A Comprehensive History Of Modern Bengal: 1700–1950 (Volume 1)
Sabyasachi BhattacharyaVolume I of this series of three books begins with a close study of the events at the start of the eighteenth century, and covers ground up to the year 1793 when the Permanent Zamindari Settlement in Bengal marked the closure to a contentious issue after much experimentation. The essays in this volume deal with a variety of themes like political history and warfare; activities of the various European companies; maritime economy; internal trade and markets; demography and environment; growth of Calcutta; zamindars; urbanization and de-urbanization; banking and credit; art and artists; social banditry; and Islam and the Muslim literati. Some of these essays attempt to cross the accepted patterns of periodization and the themes they deal with are relooked at in the volumes that follow.