Urban Wage Earners in Seventeenth Century India

This book through European sources in the form of travelogues, letters, memoirs and official reports, discusses the social life, working conditions, wages and other aspects of life of people living in the 17th Century, who earned their livelihood through manual labour.
Please note: T&F does not sell or distribute the Hardback in South Asia.

This volume takes a pan-Indian view of different professional groups and service providers mainly based in towns. While Persian texts provide limited information on the subject, European sources in the form of travelogues, letters, memoirs and official reports unfold an interesting panorama on the subject. Here focus has been on the seventeenth century, as some prominent European share holders' Companies established their warehouses-cum-residential complexes in India in this very century. Officials of these Companies sent to India or elsewhere, maintained proper records of their transactions and interaction with the state officials, common people, servants inside the household and outside, and through their reports attracted many European freebooters also to have a firsthand experience of the East.
Here from, we get numerous details on the social life, working conditions, wages and other aspects of life of people who earned their livelihood through manual labour, as conditions in India appeared novel to them and they meticulously recorded everything with much interest. Their information is corroborated with the Indian sources. In both types of sources - Persian and European - artisans, labourers and service providers have generally been projected as 'poor', 'miserable' and 'wretched'; who faced exploitation at all levels. Still, their contribution to the economy and society was im­perative. Aspects of life of such people deserve a detailed discussion as this volume amply proves.

Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Autorentext

Nishat Manzar is the Head of Department of History and Culture. She has been teaching History of Medieval India, Medieval Central Asia and Islam since the last twenty-five years.

Inhalt

Introduction 1. Low-paid Servants, Labourers and other Professional Groups 2. Categories of Artisans, Labourers and other Service Providers 3. The Basic Needs: Food, Clothing and Housing 4. Wages: A Basic Requirement for Subsistence 5. Aspects of Social Life 6. Conclusion