Embedded Economies: Revisiting Small Enterprises in Southern Bengal in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

This paper explores small enterprises in colonial southern Bengal to understand the market dynamics and socio-cultural history of the region. For this purpose, colonial economic policy and the nature of exploitation are the key elements that critically analyze market structure and decline the traditional industry. This dynamic helps to understand the industrial and commercial scenario in the southern Bengal province. Exploring the history of markets not only reflects the economic and spatial transformations of society but also provides insights into social, cultural, and ecological dynamics. The study explores various societal aspects of markets and enterprises, rigorously examining the relationship between the state and its local inhabitants. It also addresses the ruling authority's strategies and their interaction with labor history. The market was structured and reshaped by the introduction of railways, plantation economies, and European capital investments. British economic policies prioritized the extraction of raw materials over local industrial growth, resulting in an economic imbalance where Bengal became a supplier of raw materials rather than a hub of finished goods production. Cultural history narrates the lived experiences of people, making it a key parameter for revisiting the colonial paradox. This research argues that marketing systems function as integral units of social, cultural, and political organization—where power, influence, and identity are negotiated and reshaped. The gradual transformation of relationships between the colonial state and Indigenous society forms another core focus of this study.