142263 SE Opium & Empire. India’s Opium Industry in the Long 19th Century (2024S)

Opium has had a long history in South Asia as both a medicinal and recreational drug. However, it was only under British colonial rule that it became a major item of trade. In this seminar we look at the rise and fall of this notorious industry through the lens of social and economic history.

In the late 18th century the British East India Company declared a monopoly on the production of and trade with opium in India. This monopoly system lasted until the 20th century and was a central source of revenue for the Empire. At the height of the industry over a million peasant households produced raw opium for the colonial state. They were forced to deliver the raw product to the public opium factories, were it was manufactured, packed into wooden boxes and finally sold to private trading houses. These traders then shipped the drug to China.

By studying the history of opium in 19th century Sough Asia, this seminar aims to deepen our understanding of colonial rule on the subcontinent. What kind of bureaucratic structures did the British implement to control and monitor the Empire’s subjects? How did they exploit land and labour and as a result generate the massive profits necessary to finance colonialism in South Asia? What social and economic impacts did colonialism have on the Indian population? In that sense this seminar goes beyond a narrow history of opium and offers a glimpses into the wider social and economic history of colonial India. At the same time, it aims to show how the history of 19th century South Asia was embedded in global contexts, e.g. with North America, Europe and China.

While academic books and papers form the core of our reading list, we supplement these texts with a novel by Amitav Ghosh: Sea of Poppies (2008). We will also work with a major primary source on this topic – the Report of the Royal Commission on Opium (1895).

Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: India's Opium Industry I
Week 3: Fiction I
Week 4: India's Opium Industry II
Week 5: Fiction II
Week 6: Primary Sources I
Week 7: Primary Sources II
Week 8: Fiction III
Week 9: A Global History of Psychoactive Substances
Week 10: Presentations