Bombay's People, 1860-98: Insolvents in the City
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.14 (611 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0199472203 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-11-11 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
About the AuthorAsiya Siddiqi, Former Professor, Department of History, University of Bombay, Mumbai.Asiya Siddiqi is Former Professor, Department of History, University of Bombay, Mumbai.
Focusing on the social scenario, the manuscript discusses the situation of women insolvents-many of whom were courtesans, dancing and singing girls-and explores how these women were integrated in the society. Drawing on petitions of close to 20,000 individual insolvents, it maps patterns of income, literacy levels and connections between religion and occupation. Fluctuations in the global price of cotton had a cataclysmic effect on the people of Bombay. Citing the cases of individual traders, the author shows the way in which Indian merchants suffered from the iniquities of colonial trade. The study of incomes suggests that many people not directly involved in trade were also affected by commercial fluctuations. The author explores local, colonial and global relationships during a crucial phase of the transformation of Indian economy and society.. It deals with the credit structure of the bigger merchants and highlights the importance of indigenous sources of credit. This work is based on the petitions of insolvents submitted to the Bombay High Court during the second half of the nineteenth century
Asiya Siddiqi, Former Professor, Department of History, University of Bombay, Mumbai.Asiya Siddiqi is Former Professor, Department of History, University of Bombay, Mumbai.