Abstract
In the nineteenth century the British repeatedly attempted to improve the quality of Indian cotton. This was a major enterprise involving the importation of thousands of pounds of exotic seeds, the establishment of experimental farms and outreach programs, and the hiring of American overseers to transfer American methods to the subcontinent. The British failed due to their inability to overcome bioclimatic challenges and to replicate the American South’s efficient marketing structures. There is little evidence to support the recent claims that the British sought to import slave management methods or that more coercion was needed for success.
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© 2017 Agricultural History Society
2017
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