Bengal famine of 1770 to 1772. By W. The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 was a catastrophic event in the Bengal Subah—encompassing modern-day Bangladesh and parts of India under East India Company (EIC) administration—that unfolded from 1769 to 1770, claiming over 10 million lives, roughly one-third of the region's estimated 30 million inhabitants. A [ 77 ] large part of Bengal had become a thick jungle. The sudden rise of land revenue taxes, together with drought, caused what some now call a genocide, the Great Bengal Famine, which killed from one to ten million Bengalis and Biharis. The famine is estimated to have caused the deaths of about 10 million people. Three million people perished as a result of starvation or sickness. 1177/097194580701000206 Authors: Great Bengal famine of 1770 The Great Bengal famine of 1770 struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people, which was about ⅓ of the current population of the area. Based on the Bengal Famine of 1770, the tale imagines a dialogue between William Wilson Hunter and a Bengali artist Debdulal Mitra and their s bsequent collaboration on an illustrated work on the famine. natural disasters: the famine was triggered series The Bengal famine of 1770 (Bengali: ৭৬ এর মন্বন্তর, Chhiattōrer monnōntór ; lit The Famine of 76 ) was a catastrophic famine between 1769 and 1773 (1176 to 1180 in the Bengali calendar) that affected the lower Gangetic plain of India. (a) Population- According to Warren Hastings the famine of 1770 swept away one-third of the population of Bengal. On This Day (Jan 25, 1802): John Cartier, the former Governor of Bengal, died. Discover how drought and British policies led to 10 million deaths. Bengal was in the grip of a still mounting famine and of an epidemic of smallpox which was soon to claim the Nawab Nazim as one of its many victims. The famine is estimated to have caused the deaths of about 10 million people, and Warren Hastings's 1772 report estimated that a third of the population in the affected region starved to death. The difficult task of introducing the scheme of supervisorships, put off by Verelst, had soon to be tackled. It occurred during a period of dual governance in Bengal. 1 This statement is based on mere guess-work, as no arrangement for census was in vogue at that time. The 1974 famine was a rural phenomenon and people traveled miles from rural to urban areas in search of food. IX. It happened between 1769 and 1770. 1 And yet, from the 1750s, as the English East India Company began, by conquest and by stealth, to establish its dominion over South Asia, an alternative The Great Bengal famine of 1770 struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people, which was about ⅓ of the current population of the area. PDF | In 1770, Bengal faced a great famine. The Great Bengal and Bihar Famine of 1770 led to catastrophic population loss, with estimates suggesting that one-third of Bengal's population perished due to mortality and desertion. In 1768, there was a slight drought, with conditions worsening the following year. I. This famine took place when Bengal was ruled by two groups at the same time. It revealed the exploitative nature of colonial economic policies, where profit was prioritised over people. was a year of death, desolation and destruction for Bengal. 8 million people died, [A] in the Bengal region (present-day Bangladesh and West Bengal), from starvation, malaria and other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions, poor British wartime policies, and lack FAMINES FAMINES Famines, defined as large-scale episodes of acute starvation, were a frequent occurrence in South Asia until the mid-twentieth century. The Great Bengal famine of 1770 struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people, which was about ⅓ of the current population of the area. The Bengal Famine was indeed a famine that ravaged the Bengal area during 1769 & 70 and killed over 30 million people. During this time, Bengal was under the control of the British East India Company. This is the fourth of six episodes in a series which details colonization and subjection of the Indian subcontinent by the British East India Company. Triggered by crop failures from erratic rainfall and monsoon shortfalls, the 1769 – 1770: James Cook explores and maps New Zealand and Australia. [16] (to 1772) 1769: Court Factor title gained by Mayer Amschel Rothschild. The first evidence of famine in the northern districts of Bengal began to emerge in November 1769 arresting official attention. The famine is estimated to have caused the deaths of 10 million people. The famine of 1770 was preceded by partial crop failure due to the failure of the monsoon which was experienced by Bengal and Bihar in 1768. Chhiattor-er Monnontor [The Bengal Famine of 1769-70] Description The Bengal famine of 1770 is popularly known as “ Chhiattor-er Monnontor ”, or “Famine of ’76”, since 1769-70 is the year 1176 in the Bengali calendar. Historians emphasize that crop failures in 1768-69 set the stage for the disaster. 8vo. Jan 16, 2026 · Ironically, although Bengal had no famines in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries that were comparable to the famine of 1770, in the nineteenth century, historians of the East India Company made the argument that Bengal was, in some ways, naturally inclined towards such famines. The Great Bengal famine of 1770 was a famine that struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people. And when, after the great famine of 1770 a new set of actors appeared on the stage, Bengal was desponding, drooping ai^d distressed where pillage, pestilence and proverty had ruined plenty, prosperity and progress. Indeed, soon after the British conquest of Bengal in 1757, British policies led to the Great Bengal Famine of 1770 where, in certain regions up to a third of the population died. W. THE FAMINE OF 1770 IN BENGAL. An estimated 800,000–3. xvi. The Bengal famine 1770 took place between 1769 and 1773 during which the British were ruling some territories in India. The East India Company had the right to collect taxes. 1769 – 1770: James Cook explores and maps New Zealand and Australia. In this article the effects of the famine on population, land and silk and cotton industries have been discussed. This existed after the East India Company had been granted the diwani, or the right to collect revenue in Bengal by the Mughal emperor in Delhi, but before it had wrested the nizamat, or control of civil The famine that struck Bengal in British India in 1943 is known as the Bengal famine. This tale, thus, becomes an exemplary instance of ar The Bengal Famine of 1770 resulted in the loss of one-third of the population. The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 (Bengali , Chhiattrer monnntr lit The Famine of '76) was a famine between 1769 and 1773 (1176 to 1180 in the Bengali calendar) that affected the lower Gangetic plain of India. , pp. D. Instead of making such a sweeping statement it would be judicious to base our state- ment upon statistics. In so many way, British tried to show that the famine was happened because of natural calamities. About 250 years ago, Bengal suffered a debilitating famine under colonial rule, partially brought on by changes in the colonial currency system. 1769: The French East India Company dissolves, only to be revived in 1785. These problems did not diminish in 1770, but grew in number and complexity. The famine is supposed to have caused the deaths of an estimated 10 million people, approximately one-third of the population at the time. [30] [30] The Annals of Rural Bengal. In 1896–1897, more than 5 million perished, and in 1943, more than a million died The first evidence of famine in the northern districts of Bengal began to emerge in November 1769 arresting official attention. The founding of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 was one of the clearest expressions of the belief that India had a noble, if long neglected, place among the family of civilized nations. 1769: French expeditions capture clove plants in Ambon, ending the Dutch East India Company 's (VOC) monopoly of the The Bengal famine of 1770 lasted till 1773 though the affected provinces received good amounts of rainfall towards the end of 1770. Throughout the episode, we'll talk about the general effects of famines by utilizing a number of historical instances of famines. In that year a famine of unprecedented severity appeared in Bengal and swept away "at least one-third of the inhabitants. The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 was a famine between 1769 and 1773 that affected the lower Gangetic plain of British India from Bihar to the Bengal region. The Bengal Famine of 1770 thus holds profound historical significance: It was the first major famine under British rule and exposed the incapacity of the Company’s administration. [3] The year 1770 A. The famine not only had a deep impact on Bengal and Indian history but, as my dissertation shows, led to the global financial crisis of 1772 and convinced the contemporary North American Revolutionaries about the righteousness of their anti-tax movement. What is the Great Bengal famine of 1770? The Great Bengal famine of 1770 was about ⅓ of the current population of the area. Despite the great famine, the British East India Company recorded the highest profits compared to the previous years. The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 was a terrible time when many people in Bengal and Bihar suffered from extreme hunger. Around 1877 about 4 million lives were lost, mainly in Bombay and Madras presidencies. Famine in Bengal: A Comparison of the 1770 Famine in Bengal and the 1897 Famine in Chotanagpur October 2007 The Medieval History Journal 10 (1):143-181 DOI: 10. New York: Leypoldt and Holt. The Bengal famine of 1770 remains unexplored by geographers despite being the first colonial famine in India. Mughal Conquest Of Bakla - Encyclopedia Information Background The Barisal region was historically known as Bakla and much of it was ruled by the Chandradwip Kingdom, an independent line of Hindu kings who enjoyed autonomy under the Sultanate of Bengal. Efforts to revive agriculture included proposals for rent-free John Fiske, in his book “The Unseen World”, wrote that the famine of 1770 in Bengal was far deadlier than the Black Plague that terrorised Europe in the fourteenth century. Download the Bengal Famine 1770 UPSC Notes! AbstractChapter 5 examines how the conservation of a historic famine in 1770 Bengal stimulated state formation in multiple spaces—the liberal, constitution Famine research has gained ground in both Asia and Africa in recent times and it is well known that British India experienced a series of subsistence crises par West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region, the coastal Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. In 1770 nearly a third of the population of Bengal died due to a famine. And when, about a hundred years later Sir Charles Ellliott Good notes famine, 1770 what were the causes and effects of the famine of 1770 in bengal? do you think it was totally due to natural causes or were there any The first of the major famines of this era was the Bengal Famine of 1770. No intelligent reader can advance fifty pages in this volume without becoming aware that he has got hold of a very remarkable This has all the essential notes and summaries famine of 1770 causes and contributing factors to the famine. [1][2] The Mughal Empire defeated the Sultanate at the Battle of Rajmahal on 12 July 1576, formally establishing the Bengal as the easternmost This is the fourth of six episodes in a series which details colonization and subjection of the Indian subcontinent by the British East India Company. 1868. The effect on the locals, on the EIC Depiction of victims of the Irish Great Famine, 1845–1852. 1769 – 1773: The Bengal famine of 1770 kills one-third of the Bengal population. The state's main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with the Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority. 14 By September 1769 Hunter noted that ‘the fields of This paper examines famine in India under British Merchant rule, and what role, if any, British economic actors played in the Great Bengal Famine of 1770. , 475. This show's focus is on the causes and effects of the 1770 Bengal Famine. The effect on the locals, on the EIC Overview of the Great Bengal Famine of 1770 A disastrous famine affected the lower Gangetic Plains of India including the regions of Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1773 where 1/3 rd of the population perished. The only major famines in Bengal in the past three centuries have been in 1770, 1866, and 1943-44. The months when the impact of the famine were most severe in 1974 were July through October, largely the same as in the 1770, 1866 and 1943 Bengal Famines. The famine and its effects put the whole administration of Cartier out of gear. Second Edition. The Bengal Famine of 1770 was a famine that struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people. The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 was a famine between 1769 and 1773 (1176 to 1180 in the Bengali calendar) that affected the lower Gangetic plain of India from Bihar to the Bengal region. The Bengal famine of 1770 was a catastrophic famine that between 1769 and 1773 affected the lower Gangetic plain of India. This existed The Bengal Famine of 1770 resulted in a drastic negative impact on the parts of Bengal. The Bengal government reported increasing distress from November 1769 onwards. The Bengal Famine of 1770 (which had already begun in 1769 and continued until 1773) is one of the greatest catastrophes in modern times. Natural conditions, particularly drought, significantly contributed to the famine's severity. His administration’s negligence changed Bengal’s demographic forever. 1769: French expeditions capture clove plants in Ambon, ending the VOC monopoly of the plant. The month of April 1770 witnessed calamities like drought, crop failure, disease and death griping all of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Ethnical Frontier of Lower Bengal, with the Ancient Principalities of Beerbhoom and Bishenpore. As many as ten million people, a third of the entire population, died as a consequence. " Jan 3, 2024 · Learn about the Bengal Famine of 1770, its causes, impact, and lessons. He is a name often forgotten, but his legacy is tied to the horrific Bengal Famine of 1770. Millions of people were affected. The Great Bengal famine of 1770 struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people, which was about ⅓ of the current population of the area. etchbook”, elucidates upon the concerns highlighted above. The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine during World War II in the Bengal Province and Orissa Province of British India. Hunter. . The famine… In 1770, there was a catastrophe in Bengal. Vol. In this article, we will discuss the background and its impact. [3] It occurred during a period of dual governance in Bengal. The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 resulted in the deaths of approximately 10 million people, primarily due to failed agricultural policies and neglect by the British East India Company, which prioritized revenues over humanitarian aid. Generally sufficient rainfall and low variability, relative to other parts of the subcontinent, are special features of Bengal's climate. One of the primary objectives of this paper is to bridge this gap by shedding light on the geographical dimensions of this pivotal historical catastrophe. The famine devastated agricultural lands, leaving vast areas uncultivated and leading to significant economic decline in the affected regions. y4tfs, 7hclj, lwerx, lkhu, ignea, fift, ayumct, jogkc, gddx, w96qe,