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History of the world economy - Polyak GB

16. Economic development of the countries of the East

16.1. The economy of India at an early stage of feudalism

The role of the caste-caste system

The pace of development of feudalism in different parts of the country was not the same, since the tribes and nationalities that inhabited India in the VI century, were at different levels of economic development and political power in the North and South of the country was unstable.

The dynasties that emerged and the states were weak and short-lived, were in constant internecine struggle. Each of these formations was easily divided into new principalities, fiercely fighting among themselves for power. How could political feudalism develop, exist and develop feudal relations? The paradox was that the political instability of early feudal India did not in any way break the stable type of economic relations. This is primarily the dependence of the economy on the varone-caste system, the specifics of the Indian agricultural community and its place in the economic structure of society, the specific nature of the institution of power-property.

The system of castes, dating back to the ancient Indian varnas, during the early Middle Ages was the basis of the economic structure of India. The word " varna " from ancient times was used in India to contrast each other with different social groups; The word " caste " is of later origin, it is the translation into Portuguese of the word "jati", which denotes closed groups of people united by a commonality of professions or a class status. Originating in ancient times, their hard forms of caste are accepted only during the Middle Ages. It is during this period that strict rules are established, according to which no person could be outside the caste and who did not allow the transition from one caste to another. It should be noted that the caste as a hereditary system contributed to the accumulation of production experience, increased the quality of products produced, but strict regulation of labor hampered any initiative, and gradually the caste became the mainstay of routine in production. Especially it manifested itself in cities that were by their organization, as it were, a variant of the caste system. The role of castes in the cities was greater than in the village, as the urban communities were one-caste (castes of armourers, fruit traders, weavers, etc.).

The whole world was famous for jewelry, weaving Indian craft. Indian cities were traded with many countries of the world. The role of castes in these ties was fundamental, as they solved all issues, including such as rationing and product quality.

Craft and trade

Craftsmen in the cities produced jewelry from gold, silver and precious stones, ivory and precious wood products, leather goods, decorations for horses and elephants, produced the finest silk and cotton fabrics, and manufactured weapons.

The peculiarity of the medieval Indian cities was their agrarian nature, since the craftsmen, in addition to their basic labor, engaged in farming. India's trade relations with other countries have existed since ancient times, but they have become particularly active since the 7th century: horses were imported from Iran and Arab countries, and spices, sugar, art crafts, and cotton fabrics were exported to India.

The role is extensive

It is known that the communal form of the organization of farmers is universal, and therefore for India it was not the fact of the presence of the agricultural community that was characteristic of it, but the place that this community, due to the varone-caste relations, occupied in the economic structure of the country. According to experts, it was a self-regulating organism, practically not in need of contact with the outside world. The internal life of this organism was subject to the principle of janjmani, only recently discovered and studied by specialists. The nature of janjman was reduced to a strictly obligatory mutual exchange, to the strictly and clearly regulated by the centuries order in the interchange of products and services that are necessary for everyone in the closed framework of the community. In accordance with this principle, everyone in the community should not only clearly know their place, duties and rights, but also strictly implement them, which made the community self-governing.

However, this principle did not mean equivalence in exchange. Everyone simply had to give the others what was prescribed by his caste status, receiving in return, in accordance with the caste's quality of life, everything that was necessary for her.
Since the needs of the community members were limited, they rarely needed anything beyond what was envisaged.

The role of the state

In early feudal India, relations between producers and the state were specific. If, for example, in China, it was legally only the right of the state to dispose of the country's resources, then in India such a legal provision did not exist, although in India, as in other countries of the East, there was an institution of power-ownership. This meant that the maharajas and other rulers were subjects of power-ownership that coincided with sovereignty. The material expression of this was rent-tax and various duties from subjects. Hereditary rulers and maharajas were the supreme subjects of centralized redistribution (redistribution), using at their discretion the revenues of the treasury.

What exactly were the economic relations between producers and authorities? First of all, communities paid the state a traditional 1/6 harvest, such was the duty on the income of the urban population. This was enough for the consumption of those in power, for the maintenance of the army and officials, the temples and the priests who served them. Moreover, the authorities had surpluses accumulated in the form of fabulous treasures, which was explained by the specifics of India. This is the weakness of the bureaucratic machine and its cheapness, strict norms of the caste hierarchy, which limit the level of consumption, this is finally a low level of consumption of the bulk of the population: vegetarian food, modesty in clothes and simplicity of home. It should be noted that taxes were paid in the city and in the village by the propertied.

The growth of feudal landholding

"Golden Age" of India, as the Gupt Empire was called, in the VII-XII centuries. Was replaced by a period of fragmentation and at the same time the development of port trade. The feudal landed estates grew. Large landowners in this period were rulers, rajas and Hindu monasteries and temples. Since the VIII century. They often handed over the lands to the rulers together with settlements, whose inhabitants carried in their favor a natural service. But along with ever increasing feudal lords, large landowners at that time, the Indian community was still relatively independent, large in size and autonomous self-government. Each community member owned his field by inheritance, and trade operations with land were controlled by the community administration.

During this period, urban life revives, port cities develop, new cities are emerging next to the castles of landowners, in which artisans who serve the needs of the court and the feudal army are resettled. Between cities, exchanges are intensifying, handicrafts are developing, groups of artisans are formed according to castes. With the development of crafts and trade, taxes are increasing, with which the landowners taxed the townspeople. This was the reason for social instability, more evident in the cities than in the Indian village, which was hampered by caste.