Economic History of India - Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

During the Mughal period (1526–1858) India experienced peaks and bottoms unprecedeneted in history. The gross domestic product of India in the 16th century was estimated at about 25.1% of the world economy.

An estimate of India's pre-colonial economy puts the annual revenue of Emperor Akbar's treasury in 1600 at £17.5 million (in contrast to the entire treasury of Great Britain two hundred years later in 1800, which totalled £16 million). The gross domestic product of Mughal India in 1600 was estimated at about 24.3% the world economy, the second largest in the world.

By this time the Mughal Empire had expanded to include almost 90 per cent of South Asia, and enforced a uniform customs and tax-administration system. In 1700 the exchequer of the Emperor Aurangzeb reported an annual revenue of more than £100 million.

In the 18th century, Mughals were replaced by the Marathas in much of central India while the other small regional kingdoms who were mostly late Mughal tributaries such as the Nawabs in the north and the Nizams in the south. However, the efficient Mughal tax administration system was left largely intact.

By this time, India had fallen from the top rank to become the second-largest economy in the world, after the Manchu China. A devastating famine broke out in the eastern coast in early 1770s killing 5 per cent of the national population.