イギリス東インド会社による本国への送金、一八一四-一八三三年 :「本国費」などの支払いと送金問題
スポンサーリンク
概要
- 論文の詳細を見る
Under the British rule India had a large amount of export surplus. It was undoubtedly the result of considerable deficit in her invisible trade, which was regarded by Indian nationalist as "economic drain" from India. And this deficit was partly attributed to the payment of so-called Home Charges and other charges to England on public account. The purpose of this article is to make clear the amount and method of India's public payment to England under the East India Company's trading activities. After 1814 the Company's accounts of the commercial and territorial branches were separately kept, the latter branch being India's public finance. Therefore it is not impossible to accurately estimate the amount of India's territorial charges paid in England, and to analysis by what means the Company made remittance to England. By investigating all the components of the "Home Charges" and other items paid in England between 1814-1833, it is concluded that India's public payment to England would be amounted to near 3 million pounds a year, about a half of which was consisted of military expenditure and various charges connected with it. Next, what was the Company's method of the territorial remittance to England? It was not made independently of their trading activities. In the Company's Charter of 1813 it was prescribed that the sum equal to payment at home on account of Indian territory should be applied in India to "investment" i.e. export trade to England. In fact, according to our examination of the Company's account between the commercial and territorial branches, the Company generally made remittance to England through their "investment". At this period the Company's export trade from India, however, was not as profitable as one from China, in which Chinese tea was lucrative merchandies for the Company. Consequently the Company made remittance partly by way of China, but in case of the remittance to China from India the Company considerably relied on private traders. The importance of China trade in the Company's remittance to England from India did not decrease during this period. This method of the remittance to England on public account continued till 1833, when a new Charter Act depriving the Company of trading activities was enacted. Thus the Company was compelled to make remittance through private trading activities after this period.
- 社会経済史学会の論文
- 1986-02-15