Climate, Calamity and the Wild

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Climate, Calamity and the Wild: An Environmental History of the Bengal Delta, c.1737-1947 offers a climatic and environmental history of the deltaic plains of Bengal. Unlike the prevalent model of history-writing, this book tackles historical issues in ecological, biological and cultural terms, turning away from conventional ideological and political approaches. The volume examines how the delta's political economy, production, crop pattern, inland and overseas trade, demographic pattern, culture and economy developed and were transformed by shifts in climate, forests, river systems and hydrology. This involves an exploration of the complex dynamics of the interaction of human societies with the rich history of natural disasters such as super cyclones, severe thunderstorms and floods, resulting in loss of life, property, livestock, human settlements and wildlife as well as major shifts in the history of colonial Bengal.