India's share of world GDP in the 17th century was around 25%.  Why didn't the Industrial Revolution start in India?

17世纪，印度曾占世界GDP的25%。为什么工业革命不是在印度爆发呢？

以下是Quora网友的评价：

James Michael

Really nice question. I don't know really I have not gotten to study that particular area of study in India. But I could give a guess for fun. So you said it's 17 century. So that would be the 1600s and where was America well nowhere yet. So with the surpassing of hundreds of years if America had not become a nation I guess it would have fallen on India to industrialize...

这是个非常好的问题。我不知道，我还没有研究过印度这个领域。但我可以猜一猜。你说17世纪是吧，那就是1600年代，当时还没有美国这个国家呢。所以几百年过去后，如果美国没有成为一个国家，我想印度会带头进行工业化…

Kuber

On one hand the Indian rulers didn’t care about it.

Our colonizers wanted india to be raw material exporter rather than an industrial country.

Hence we were never part of the industrial revolution.

一方面，印度统治者并不关心工业化。

另一方面，我们的殖民者希望把印度作为原材料出口国，而非工业国家。

所以我们从未参与工业革命。

Fizza Fatima

While India had a significant share of world GDP in the 17th century, several factors contributed to the Industrial Revolution not starting there. Geopolitical changes, technological advancements in other regions, colonial rule, and economic dynamics played roles in sha the course of history.

虽然17世纪时，印度在世界GDP中具有举足轻重的地位，但几个因素导致工业革命没能从印度发起。地缘政治变化、其他地区的技术进步、殖民统治和经济局势在塑造历史进程中都发挥了作用。

Ujjal Ghosh

There are a number of reasons why the Industrial Revolution did not start in India. Some of the most important reasons include:

工业革命没能在印度发起，原因有很多。一些最重要的原因包括：

Lack of capital. The Industrial Revolution required a large amount of capital to invest in new technologies and infrastructure. India did not have the same level of capital accumulation as Europe, which made it difficult to finance the Industrial Revolution.

Lack of technological innovation. India did not have the same level of technological innovation as Europe. This was due to a number of factors, including the lack of a strong scientific tradition, the caste system, and the British colonial government's policies.

缺乏资金。工业革命需要大量资本投资于新技术和基础设施。印度没有欧洲的资本积累水平，难以为工业革命提供资金。

缺乏技术创新。印度的技术创新水平不如欧洲。这是由许多因素造成的，包括缺乏强大的科学传统、种姓制度和英国殖民政府的政策。

Lack of political stability. India was a politically fragmented country in the 17th century. This made it difficult to implement the kind of economic reforms that were necessary for the Industrial Revolution.

Lack of demand for manufactured goods. The Indian economy was largely based on agriculture in the 17th century. There was not a large demand for manufactured goods, which made it difficult to justify the investment in new factories.

缺乏政治稳定。17世纪的印度是一个政治上十分分裂的国家。实施工业革命所必需的经济改革很难进行。

对工业制品的需求不足。17世纪的印度经济主要以农业为基础，对制成品的需求不大，因此投资新工厂看似没有意义。

In addition to these factors, the British colonial government also played a role in preventing the Industrial Revolution from taking hold in India. The British government imposed high taxes on Indian industries, which made it difficult for them to compete with European industries. The British government also discriminated against Indian businesses, which made it difficult for them to get loans and other forms of financial support.

除了这些因素之外，英国殖民政府在阻碍工业革命扎根印度方面也起了一些作用。英国政府对印度工业课以重税，印度工业难以与欧洲工业竞争。英国政府还歧视印度企业，使他们难以获得贷款和其他形式的金融支持。

As a result of these factors, the Industrial Revolution did not start in India. Instead, it started in Europe, and then spread to other parts of the world. However, India is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and it is possible that it will eventually experience its own Industrial Revolution.

由于这些因素，工业革命没能在印度开始，而是从欧洲发起，然后传播到世界其他地区。但印度现在是世界上增长最快的经济体之一，有可能经历自己的工业革命。

Peter Top

There is a much simpler explanation to answer. India did not need a revolution as it had people power and a highly stratified society that worked against social mobility and the ability to acquire capital.

In the 17Cent the height of Indian GDP power the income was derived from trade with the British and French through two companies a French Govt company and a British joint stock charter company.

有一个更简单的解释。当时印度并不需要革命，因为它有人力资源和高度分层的社会，这不利于社会流动性和获得资本的能力。

在17世纪印度GDP最强大的时候，收入来自与英国和法国的贸易，通过两家公司，一家法国政府公司和一家英国股份租赁公司。

Huge wealth was accumulated in India but the British East India Company and other British traders took Indian cotton and fabric products to the world at much higher mark ups, they got even more wealthy, so cheap was British supplied fabric (from India) to Mexco that it caused the collapse of the domestic Mexcan industry, just like charity clothes collections auctioned off in West Africa and Kenya have in the 2000s, supplied cheap clothes but destroyed the African Garment and fabric industries.

印度积累了巨大的财富，但英国东印度公司和其他英国贸易商以极高的价格将印度棉花和织物产品卖到了世界各地，他们变得更加富有，英国向墨西哥供应的织物十分便宜，导致墨西哥国内工业的崩溃，这就像21世纪初在西非和肯尼亚拍卖的慈善服装收藏一样，虽然提供了廉价的服装，但摧毁了非洲的服装和织物行业。

The capital amassed was invested in new ventures across a broader stratum of activity and people.

Trade, the Mughals were a land based people and did not go in for or prioritise trade by sea and ship building. All international Indian ship was coastal and did not go as far as it had before the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese with their cannons and fast ships taxed all Indian Ocean ships and every Capitan had to have paid vessel passport.

这些累积的资本投入到新的企业中，触及了更广泛的活动阶层和人群。

在贸易方面，莫卧儿人是一个以陆地为基础的民族，他们对海上贸易和造船没有兴趣、并不重视。所有的印度国际航运都只在沿海范围内进行，不像葡萄牙人那样远赴重洋抵达印度洋。葡萄牙人用大炮和快船向所有印度洋上的船只征税，每位船长都必须支付船只通行费用，因此印度海贸易崩溃了。

Political instability in India occured when a new Muslim Mugal leader reintroduced Jhizera a tax on non Muslims. This was very very unpopular and upset the multi religious balance in India ( bit like Modi and the BJP in 2023) Hindu and Zastorost bankers paid a foreigner Clive of India and the British East India company to over throw him, which they did.

当新的莫卧儿领导人重新征收非MSL税时，印度的政局开始动荡，打破了印度的多宗教平衡(有点像莫迪和印度人民党在2023年的情况)。印度人和Zastorost的银行家资助克莱夫和英国东印度公司推番莫卧儿的新领导，他们成功了。

How ever within a few decades the Brits began moving the fabric industry to NW England, Northern Ireland and the Clyde. With less people they increased production to meet demand with machinery and innovation. They also taxed and restricted Indian businesses bit by bit from being competitive with British companies based in UK. So they de industrialised semi industrial India.

在接下来的几十年内，英国人开始将纺织业转移到英格兰西北部、北爱尔兰和克莱德河。他们减少了工人数量，增加了产量，满足机械和创新的需求。他们还一点一点地加大对印度企业的征税，限制印度企业与总部设在英国的英国公司竞争，把印度变成了半工业化国家。

Ambika Vijay

Scientific inquiry began to stagnate in medieval India.

This was pointed out as early as -11th century by Al-biruni:

He pointed out several factors, one of them being - the Islamic invasions which proved to be a set back to the Indian sciences.

在中世纪的印度，科学研究开始停滞不前。

早在11世纪阿尔伯鲁尼就指出了这一点：

他指出了几个因素，其中之一就是YSL教的入侵导致了印度科学的倒退。

In addition, he pointed out the haughtiness of Indians in general and their insular nature.

He pointed out how Indians took great care to withheld knowledge from other castes.

He also pointed out Indians thought that any knowledge of science was exclusive to them and failed to acknowledge the development of science elsewhere.

此外，他还指出了印度人普遍的傲慢和狭隘的本性。

他指出，印度人小心提防，不让其他种姓接触知识。

他还指出，印度人认为科学知识都是印度独有的，没有认识到其他地区的科学发展。

He also pointed out that Indian science was mixed with dogma.

他还指出，印度科学混杂着宗教教义。

Stagnation of scientific inquiry isn’t exclusive to India, Alberuni was from the time - when the Islamic golden age was in peak. But, what happened after the Islamic golden age ended ? Dogma ruled the roost in Islamic world as well.

科学研究的停滞并不是印度所独有的，那个时候YSL教的黄金时代处于顶峰。但是，YSL的黄金时代结束后发生了什么？在YSL世界，教义也统治着一切。

Why was scientific inquiry important?

Scientific inquiry led to inventions and discoveries and helped revolutionize various fields.

Take the invention of Printing press for example, it revolutionized the field of education.

Emperor Akbar, who was actually a great patron of art and literature, refused to accept a printing press brought by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

Printing press was one major invention which proved to be a game changer for Europe. It aided scientific inquiry.

为什么科学探究如此重要？

科学探索带来了发明和发现，推动了各个领域的革命。

以印刷机的发明为例，它彻底改变了教育领域。

阿克巴皇帝实际上是艺术和文学的伟大资助人，他拒绝接受葡萄牙人在16世纪带来的印刷机。

印刷机是一项重大发明，它改变了欧洲的游戏规则，有助于科学探究。

Johann Gutenberg's invention of movable-type printing quickened the spread of knowledge, discoveries, and literacy in Renaissance Europe.

Price of books fell after printing press came into use.

Before the printing press, books belonged primarily to the upper classes. But with books cheaper and more readily available, the middle classes could access them as well. This led to an increase in the literacy and education of the public.

It is said that, rejection of printing press alone kept the Indian subcontinent backwards by at least two hundred years.

约翰·古腾堡发明的活字印刷术加速了欧洲文艺复兴时期知识、发现和读写能力的传播。

印刷机投入使用后，书本价格下降了。

在印刷机出现之前，书籍基本只属于上层阶级。但随着书籍降价、平易近人，中产阶级也能接触到它们，这导致了公众识字率和受教育程度的提高。

据说，单拒绝印刷术一项，就使印度次大陆倒退了至少200年。

This is just one example.

By the time the colonials arrived on the shores and started ruling large swathes of Indian subcontinent, they noticed that the education system severely lacked scientific inquiry and still lacked the scientific perfection- which Alberuni pointed out way back in the 11th century.

The traditional Indian schools were teaching outdated scientific models. Which hardly helped anyone innovate. Which is why when the western education was introduced, the upper castes didn’t think twice before switching to the new education system.

这只是一个例子。

当殖民者到达印度海岸并开始统治印度次大陆的大片地区时，他们注意到教育系统严重缺乏科学探索，科学并不完善—阿尔伯鲁尼早在11世纪就指出了这一点。

传统的印度学校教授的是过时的科学模型，这对创新毫无助益。这就是为什么引入西方教育时，上层种姓没有三思就接纳了新的教育体系。

Macaulay pointed out how a ‘learned scholar’ in Indian subcontinent meant a scholar of religion rather than sciences

The British were initially reluctant to introduce western education. They feared hurting native sentiments. And they didn’t aim to educate the masses as - it was none of their concern. They introduced the downward filtration theory, which proved to be a failure, as knowledge didn’t trickle to the lowest layers of the society.

Even the oriental colleges they started taught outdated scientific models. And a majority of the so called scholars were either scholars of Sanskrit or Arabic literature.

麦考利指出，在印度次大陆，“博学的学者”指的是宗教学者，而非科学学者。

英国人最初不太愿意引进西方教育。他们害怕伤害当地人的感情。他们的目的不是教育大众，因为这与他们无关。他们提出了向下过滤的理论，但这个理论被证明是失败的，因为知识并没有渗透到社会的最底层。

就连他们开办的东方学院也依然教授过时的科学模型。大多数所谓的学者要么是梵文学者，要么是阿拉伯文学学者。

The British occupation also destroyed the native industries, which were not modernized yet. Technological superiority gave them the upper hand.

While Britain was able to manufacture cheap textiles in larger quantities using power looms, Indian textile industry was largely - based on handlooms.

The hand loom industry of Indian subcontinent was no match for this :

英国的殖民统治也摧毁了印度尚未现代化的工业，技术优势使他们占了上风。

当英国开始用动力织布机大量生产廉价纺织品时，印度纺织工业主要还是以手工织布机为主。

印度次大陆的手工织布机工业无法与英国的动力织布机匹敌。

Lack of scientific inquiry led to lack of modernization of industries in Indian subcontinent, to top it off, rulers didn’t adopt new technologies, this gave an upper hand to foreign colonizers who were able to control trade, especially industries like textile industry, this directly resulted in - impoverishment of an average Indian.

缺乏科学探索的精神导致印度次大陆工业无法开始现代化进程，最重要的是，统治者没有采用新技术，这给了外国殖民者一个优势，让他们能够控制贸易，特别是像纺织工业这样的行业，这直接导致了普通印度人的贫困。