A symposium pertaining to the rebellions that look place in South India before and after 1800 was held during the 27th Session of the South Indian History Congress from 2-4 Febraury, 2007 at the Rajapalayam Rajus' College, Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu. The papers presented by the scholars at the symposium constitute the contents of this volume. When the Government of India announced that crores of rupees were to be sent for the sesqui-centennial celebrations of the Revolt of 1857, the historians of South India, raising their eye brows, had many questions to ask to the powers that be
GDP estimateAccording to economic historian Angus Maddison in his book The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, India had the world's largest economy from the first to the 18th century, with a (32.9%) share of world GDP in the 1st century to (28.9%) in 1000 AD, and in 1700 AD with (24.4%).
By this time India again had the largest economy in the world, with a (24.4%) share of world GDP, followed by Manchu China and Western Europe.[9][10] Nevertheless, a devastating famine broke out in the eastern coast in early 1770s killing 5 per cent of the national population.
GDP estimatesAn estimate by Angus Maddison argues that India's share of the world income went from 24.4% in 1700, comparable to Europe's share of 23.3%, to a low of 3.8% in 1952. While Indian leaders during the Independence struggle and left-nationalist economic historians have blamed the colonial rule for the dismal state of India's economy, a broader macroeconomic view of India during this period reveals that there were segments of both growth and decline, resulting from changes brought about by colonialism and a world that was moving towards industrialization and economic integration.
The fall of the RupeeSee also: The crisis of silver currency and bank notes (1750–1870)
After its victory in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), Germany extracted a huge indemnity from France of £200,000,000, and then moved to join Britain on a gold standard for currency. France, the US and other industrializing countries followed Germany in adopting a gold standard throughout the 1870s. At the same time, countries, such as Japan, which did not have the necessary access to gold or those, such as India, which were subject to imperial policies that determined that they did not move to a gold standard, remained mostly on a silver standard. A huge divide between silver-based and gold-based economies resulted. The worst affected were economies with a silver standard that traded mainly with economies with a gold standard. With discovery of more and more silver reserves, those currencies based on gold continued to rise in value and those based on silver were declining due to demonetization of silver. For India which carried out most of its trade with gold based countries, especially Britain, the impact of this shift was profound. As the price of silver continued to fall, so too did the exchange value of the rupee, when measured against sterling
1775–1800
During this period, the East India Company began tax administration reforms in a fast expanding empire spread over 250 million acres (1,000,000 km2), or 35 per cent of Indian domain. Indirect rule was also established on protectorates and buffer states. China was the world's largest economy followed by India and France.
The Company treasury reported annual revenue of £111 million in circa 1800[citation needed]. This needs to converted to Indian Rupees with the falling price of Rupee to assess the impact on Indian economy. Almost all of the Indian land revenues were diverted by the Company to help the British Crown defend herself in the Napoleonic Wars.
1800–1825
China was the world's largest economy followed by India and France. The gross domestic product of India in 1825 was estimated at about 50 per cent that of China. British cotton exports reach 3 per cent of the Indian market by 1825
