Buchanan: 1801 Study of Kanara

In his book Sapiens, Harari observes that what gave Europe the edge over other civilizations in colonizing large regions of the world during the colonial era was that its conquest of new territory became ever more tightly intertwined with the conquest of knowledge of colonized lands, and its utilization to further its own interests.

Francis Buchanan’s 1801 study of the territories captured from Tipu’s Saltanat-i-Khudadad in May, 1799, is a remarkable example of this approach. In February 1800, he was commissioned by the Governor General in Calcutta to undertake a thorough study of the new dominions. His three volumes leave us with a very thorough description of various aspects of this territory. Here we will limit ourselves to Mangalore and the surrounding regions.

Buchanan was tasked with compiling detailed data on specific and general matters of interest to the East India Company that would help frame policies on how best to govern and exploit the newly acquired territories under the following categories:

1. Priority was assigned to study the territory’s agriculture under different categories: vegetable varieties, modes of cultivation, implements used, planting and harvest seasons, manures, irrigation methods and models, drawings, description of machinery used, vegetables eaten by poorer sections; cattle breeds, manner of breeding, the species used in agriculture, numbers; horse breeding was to be especially studied; farms- extent, tenures, labour costs, whether payments in cash or kind, and comparison with Bengal with a view to implement improvements in each territory through exchanges.

2. Natural products (cotton, pepper, sandalwood, cardamom) used in arts, manufactures, or medicine, and particularly exports; study their cultivation, preparation, and trade in these valuable commodities to the fullest and most accurate detail, how they could be exploited, production increased, and how problems, if any, could be overcome.

3. Mines, quarries, minerals, and mineral springs: investigate mines and quarries in minute detail to understand their production, working conditions, and labour costs. Minerals and mineral springs were to be examined and analyzed for medicinal use.

4. Manufactures and manufacturers: complete details of manufacturing industry, especially of products exported and details of imports to enable the EIC profit through both import and export. The manufacturing industry was to be examined to understand processes, labour rates, any advantages over other regions, profits, domestic consumption, trading practices and regulations.

5. Climate and seasons: accurate details were to be obtained, especially of “the effects of the air, in its various states of heat and moisture, on the human body,” and the salubrity of the country compared with that of the Company's other principal possessions in India. Details were to be obtained on the extent of forests, kinds of trees and their usefulness for timber or other purposes, and the suitability of the country for other varieties of timber and fruit trees.

6. Inhabitants: to report on the general condition of the inhabitants, their food, clothing, habitations, and the effect of the change in government on their condition; different sects and tribes were to be listed together with details of their laws, customs, markets, weights, measures, currency, commerce, and the manner of maintaining law and order among them.

7. Useful, rare, and curious plants and seeds, along with observations on their nature and culture were to be forwarded to the Company in Calcutta. So too, specimens of natural products, arts and manufactures of curiousity, interest, and public utility.

Buchanan commenced his journey from Madras on April 23, 1800 and returned on July 5, 1801, after travelling through several villages, towns and cities of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and northern Kerala, including Coimbatore, Bangalore, Srirangapatna, and Mangalore. From Kerala, he arrived at South Kanara’s southern border in January, 1801. His minutely-detailed account leaves us a fascinating record of Mangalore and its surroundings two odd centuries ago, a place which provided sanctuary to our ancestors.

References

Buchanan, F. 1807. A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar Vol 1. London: T Cadell and W Davies,

—. 1807. A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar, Vol 2. London: T Cadell and W Davies.

—. 1807. A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar, Vol 3. London: T Cadell and W Davies.