Famines in India and China
79-104 -- INTRODUCTION TO WORLD HISTORY – S10
SECOND LONG PAPER
The 1876-1879 and 1896-1902 famines in India and China were some of the worst famines the world had ever seen up until that point in time (Rouse Lecture). In China and India from 1876-1882, the estimated mortality was between 31 and 61 million (Davis 2001: 7). If the British and the Chinese governments had made simple changes in their policies regarding India and China, the results of the famine would not have been so catastrophic. In this paper I will analyze, Davis’ argument that “Millions died, not outside the ‘modern world system,’ but in the very process of being forcibly incorporated into its economic and political structures. They died in the golden age of Liberal Capitalism…” (Davis 2001: 9). Almost contrary to that he argues that “many were murdered”, emphasizing that “‘millions die’ was ultimately a political choice” and that “imperial policies towards starving ‘subjects’ were often the exact moral equivalents of bombs dropped from 18,000 feet.” (Davis 2001: 22). I will aim to analyze these relating to British dealings with India, Western dealings with China, the broader development of imperialism and industrial capitalism from the late eighteenth century to the early years of the twentieth century, and also Marks’ claim that there is never such a thing as a purely “natural” disaster?
In 1876, a disastrous famine hit India, starting with an El Niño-induced drought that¬¬¬¬ halted crop production. However, the situation rapidly got worse: due to the inadequacy, there was a major surge in food prices. The vast amounts of Indian grain exports to Great Britain prompted grain speculation, which further raised the price of grain. As prices crept up, the poor could not afford to buy grain, a dietary staple. Furthermore, in 1865, wheat exports to Britain numbered 308,000 quarters. Climate also played an important role in the 1876 famine: El Niño pacific currents brought heavy rains
SECOND LONG PAPER
The 1876-1879 and 1896-1902 famines in India and China were some of the worst famines the world had ever seen up until that point in time (Rouse Lecture). In China and India from 1876-1882, the estimated mortality was between 31 and 61 million (Davis 2001: 7). If the British and the Chinese governments had made simple changes in their policies regarding India and China, the results of the famine would not have been so catastrophic. In this paper I will analyze, Davis’ argument that “Millions died, not outside the ‘modern world system,’ but in the very process of being forcibly incorporated into its economic and political structures. They died in the golden age of Liberal Capitalism…” (Davis 2001: 9). Almost contrary to that he argues that “many were murdered”, emphasizing that “‘millions die’ was ultimately a political choice” and that “imperial policies towards starving ‘subjects’ were often the exact moral equivalents of bombs dropped from 18,000 feet.” (Davis 2001: 22). I will aim to analyze these relating to British dealings with India, Western dealings with China, the broader development of imperialism and industrial capitalism from the late eighteenth century to the early years of the twentieth century, and also Marks’ claim that there is never such a thing as a purely “natural” disaster?
In 1876, a disastrous famine hit India, starting with an El Niño-induced drought that¬¬¬¬ halted crop production. However, the situation rapidly got worse: due to the inadequacy, there was a major surge in food prices. The vast amounts of Indian grain exports to Great Britain prompted grain speculation, which further raised the price of grain. As prices crept up, the poor could not afford to buy grain, a dietary staple. Furthermore, in 1865, wheat exports to Britain numbered 308,000 quarters. Climate also played an important role in the 1876 famine: El Niño pacific currents brought heavy rains
Bibliography: Davis, Mike 2001 Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World. London: Verso. Marks, Robert B. 2007 The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative from the Fifteenth to the Twenty-first Century. Second edition. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Rouse, Roger. Dr. 2010 79-104 – Introduction to World History – Lectures. Spring 2010. Carnegie Mellon University. Pittsburgh. Naqvi, Syed Kaazim. 2010 79-104 – Introduction to World History – Recitation (J). Spring 2010. Carnegie Mellon University. Pittsburgh.