen taka was spent on this great puja [36]. Apart from this, Mr. Cheap&#8217;s contribution to public welfare work was not less. He was always thoughtful about the welfare of the local workers. He was determined to make Birbhum the best centre of industry and commerce. But the most important thing to become the best centre of commerce was transportation. At that time, the transportation system in Birbhum was not at all good. Chip Saheb took the initiative to solve this problem. In the early nineteenth century, he built roads from Siuri to Surul, to Burdwan, from Surul to Ganutia, and from Surul to Katwa. As a result of this, the improvement in the transportation system is also reflected in the industry and commerce of Birbhum [37].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Conclusion<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The contribution of John Cheap to the history of Birbhum is truly undeniable. Many foreign merchants came to Bengal, fulfilled their economic interests, and left. Among these foreigners, very few people loved Bengal. One of them was Mr. John Cheap. Starting his career as a commercial resident of Birbhum, he remained on the land of Birbhum till his death, loving Birbhum. He united himself with the people of Birbhum and accepted the culture of this land. Due to his efficiency and character, Mr. John Cheap, Gourihar Mitra, Historian of Birbhum, called him \u2018<em>Sarbajanapriya<\/em>\u2019 (A Most Popular Person).[38] In the Birbhum District Gazetteer of O&#8217;Malley, he was called \u2018Cheap the Magnificent\u2019.[39] Finally, this article concludes with William Hunter&#8217;s assessment of Mr Cheap. W. W. Hunter wrote highly of Mr. Cheap, \u201cthe whole industrial classes were in his pay, and in his person Government appeared in his most benign aspect&#8230;.A long, unpaid retinue followed him from one factory to another, and as the procession defiled throughout the hamlets, mothers held their children aloft to catch a sight of his palanquin, while the elders bowed low before the providence from whom they derived their daily bread.&nbsp; Happy was the infant on whom his shadow fell.\u201d[40]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>References:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Majumdar, A. (2011). <em>Birbhum: Itihas o Sanskriti<\/em> (2nd ed.). Ashadeep.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kumar Gupta, R. (1980). Birbhum silk industry: A study of its growth to decline.\u00a0<em>The Indian Economic &amp; Social History Review<\/em>,\u00a0<em>17<\/em>(2), 211-226.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gupta, R. (2001). <em>Rarher Samaj Arthoniti o Ganabidroho: Birbhum (1740\u20131871)<\/em>. Subarnarekha.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Datta, R. (1990).\u00a0<em>Rural Bengal: social structure and agrarian economy in the late eighteenth century<\/em>\u00a0(Doctoral dissertation, University of London).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Roy, T. (2011). Where is Bengal? Situating an Indian Region in the Early Modern World Economy.\u00a0<em>Past &amp; present<\/em>,\u00a0<em>213<\/em>(1), 115-146.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Roy, T. (2008). Knowledge and divergencefrom the perspective of early modern India.\u00a0<em>Journal of Global History<\/em>,\u00a0<em>3<\/em>(3), 361-387.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mukherjee, T. (2011). Markets in eighteenth century Bengal economy.\u00a0<em>The Indian Economic &amp; Social History Review<\/em>,\u00a0<em>48<\/em>(2), 143-176.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Parthasarathi, P. (1998). Rethinking wages and competitiveness in the eighteenth century: Britain and South India.\u00a0<em>Past &amp; Present<\/em>, (158), 79-109.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chakraborty, T. (2016).\u00a0<em>Work and Society in the East India Company Settlements in Bengal, 1650-1757<\/em>\u00a0(Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Habib, I. (1995, January). The eighteenth century in Indian economic history. In\u00a0<em>Proceedings of the Indian History Congress<\/em>\u00a0(Vol. 56, pp. 358-378). Indian History Congress.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vicziany, M. (1990). Indian economic history and the ecological dimension.\u00a0<em>Asian Studies Review<\/em>,\u00a0<em>14<\/em>(2), 53-77.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mitra, G. (2012). <em>Birbhumer Itihas<\/em> (P. Majumdar, Ed.). Ashadeep.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>O\u2019Malley, L. S. S. (1910). <em>Bengal District Gazetteer Birbhum<\/em>. Bengal Secretariat Press.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gupta, R. (2001). <em>Rarher samaj arthoniti o ganabidroho Birbhum (1740\u20131871)<\/em>. Subarnarekha.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mitra, G. (2012). <em>Birbhumer Itihas<\/em>, op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clingingsmith, D., &amp; Williamson, J. G. (2005). India\u2019s deindustrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries.\u00a0<em>Cambridge: Harvard University<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clingingsmith, D., &amp; Williamson, J. G. (2017).\u00a0<em>Deindustrialization in 18 th and 19 th Century India: Mughal Decline, Climate Shocks and British Industrial Ascent<\/em>\u00a0(No. jy7u8_v1). Center for Open Science.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gupta, R. (2001). <em>Rarher Samaj Arthoniti o Ganabidroho: Birbhum (1740\u20131871)<\/em>, op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rahman, M. B. (2015).\u00a0<em>Banians in the Bengal economy (18th and 19th centuries): Historical perspective<\/em>\u00a0(Doctoral dissertation, University of Dhaka).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Majumdar, A. (2011). <em>Birbhum: Itihas o Sanskriti<\/em>, op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alam, M. (1991). Eastern India in the early eighteenth century&#8217;crisis&#8217;: Some evidence from Bihar.\u00a0<em>The Indian Economic &amp; Social History Review<\/em>,\u00a0<em>28<\/em>(1), 43-71.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ibid.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ibid.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mitra, G. (2012). <em>Birbhumer Itihas<\/em>, op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seth, V. K., Seth, V. K., &amp; Ghosh. (2018).\u00a0<em>Story of Indian Manufacturing<\/em>. Springer Verlag.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Majumdar, A. (2011). <em>Birbhum: Itihas o Sanskriti<\/em>, op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ibid.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gupta, R. K. (1984). <em>The economic life of a Bengal district: Birbhum, 1770\u20131857<\/em>. University of Burdwan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Social Science History Association. (1968).\u00a0<em>Social Science; History 8<\/em>. Ratna Sagar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seth, V. K. (2017). Modern Manufacturing and the British Raj. In\u00a0<em>The Story of Indian Manufacturing: Encounters with the Mughal and British Empires (1498-1947)<\/em>\u00a0(pp. 187-248). Singapore: Springer Singapore.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gupta, R. (2001). <em>Rarher samaj arthoniti o ganabidroho Birbhum (1740\u20131871)<\/em>. op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Biswas, A. K. (1994). (05) Iron and Steel in Pre-Modern India-A Critical Review.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ibid.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sherwill, W. S. (1854). <em>Geographical and statistical report of the district Beerbhoom<\/em>. Bengal Secretariat Press.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Majumdar, A. (2011). <em>Birbhum: Itihas o Sanskriti<\/em>, op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Roy, T. (2019).\u00a0<em>How British rule changed India&#8217;s economy: The paradox of the Raj<\/em>. Springer International Publishing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>O\u2019Malley, L. S. S. (1910). <em>Bengal District Gazetteer Birbhum<\/em>, op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mitra, G. (2012). <em>Birbhumer Itihas<\/em>, op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>O\u2019Malley, L. S. S. (1910). <em>Bengal District Gazetteer Birbhum<\/em>, op. cit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hunter, W. W. (1868). <em>The Annals of Rural Bengal <\/em>(2nd ed.). Leypoldt and Holt.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction Since ancient times, Birbhum district has been known as an industrially rich region of West Bengal. Although it is an agricultural region, Birbhum is a notable name in the development of small and cottage industries along with agriculture. Industries such as silk, cotton, lac, sugar, indigo etc. have become a means of livelihood for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[154,152,151,153,150],"article-archive":[40],"class_list":["post-908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-original-research-article","tag-james-frushard","tag-murshidabad","tag-permanent-settlement","tag-rajnagar","tag-warren-hastings","article-archive-volume-5-issue-1-2026","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":910,"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908\/revisions\/910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908"},{"taxonomy":"article-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicsociety.org\/actasocialscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article-archive?post=908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}