A Study On The Influence Of British Colonial Rule On Indian Cotton Textile Industry In The 18^th And 19^th Centuries

Located in the sub-continent of South Asia,India enjoys a unique climate and geographical environment.It has witnessed a long history of cotton planting and nurtured a perfect and developed cotton textile production system and cotton textile trading system in ancient and early modern times.What kind of historical story will the Indian cotton textile industry and cotton textile trade that once influenced the world play in the 18th-19 th centuries? This paper explores the historical status of the Indian cotton textile industry and cotton textile trade before the arrival of the British colonists.It also mainly discusses the influence of British colonial rule on the Indian cotton textile industry and on the Indian cotton textiles domestic and foreign trade.This article is divided into three parts.The first part explores the historical overview of the Indian cotton textile industry and cotton textile trade before the British colonists ruled India.Before the British colonists ruled India,India's cotton textile raw material,cotton,has a long history of planting,extensive planting and stable production.Adequate supply of raw cotton has enabled India to produce cotton textiles earlier and formed a complete cotton textile production system.The cotton textile technology is advanced and mature,which helps to produce considerable amount of exquisite cotton textiles.The inexpensive Indian cotton textiles are favored by people all over the world,which encourages the development of the cotton textile trade in India and abroad and establishment of the cotton textile trade system in India within a few centuries.The cotton textile industry has played a vital role in the entire national economy of India.If the cotton textile industry is booming,the Indian national economy will be prosperous,and if the cotton textile industry seems weak,the Indian national economy will also be in recession.The 18th-19 th century has witnessed the crazy development of Western capitalism,accompanied by frantic robbery and expansion around the world.In the end,India was completely colonized by Britain.After the British ruled India,a series of colonial rule policies were implemented,which directly led to the disintegration and collapse of traditional Indian industries without the establishment of new modern industries.Among them,the cotton textile industry in India is the first to bear the brunt.Therefore,the second part probes deeply into the historical influence of British colonial rule on the development of Indian cotton textile industry in the 18th-19 th century.First of all,the British colonists paid little attention to the development of the Indian cotton textile industry,even extremely reluctant to develop the Indian cotton textile industry.Secondly,the British colonists devoted to turning India into a source of raw materials for their country.Under the pressure of the British rulers,India exported a large amount of cotton raw materials to the UK at a low price,which led to the abnormal development of cotton cultivation and the damage of the cotton planting industry in India.Massive export of cotton has greatly reduced the supply of raw materials for the cotton textile industry in India,hindering the transition of the Indian cotton textile industry to the production of modern machines.Then,the brutal rule of the colonists has led a large number of people to starve to death.What is more,the British-owned plantations and enterprises grab the Indian native labor force,which weakened the India's original labor advantages and made India's large number of labor force fail to play its due role in promoting its industrial development.In addition,the colonists implemented the policy of "inside and outside attack".The high-tariff barriers were established in overseas Britain,and the "harvest taxes" was levied in India.Under the "inside and outside attack" from the British,the Indian cotton textile industry slipped into decline.Finally,due to the looting of British colonists,India's huge fortunes were lost overseas.The wealth squeezed by British colonists,on the one hand,made the traditional cotton textile handicraft industry unsustainable in India;on the other hand,it also reduced the capital of India's modern cotton textile industry,which hindered the further development of cotton textile industry.The third part discusses the impact of British colonial rule on Indian cotton textile trade.Colonial rule has cut off the development of domestic commercial trade in Indian cotton textiles;and the“trade looting”of colonists and the dumping of British cotton textiles in India have caused the decline of Indian domestic trade.The means of "inside and outside attack" carried out by the United Kingdom has contributed to tremendous setbacks in the export trade of Indian cotton textiles,and then made Indian cotton textiles industries embark on the path of decline.