FAMINES IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, 1500 to 1767

1752 (a) [to 1755]: southwest Sindh
Documented causes: unspecified
Documented effects: unspecified

Lieut. Col. A.T. Etheridge, "Report on Past Famines in the Bombay Presidency" (1868) [Reports collected by local officials in all districts]

p19 (Thurr & Parker, by Scinde Commissioner Havelock per list of famines from local Political Superintendent): "The third, from 1752 to 1755, in the Omerkote Talooka [= Umerkot]."

1752 (b?): Jaipur area

Documented causes: unspecified: may not be famine-related

Documented effects: deserted villages

Mayank Kumar, "Situating the Environment: Settlement, Irrigation and Agriculture in Pre-colonial Rajasthan" (in "Studies in History" vol. 24, 2008, pp211-233)

p227: "... arzdasht by Ajit Das, Man Ram (Chait Vadi 3, 1809 vs./AD 1752), informs that villages were deserted." [Source: the cited document, in the Historical Section, Jaipur Records, Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner]

1752 scarcity: Calcutta / Kolkata area

Documented causes: unspecified

Documented effects: grain export ban

"Calendar of the Madras Despatches, 1744-1755"

p175 (report from Fort St. George to the Company in London, 3 Nov 1752): "'Rice so scarce in Bengal last January, its exportation was prohibited, and, continuing so in September, none has been imported here, so that for preventing calamitys of inhabitants, orderd no grain to be carryed out of the bounds."

Fort St. George, "Diary and Consultation Book (Public Department), 1752" (1939)

p181 (consultation of 2 Sep 1752): "As the Private Advices from Bengal by the Mamoodie mention a great Scarcity of Grain there, so that none can be expected from thence, to prevent as much as in us lies, the Calamity here, it is Agreed to prohibit the Exportation of Grain from our Settlement on this Coast." p192 (consultation of 16 Oct 1752): [summary of letter about the cargo of the ship Colchester, from the Company's Bengal Council, 18 Sep] "... they have sent on her more Salt Petre than we wrote for, because they could not fill her up with Grain agreeable to our Request, as there is so great a Scarcity that they have prohibited the Exporting it ..."

"Bengal & Madras papers. Vol. II: 1688-1757" (1928)

"Public Proceedings: Fort William 1752" p25: [Letter from Govindram Metre (=Mitra or Mitter), the East India Company's astonishingly wealthy manager of rents and taxes for Calcutta, to the Council of Fort William, 20 Nov 1752, part of his defence against charges of fraud and insider dealing; for example in his bidding for the farm (i.e. lease) of rights to collect certain taxes:] "Your Honour, &c., having called upon me to know the reason why the Company's farms of the revenues sold so much higher this year than usual … the reason of this sudden rise at present appears to me owing in the first and greatest part to the great famine and scarcity of all kinds of necessaries of life that Your Honour, &c., are sensible has been to the greatest degree this season, and what has not been known for these sixty years past, for it arose to so dreadful a degree that many of your inhabitants have perished within the town with hunger, a truth well-known to every one. I humbly presume your Honours, &c., are acquainted that the duties here are levied on the gross sales, and those duties are mostly on the necessaries of life, the consumption of which must be nearly equal, let the price be what it will." [He adds a table of prices per Maund in October 1751 and October 1752, for commodities subject to duty of 6 Pies per Rupee (i.e. just over 3%), e.g.] Rice 1751, 1 Rupee 4 annas; 1752, 2 R 4 a. Grain 1751, 1 R; 1752, 3 R 5 a 6 pies. Wheat 1751, 1 R 4 a; 1752, 4 R 11 a. "By this account Your Honour, &c., will observe the incredible dearness of many sorts of the necessaries of life within the month preceding the sales of the farms, though the buyers might think their prices might not keep up for the whole ensuing year; yet from the present dearness and the bad prospect of the expected crops of grain from the great rains having overflowed the country enough to drown whatever expected crops of grain planted in the low grounds, the purchasers of the farms might with almost a certainty foresee great dearness likely to ensue. …"

(consultation at Fort William, 27 Nov 1752): "The 20th we received a letter from the gentlemen at Cossimbazar dated the 14th instant, acquainting us that their merchant's reasons for being so late in bringing in their piece goods were owing to the long and heavy rains, also the scarcity and dearness of provisions; but now the rains are over they promise to exert themselves in complying with their contracts ..."

1752: Madras, Vizagapatam / Visakhapatnam + Cossimbazar areas

Documented causes: storm & rain

Documented effects: destruction of buildings, boats, grain stocks, trees

Fort St. George, "Diary and Consultation Book (Public Department), 1752" (1939)

p138 (consultation of 27 Jul 1752): [summary of letter from Vizagapatam, dated 29 Jun 1752] ... inclosing Indents for Wares and Stores, also a Plan of that Place & acquainting us with the Measures they have taken and propose to pursue, in resettling the Circumjacent Villages destroyed in a late Storm. p215 (consultation of 3 Nov 1752): The Presidt. acquaints the Board that all the Ships in the Road having been drove out to sea in the violent Gale which happen'd the 31st. Ult. at Night, the reason of his now calling them together is to concert proper Measures on this Calamitous Occasion, ... The Boatmen representing that all their Boats have been totally destroyed in the late storm, except two which are much damaged & at present unfit for service, & that without our assist'ce. they are unable to build more, AGREED that such an advance be made them as may be sufficient to proceed in this necessary Work as we shall be under the greatest difficultys for want of Boats should the Ships return shortly into the Road. The Export Warehousek'r. lays before the Board a Petition of the Washers in number 250 setting forth the distress they're under from the Terrible Effects of the late storm, which hath demolish'd & destroy['d] most of their Habitations & praying to be advanced two Pagodas each man towards enabling [t]hem to rebuild their Houses, without which they are utterly incapable of following their Business, Agreed that the said sum be advanc'd them, as we are very sensible of the Truth & necessity of what they represent. ... p223 (consultation of 13 Nov 1752): The Export Warehousek'r. represents that a Quantity of Rice, & Paddy Rice & laid in at Poonamalee for the service of the Garrison has been much damaged in the late storm, by the falling in of the Godowns, ORD[ERED] that it be sold to the best advantage.

Fort St. George, "Diary and Consultation Book (Public Department), 1753" (1941)

p36 (consultation of 5 Jan 1753): [Detailed report on damage to Company buildings in Fort St. George and Madras town by the 31 Oct storm, including destruction of the town gates, much of the entrance causeway washed away, windows of most major buildings blown out, the west front of the Army Major's lodgings split open, the barracks cooking sheds almost demolished, the fort roof damaged, sheds demolished, flood channels through the Island in the river, curtain walls badly damaged and the ditch below the east curtain filed with sand, etc., giving a repair bill for Company property alone of] Pagodas 23902 p49 (consultation of 12 Feb 1753): Petition of Linga Chittee Farmer of the Honble Companys Paddy Fields & Salt Pans, & Linga Chittee & Gruapah, Farmers of the Companys old Garden read. The first represents the great Detriment sustain'd by the late Storm, & heavy Rains, upwards of a hundred Garce of salt having been wash'd away & a large number of Paddy Plants destroy'd; and the last sets forth that the said Garden has suffer'd the loss of above five hundred Trees, Wherefore they pray some Deduction may be allow'd them in the rents thereof, & the sum of Forty Pagodas given them both in consideration of the Loss of the said Trees, to enable them to replace them with others; the same being debated the Board think the Farmers no ways entitled to any such allowance particularly as by the Conditions of their cowles, they have the enjoyment of those Farms, as well with all advantages, as otherwise, & had they by a plentiful Season been considerable Gainers would hardly have consented to paying any additional Rent to the Company, agreed therefore that their request be not Complied with. p238 (consultation of 20 Aug 1753): It being represented to the Board that the apartments in General for the Company's servants in the inner Fort have been extreamly leaky ever since the storm the 31st. Oct'r. ORDERED that they be repaired before the Monsoon shifts. ... The Island being greatly in want of repair The heavy rains in the monsoons particularly the last having in many Places washed away the Earth so that it is in Danger of being overflowed in the approaching monsoon or at least of receiving very considerable Damage Ordered that such Repairs as are absolutely necessary to preserve it from further Detriment, be set about directly and compleated before the Monsoon sets in But that nothing more than what is essential be done as the charges of repairing it compleatly would amount to a very considerable sum. p268 (consultation of 10 Sep 1753): [response to a letter of complaint from Fort St. David about the failure to supply requested building materials] The Paymaster being called upon for his Reasons, acquaints the Board that no Endeavours have been wanting, that a large Number of Workmen have been constantly kept employed, and that a sufficient Quantity of Bricks would have been provided to go on with the Works, had not the unusual heavy Rains of late washed them away, and spoiled the Kilns.

J. Long, "Selections from unpublished records of government ... Bengal" (vol. 1, 1869)

p61 (Fort William consultation, 24 Nov 1755): [re activities of Mr Warren Hastings, based at Cossimbazar] "He sent a letter on the increased dearness of silk in late years, attributing it to inundations from heavy rain (1752 and 1754) which had destroyed the silk-worms and the mulberry leaves they fed on."