Empire Ecology Bengal Delta Making Calcutta Debjani Bhattacharyya 9781108425742

Empire and Ecology in the Bengal Delta: The Making of Calcutta (Studies in Environment and History)Debjani Bhattacharyya\nCambridge University Press\nHardcover\nUnused and unread, minor cosmetic imperfections such as scuffing or minor creasing. Stamped 'damaged' by publisher to a non-text page.\nEAN: 9781108425742\nPublished: 24/05/2018\nLanguage: English\nWhat happens when a distant colonial power tries to tame an unfamiliar terrain in the world's largest tidal delta? This history of dramatic ecological changes in the Bengal Delta from 1760 to 1920 involves land, water and humans, tracing the stories and struggles that link them together. Pushing beyond narratives of environmental decline, Bhattacharyya argues that 'property-thinking', a governing tool critical in making land and water discrete categories of bureaucratic and legal management, was at the heart of colonial urbanization and the technologies behind the draining of Calcutta. The story of ecological change is narrated al.