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Tea War


Synopsis


A history of capitalism in nineteenth‑ and twentieth‑century China and India that explores the competition between their tea industries
 
"Tea War is not only a detailed comparative history of the transformation of tea production in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but it also intervenes in larger debates about the nature of capitalism, global modernity, and global history."- Alexander F. Day, Occidental College

Tea remains the world's most popular commercial drink today, and at the turn of the twentieth century, it represented the largest export industry of both China and colonial India. In analyzing the global competition between Chinese and Indian tea, Andrew B. Liu challenges past economic histories premised on the technical "divergence" between the West and the Rest, arguing instead that seemingly traditional technologies and practices were central to modern capital accumulation across Asia. He shows how competitive pressures compelled Chinese merchants to adopt abstract industrial conceptions of time, while colonial planters in India pushed for labor indenture laws to support factory-style tea plantations. Characterizations of China and India as premodern backwaters, he explains, were themselves the historical result of new notions of political economy adopted by Chinese and Indian nationalists, who discovered that these abstract ideas corresponded to concrete social changes in their local surroundings. Together, these stories point toward a more flexible and globally oriented conceptualization of the history of capitalism in China and India.

Summary

Chapter 1: The Tea Planter

* Introduces George Thomas, a young botanist from England who is hired by the British East India Company to establish tea plantations in India.
* Thomas travels to Assam, a remote region of northeastern India, and begins experimenting with different tea plants.
* He faces challenges such as disease, pests, and resistance from local tribes, but eventually succeeds in establishing a successful tea plantation.

Chapter 2: The Tea Merchant

* Follows the story of Benjamin Cohen, a Jewish merchant from London who sees the potential of the Indian tea industry.
* Cohen travels to India and forms a partnership with Thomas, providing him with the necessary financial resources to expand his plantation.
* Cohen also develops a network of traders and distributes Indian tea throughout Europe and America.

Chapter 3: The Tea Crisis

* Describes the "tea panic" of 1834, when the Chinese government abruptly stops exporting tea to Britain.
* This causes a severe shortage and price spike, forcing the British to heavily rely on Indian tea.
* As a result, the Indian tea industry experiences a boom, and many new plantations are established.

Chapter 4: The Tea Wars

* Explores the rivalry between the British East India Company and independent tea planters.
* The company exerts its monopoly on the tea trade, suppressing competition and limiting the profits of independent planters.
* Independent planters form associations and lobby for government support, leading to a series of legal battles and protests.

Chapter 5: The Assam War

* Focuses on the armed conflict between the British and the Singpho tribe of upper Assam.
* The Singpho resist the British expansion into their territory and attack tea plantations.
* The British respond with military force, eventually suppressing the rebellion and securing their control over Assam.

Chapter 6: The Tea Empire

* Traces the growth of the Indian tea industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
* Tea becomes an essential commodity in the British Empire and plays a significant role in the Indian economy.
* However, the industry faces challenges such as labor exploitation, price fluctuations, and the rise of tea plantations in other parts of the world.

Chapter 7: The Tea Legacy

* Discusses the lasting impact of the Indian tea industry on India and the world.
* Indian tea remains a global favorite, and its cultivation has transformed the landscape and economy of many regions.
* The industry has also had a significant social and cultural impact, shaping the lives of countless people involved in its production and consumption.