The Great Drought of 1770: Bengal's Forgotten Famine

While the 1943 famine often dominates historical memory, the Great Famine of 1770 was a catastrophe that killed roughly one-third of Bengal’s population. This episode explores how the British East India Company, having just taken over the Diwani rights in 1765, prioritized revenue collection over survival during a catastrophic drought and pestilence. We examine the role of Warren Hastings as Governor-General, the disastrous policy of maintaining tax demands despite crop failure, and the subsequent economic collapse that reshaped the region. Lucas and Luna trace the path from the monsoon failures of 1768 through the starvation years of 1769–1770, highlighting the human cost of colonial extraction. The conversation also touches on the long-term demographic shifts, the rise of indigo cultivation as a cash crop alternative, and the eventual reforms that began to temper the Company’s ruthless fiscal appetite. This is a story of institutional blindness, administrative failure, and the resilience of Bengali society in the face of state-sponsored neglect.

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