Abstract
The Gunpowder Manufacture at Ichapur near Calcutta in the 1790s engaged in busy years 2,000–2,500 skilled labourers and therefore was one of the world’s largest factories. Besides, the wages and secondary benefits (including a pension scheme for victims of work accidents since 1783) of these migrant workers were comparatively reasonable and—more significantly—the result of several forms of collective action. This remarkable case study raises many questions regarding long-term trends in the labour history and migration history of India, where accepted wisdom stresses the emergence of mobility since the 1840s and poor performance of the industrial workers since the end of the nineteenth century.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
