The Zamindari System: How the British Taxed India into Empire

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Zamindari system, the land revenue experiment that the British East India Company imposed on Bengal after 1765. We trace its origins from the Permanent Settlement of 1793, championed by Lord Cornwallis, through its devastating consequences for peasant cultivators and the rise of absentee landlords. We also examine the contrasting Ryotwari system in Madras and Bombay presidencies, developed by Thomas Munro and Mountstuart Elphinstone, and the Mahalwari system in the North-Western Provinces. The episode covers key figures like Warren Hastings, the 'rent roll' concept, the role of the British collector, and the long-term effects on Indian agriculture, debt, and famine—including the Bengal Famine of 1770 and later famines. We discuss the political motivations behind creating a loyal landed class, the judicial framework of the Cornwallis Code, and how these systems laid the economic foundations for colonial rule in India. #Zamindari #PermanentSettlement #BritishEastIndiaCompany #LordCornwallis #ThomasMunro #Ryotwari #Mahalwari #WarrenHastings #BengalFamine #IndianHistory #ColonialTaxation #LandRevenue #CornwallisCode #AbsenteeLandlord #PeasantCultivator #BritishRaj #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo