Bazaars and Urbanity of Early Colonial Calcutta, 1760-1830: Power, Profit and Patronage

Calcutta's beginnings and subsequent growth as a city can be attributed to a large extent to the network of bazaars that came into being within its urban space in the late 18th century and early years of the 19th century. The bazaar came to acquire a dynamism that went beyond mere commercial importance. It imbibed identities that at once acted as stimulus for urban growth, and provided their owners with a space which could be turned into a veritable landlordism within the city limits. The social geography of the bazaars, with respect to its owners and the bazaar people, the traders and the vendors, is thus an engaging study that throws light on Calcutta's society of the time as well. The emergence of these bazaars in the period concerned is thus of immense significance and deserves a great deal of attention that they have never received before.