Important Concepts :-
Source : -
- (i) Records of the East India Company.
- (ii) Census report.
- (iii) Municipal report.
The urban population increased from about 10% to 13% during the period 1900–1940.
Madras, Bombay and Calcutta developed into important ports during the late 18th century.
The ruling elite created racially distinct clubs, race courses, and theatres. The development of new modes of transport like horse drawn carriages, trams, buses etc. facilitated the people to live far away from their places of work.
Rulers everywhere try to express their power through buildings. Many Indians adopted European styles of architecture as symbols of modernity and civilization.
Cities under colonial rule :-
Modern cities came to the fore with industrialization in most parts of the western world.
Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were rapidly increasing in importance as Presidency cities. These cities became the centers of British power in India.
At the same time many other cities were becoming weak. Many cities producing special things started to lag behind because the demand for the things that were made there had decreased.
Similarly, when the British defeated the local kings and new centers of governance were born, the old centers of regional power collapsed.
This process is often referred to as urbanization. Cities such as Machilipatnam, Surat and Srirangapatam experienced considerable urbanization in the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, only 11% of the people lived in cities.
The historic urban city of Delhi became a dusty small town in the 1911 century AD. But after becoming the capital of British India in 1912, it came back to life.
Machilipatnam developed into an important port in the 17th century. Its importance declined in the late 18th century as trade centered on the new British ports of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta.
Town:-
The 'Kasba' were the centers of specific types of economic and cultural activities. Craftsmen, traders, administrators and rulers lived here. In a way, the royal was a place between the city and the rural area.
Location of cities :-
Three major large cities developed during the colonial period – Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. These three cities were originally fishing and weaving villages which became important centers due to the trading activities of the English East India Company. Later the centers of governance were formed, which were called Presidency cities.
The importance of cities depended on where the center of administration and economic activity was located, as employment and trade systems existed there.
The cities built by the Mughals were famous for their concentration of population, their huge buildings and their royal splendor and prosperity. In which Agra, Delhi and Lahore were prominent, which were the centers of imperial administration.
The royal cities were fortified, gardens, mosques, temples, mausoleums, caravans, inns, markets, colleges were all inside the fort, and the movement was controlled through various gates.
In the medieval cities of North India, a state official called 'Kotwal' looked after the internal affairs of the city and maintained the law.
Changes in 18th century :-
With the decline of the Mughal Empire, the old cities ceased to exist and due to the growth of regional powers, new cities were formed. Among them Lucknow, Hyderabad, Seringapatam, Poona, Nagpur, Baroda and Tanjore etc. are notable.
Traders, administrators, craftsmen and other businessmen started coming here from old cities. Here work and protection were available to him. Since there were wars between the states, there was work for the mercenaries as well.
The officials of the Mughal Empire established towns and ganjas (small permanent markets). European companies also gathered in these urban centers. The Portuguese opened their trading centers in Panaji, the Dutch at Machilipatnam, the British at Madras and the French at Pondicherry.
In the 18th century, land-based empires were replaced by water-based European empires. Capitalism and commercialism started getting a boost in India.
Medieval cities – Surat, Machilipatnam and Dhaka declined.
After the Battle of Plassey, English trade increased and cities like Madras, Calcutta and Bombay were established as economic capitals.
These cities became centers of colonial administration and power.
These cities were rehabilitated and buildings and institutions were built. Along with the growth of employment, the arrival of people here also intensified.
Colonial Records:
The British government kept detailed records, conducted regular surveys, collected statistical data, and published official records of its business activities to regulate its business affairs.
The British also started mapping as they believed that maps help in understanding landscape topography, planning development, maintaining security and understanding the possibilities of commercial activities. From the late nineteenth century, the British government began assigning responsibilities to elected Indian representatives to conduct basic services in cities, and this introduced a systematic annual collection of municipal taxes. The first attempt at an all-India census was made in 1872. After this in 1881 AD. Since then the decadal (to be held every 10 years) census became a regular system. So that water supply, drainage, road construction, health system and population expansion can be controlled in cities and annual municipal taxes can be collected. Many a times, wrong information was given by the local people about mortality, disease, illness. These were not always reported. Sometimes the reports and records kept by the British Government were also biased. However, despite ambiguity and bias, these records and data helped in the study of colonial cities. Reasons for keeping records in postcolonial cities :-
To run the government smoothly on the basis of data and information.
Detailed description of business activities to promote business efficiently.
To study the living habits, ethics, educational awareness, political trends etc. of urban citizens with the expansion of cities.
After thoroughly understanding the geographical structure and landscape of a place, to do urbanization, empire expansion etc. in those places.
To study the social increase in the size of population and to make administrative methods, rules and regulations etc. and ensure their implementation accordingly.
Difficulties in collecting data:
(i) People were not ready to give correct information.
(ii) Data on mortality and diseases were difficult to collect.
Note :- Port :- Madras, Bombay and Calcutta
Forts :- St. George in Madras and Fort William in Calcutta.
To what extent are census data useful in understanding the reconstruction of urbanization in the colonial context?
These data are useful for knowing the exact number of the population as well as the total population of whites and blacks.
These figures also tell us the extent to which the total number of people or the total population has been adversely affected by the dreaded or fatal diseases.
Census data gives us complete information about the total number of different communities, their language, their work and means of livelihood as well as their caste and religion.
White and Black Town :-
In colonial cities, there were separate settlements of Whites i.e. British and Blacks i.e. Indians. In the writings of that time, the settlements of Indians were called "Black Towns" and the settlements of Whites were called "White Towns".
These words were used to express racial discrimination. With the strengthening of the political power of the British, this racial discrimination also increased.
There was also a difference between the houses of these two settlements. Indian agents and middlemen built traditional hallway houses in White Town, around the market place. There were bungalows in civil lines. Cantons were also established around them for security.
White towns were clean while black towns were dirty. There was a fear of spreading disease here.
Building construction during the colonial period:-
Three styles of building construction came into vogue during the colonial period.
The first neoclassical style in which the geometric structure was found behind large pillars. For example, Bombay's Town Hall and Elphiston Circle.
The second style was the Neo-Gothic style. In which high raised ceilings, pointed arches, fine decorations are seen, such as Secretariat, Bombay University, Bombay High Court.
The third style was the Indo-Saracenic style, in which there was a mixture of Indian and European styles, the prime example of this is :- Gateway of India, Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay.
Social life in new cities :-
Life in the cities always seemed to be in flux, there was a great disparity between the rich and the poor.
New transport facilities like horse carriages, trains, buses were developed. People now started traveling from home to work using the new mode of transport.
Many public spaces were built, such as public parks, theatres, dubs and cinema halls in the 20th century. These places provided entertainment and opportunities for social interaction.
People started migrating to the cities. There was demand for clerks, teachers, lawyers, doctors, engineers and accountants. There were schools, colleges and libraries.
A new public sphere of debate and discussion emerged. Social norms, customs and customs were questioned.
He provided new opportunities. Opportunities for women. It provided a way for women to step out of their homes and be more visible in public life.
She entered the new profession as a teacher, theater and film actress, domestic worker, factory worker, etc.
Middle class women started expressing themselves through autobiographies, magazines and books.
Conservatives feared these reforms, they feared breaking the existing governance and patriarchal system of society.
Women who had to move out of the house faced opposition and became objects of social control in those years. In cities, there was a class of workers or the working class.
The poor came to the cities in search of opportunities, some people came to the cities for the desire to live a new way of life and to see new things.
Life in the cities was expensive, jobs were uncertain and sometimes migrants left their families at their native places to save money. The migrants also participated in tamasha (folk theatre) and swag (satire) and thus attempted to integrate the life of the cities.
Development of Hill Stations :-
The British Government initially started developing the hill station due to the requirement of the British Army. Shimla (present-day Shimla) was established during the Gorkha War (1815-16). The Anglo-Maratha War led to the development of Mount Abu (1818). Darjeeling was taken from the ruler of Sikkim in 1835. The temperate and cool climate of the hills was seen as sanatoriums (places where soldiers could be sent to rest and recover from illness) as these areas were free from diseases like cholera, malaria, etc. Hilly areas and stations became attractive places for European rulers and other nobility. He used to visit these places regularly for entertainment during the summer season. Many houses, buildings and churches were designed according to the European style. Later introduction of railways made these places more accessible and upper and middle class Indians like Maharajas, lawyers and traders also started visiting these places regularly. The hill areas were also important regarding the economy as tea plantations, coffee plantations developed in this region. Three big cities:
We will look closely at the development of three big cities - Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.
The three cities were basically fishing and weaving villages.
Due to the trading activities of the English East India Company, they became important centers of trade.
The Company's agents settled in Madras in 1639 AD and Calcutta in 1690 AD.
By the middle of the 19th century these towns had become big cities.
With the political and commercial reorganization in the 18th century, the old cities declined and new towns started to develop.
Due to the gradual erosion of Mughal power, the cities associated with his rule died out. The Mughal capitals Delhi and Agra lost their political dominance.
The growth of new regional powers was fueled by the increasing importance of the regional capitals Lucknow, Hyderabad, Srirangapatna, Poona (today's Pune), Nagpur, Baroda and Tanjore.
Traders, administrators, craftsmen and others started coming less and less from the old Mughal centers to these new capitals in search of protection.
The Portuguese established settlements at Panaji in 1510, the Dutch in 1605 at Machilipatnam, the English in Madras in 1639 and the French in 17673 at Pondicherry (present-day Puducherry).
Settlement and Separation of Madras :-
The company first established its center at Surat and then tried to capture the east coast. The British and French were engaged in fighting in South India, but with the defeat of France in 1761, Madras was secured and began to develop as a commercial centre.
Fort St George became an important center where Europeans lived and was reserved for English men.
The officials were not allowed to marry Indians. However, apart from the English Dutch, the Portuguese were allowed to live in the fort as they were Europeans and Christians.
Madras was developed according to the need of the whites. The black city, settled by Indians, was earlier outside the fort but was later shifted.
New Black Town was a traditional Indian town with living quarters around the temple and market. There were caste-specific localities.
Madras was developed by incorporating many surrounding villages. The city of Madras provided many opportunities for the local communities.
Different communities do their specific jobs in the city of Madras, people from different communities for British government jobs. started competing.
Gradually the transport system started developing. The urbanization of Madras meant bringing the areas between the villages within the city.
Town Planning in Calcutta :-
Town planning is essential for the preparation of maps of the entire urban space and urban land use.
The city of Calcutta grew out of three villages namely Sutanati, Kolkata and Govindpur. The company approved a site at Govindpur village for the construction of a fort there.
Town planning in Calcutta gradually spread from Fort William to other parts. Lord Wellesley played a very important role in the town planning of Calcutta. With the help of the government, the work of town planning was carried forward through lottery plan. Funds for town planning were raised by lottery.
The committee drew up a new map for Calcutta, built roads in the city and cleared the riverbank of encroachment. To make Calcutta clean and disease free, many huts and settlements were displaced and these people were shifted to the outskirts of Calcutta.
Frequent fires in the city led to strict building regulation. Thatched roof was banned and tiled roofing was made mandatory.
Official intervention in the city became more stringent in the late nineteenth century.
The British removed more huts and developed the British part of the city at the expense of other areas.
These policies deepened the racial divide between the white city and the black city and further accelerated the new division of the healthy and the unhealthy. Gradually there was public protest against these policies.
Strengthened anti-imperialist sentiment and nationalism among Indians.
The British wanted cities like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras to represent the grandeur and authority of the British Empire. Town planning was intended to represent Western aesthetic ideas as well as their careful and rational planning and execution.
Architecture in Bombay :-
Although government buildings primarily serve functional needs such as defence, administration, and commerce, they are often meant to showcase ideas of nationalism, religious majesty, and power.
Initially seven islands near Bombay, it later became the commercial capital of colonial India and also the center of international trade.
From Bombay port Malwa, Sindh and Rajasthan developed and many Indian merchants also became rich.
Bombay developed the Indian capitalist class which came from diverse communities such as Parsis, Marwaris, Konkanis, Muslims, Gujaratis, Banias, Bohras, Jews and Armenians.
Bombay saw further economic development during the time of the American Civil War, and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, through an increase in the demand for cotton.
Bombay was declared as one of the most important city of India. Indian traders in Bombay started investing in cotton mills and building construction activities.
Many new buildings were built but they were built in the European style. It was thought that this would be:
In order to feel at home in the colony in this way, get acquainted with the exotic landscape in the European country.
Give them a symbol of superiority, authority and power.
To help create a distinction between Indian subjects and colonial masters.
For public construction, three broad architectural styles were used. These included Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles.
Building and Architectural Styles :-
While the architecture reflected the aesthetic idea prevalent at the time, buildings also expressed the vision of the people who built them.
Architectural style also molds taste, popularizes styles and shapes the contours of culture.
From the late nineteenth century, regional and national flavors were developed to counter the colonial ideal. The style has changed and evolved through extensive processes of cultural conflict.
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History – Themes
in Indian History |
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Pol
Science – Contemporary World Politics |
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– Politics
in India since Independence |
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Geography – Indian
People and Economy |
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– Fundamental of Human Geography |
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Chapter 1: - Population: Distribution, Density, Growth
and Composition |
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Chapter 12: - Geographical Perspective on Selected
Issues and Problems |
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