Indian Trade Research Articles

Facts and Fiction: The Myth of Suvaṇṇabhūmi Through the Thai and Burmese Looking Glass

AbstractMost scholars think that the generic name ‘Golden Land’ (Sanskrit, Suvarṇabhūmi; Pali, Suvaṇṇabhūmi) was first used by Indian traders as a vague designation for an extensive region beyond the subcontinent, presumably in Southeast Asia. Some Pali sources specifically link Suvaṇṇabhūmi with the introduction of Buddhism to the region. The locus classicus is the Sri Lankan Mahāvaṃsa chronicle (fifth century AD) which states that two monks, Soṇa and Uttara, were sent there for missionary activities in the time of King Asoka (third century BC). However, no Southeast Asian textual or epigraphic sources refer to this legend or to the Pali term Suvaṇṇabhūmi before the second millennium AD. Conversely, one may ask, what hard archaeological evidence is there for the advent of Buddhism in mainland Southeast Asia? This article re-examines the appropriation of the name Suvaṇṇabhūmi in Thailand and Burma for political and nationalist purposes and deconstructs the connotation of the term and what it has meant to whom, where, and when. It also carefully confronts the Buddhist literary evidence and earliest epigraphic and archaeological data, distinguishing material discoveries from legendary accounts, with special reference to the ancient Mon countries of Rāmaññadesa (lower Burma) and Dvāravatī(central Thailand).

Presidential Address: Eighteenth-Century Indian Trading Villages in the Wabash River Valley

AbstractIn the eighteenth-century western Great Lakes, the French and British established forts to guard a highly profitable fur trade. Places like Fort Michilimackinac became synonymous with the fur trade. In warmer regions an equally profitable Indian-controlled fur trade also took place. This article examines the Wabash River valley trade and shows how two Indian villages, Kethtippecanuck and Miamitown, dominated the exchange process. Economics and sociability were intertwined in this flourishing region. Trade took place between friends and relatives, defined by the reciprocity embedded in the kin networks of Indian women. Indian women processed the furs, which allowed them to exert pressure on the exchange process, transforming the fur trade into the cloth trade. Women’s access to trade goods enhanced their authority, and their access to cloth led to a flowering of Indian clothing styles, situating them at the heart of a highly prosperous fur trade.

A Home on the Range and the (Near) Extinction of the American Bison

Fredreric Jackson Turner’s seminal essay on the significance of frontier in American culture interestingly posits the development of railways as extension of the buffalo trail. The presentation of his ideas in 1893 not only followed the announcement of the closing of the frontier by the superintendent of the U.S. Census (1890), but was also the time of the near-extinction of bison whose number declined from about 600,000,000 at the end of the 18th century to 300 in 1900. In the paper I will try to tone the Indian traders’ transformation of the buffalo trail into a railway with the replacement of buffalo herds by cow droves as well as the popularity the song “Home on the Range” which in a way mythologized the domestic coexistence of people with the roaming buffalo. Drawing from Thoreau’s hypothesis that cows are buffalos within and capable of reasserting their “native rights,” I will look at some examples of the return of the buffalo in the 20th and 21st centuries as, however simulated, attempts at a return to homes on the range, and at living on the frontier, even if the frontier has been relocated to the vicinity of the Fermilab bosons where a small buffalo herd is maintained.

(Business activity in Aden in the Tahiri era (858 - 923 AH / 1451 - 1517 AD: النشاط التجاري في عدن في العهد الطاهري ( 858 – 923 هـ / 1451 – 1517 م )

The research aims at investigating the important role of Tahirian Sultans in the commercial activity in Aden during the Tahirian era. The commercial activity in Aden port was with Indian trade, the Red Sea, Hijaz, and Egypt. They could subjugate the two dangerous oppositions at that time, troops and tribes, because of their political and commercial experience. Then they practiced trade and benefited from their profits for a period of more than sixty years (1451 -1517 AD), or (858-923 AH). To achieve the objectives of this study, the researcher adopted the experimental and historical approaches to get the scientific materials related to this subject. The researcher concluded to the following findings: - The Tahirian Sultans tried hard to subjugate the troops and tribes due to their political and commercial experiences. They maintained the commercial activity of Aden port for their flexibility in dealing with the Mamluk Sultans in Egypt, their rivals who later attacked Aden and eliminated the Tahirians and ruled the whole country, Yemen.

Bitcoin an Asset Class Market Risk Assessment for Indian Investors

We address the issue of the financial risk that Bitcoin poses for the Indian investors and traders by comparing various risk measures, risk adjusted performance measures and the volatility behaviour for Bitcoin with those for INR/USD exchange rate, gold futures, Indian equity index (Nifty 50) and Indian bond index. We find Bitcoin to be a unique asset class with the safe haven property similar to that of gold, potentially offering diversification benefits but possessing high financial risk. In our two year sample, the standard deviation, Value at Risk (VaR) and expected shortfall (ES) for Bitcoin were - 5.5 times higher than those for the equity index but the corresponding mean returns were - 8 times higher too. Though the static ex-post risk performance measures such as Sharpe ratio, Sortino ratio, VaR ratio and the expected shortfall ratio could be superior for Bitcoin in a specified period, the usage of these measures in the investment decision making may prove to be erroneous. As the volatility analysis using sGARCH(1,1) – M and GJR-GARCH(1,1) - M indicates, the conditional standard deviation and VaR for Bitcoin could be higher in the first quarter of 2018.

Fempreneurs or organic tea farmers? Entrepreneurialism, resilience and alternative agriculture in Darjeeling, India

AbstractIn this article I underscore how women organic tea farmers build economic resilience through dual enactments as "organic farmers" and as "entrepreneurs." In substantiating both, women question the limited optics through which Fair Trade type sustainability ventures measure their work for a tea cooperative, as well poorly recognizing their entrepreneurial work in their households and community. Women are deeply aware of the politics of Fair Trade where their productive and reproductive labor is appropriated through the labor of organics, where women not only produce the organic green leaf tea but also produce narratives of Fair Trade's success in its certification and gender audits. Thus, to understand what sustains the new wave of "sustainable agriculture" in the global South, we must explore the intersections of organic farming practices with emerging discourses and practices of gendered entrepreneurialism in organic farming communities. In Darjeeling, India, women provide the labor necessary to sustain organics that should ideally come from the Indian state or international trading partners. They fill the gap through their labor, time, creativity and risk-taking. I contend that the success of organic farming depends on critical maneuvers that entail economic and cultural entrepreneurialism, and demonstrate forms of resilience expressed through which women farmers identify and navigate the inadequacies of alternative agriculture and related Fair Trade practices.Keywords: Women organic tea farmers, women entrepreneurs, Fair Trade, rural Darjeeling, risk-taking, resilience

Engines of Diplomacy: Indian Trading Factories and the Negotiation of American Empire by David Andrew Nichols

Reviewed by: Engines of Diplomacy: Indian Trading Factories and the Negotiation of American Empire by David Andrew Nichols Robert M. Owens (bio) Engines of Diplomacy: Indian Trading Factories and the Negotiation of American Empire. By David Andrew Nichols. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016. Pp. xv, 254. $32.95 paper) For more than a century, historians assessing the federal government's system of Indian trading posts, or factories, seemed to take their lead from Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. Benton, representing powerful private trading interests, had railed against the government factories. Their goods were shoddy, he insisted, and their impact on Indian policy and diplomacy negligible. Yet, David Nichols revisits the obvious, but important question: if the factory system was so comically inept and ineffectual, how did it survive for three decades until finally eliminated by Congress in 1822? Nichols concludes that the end of the factory system had far more to do with politics than with performance. While George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had a great many policy disagreements, both the federalist Washington and the father of American republicanism agreed that Indian factories could prove highly beneficial to the young nation. In particular, they served as a cost-effective means to shape Indian-white relations and squeeze out the (presumably) pernicious influences of British or Spanish agents. These factories served as "engines of diplomacy," according to Nichols. Native American views regarding trade as an act of reciprocity with sociopolitical implications actually dovetailed nicely with U.S. leaders' hopes of peace and prosperity through commerce. While the United States had spent an unsustainable level of blood and treasure in the Ohio Valley in the early 1790s, "over $2.5 million and 1,200 casualties," trade proved far more cost effective and peaceful in promoting American interests (p. 4). Although penny-pinching Jeffersonians slashed away at many Federalist programs, they actually expanded the Indian factories "into a national system" (p. 44). This system provided for imperial conquest without violence, even in bloody times. The American government saw numerous advantages, both commercial and imperial, to the trading houses. Native leaders used [End Page 101] them to their own benefit as well. They expected, even demanded, hospitality from factories and would run up considerable debts (which they might or might not repay) to redistribute goods to their people. They were also quite direct in suggesting/insisting upon the location of factories. White authorities saw an opportunity to establish a trade monopoly and to push the "civilization" agenda, but Native Americans welcomed the access to consumer goods for their own designs. The Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 dealt a mighty blow to the fur trade, and two events in 1819 ultimately proved fatal to the factory system. First, a massive economic depression almost wiped out American bankers, encouraging serious government retrenchment across the board, including half the budget for the Navy and the Indian Department. Second, Congress passed the Civilization Act of 1819, which allocated federal monies to promote missionaries and the formal education of Native children. The idea had come from Indian trade superintendent Thomas McKenney, but the wording of the law cut his factories off from its funding and implementation. Though McKenney protested mightily, the Indian factories were increasingly viewed as irrelevant, thanks largely to the economy and the lobbying of powerful private trading companies. Combined with the War of 1812's demonstration that Indians east of the Mississippi could "no longer credibly maintain independence from American rule," the factory system seemed passé (p. 168). With respect to economic historians, Engines of Diplomacy is much more interesting than a book about retailing and wholesaling has any right to be. This is due to Nichols's lively prose and deft integration of economic, political, military, and Native histories into a smart, compelling story—something he makes look far easier than it undoubtedly was. This book makes an important contribution to scholarship, but it would work well in upper-division and graduate classrooms as well. [End Page 102] Robert M. Owens ROBERT M. OWENS teaches history at Wichita State University. He is the author of Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy...

Review of the monograph’ Konovalova Yu.A. “Russia-India: cooperation in the XXI century”

Review is dedicated to the actual Monograph “Russia-India: cooperation in the XXI century”, that concerned the questions of the modern cooperation between Russian Federation and India Republic. It needs to underline the importance of such investigation due to the fact that it has the practical and theoretical significance not only for the educational process but for the process of implementation and development of Russian and Indian trade and economic cooperation. The Monograph covers key theoretical approaches to the developing countries, founded for the purpose to explain and understand backwardness of such countries. Some strategies were developed as the attempts to overcome such low level of development. The author proved that during the process of transition “from import replacement to export orientation” the government of India realized “unconventional” transfer of development from agriculture sector to service sector with the basis of the government power and industrialization. The author determined that the growing of India’s share in the international trade was based on development of fixed points that were revealed at the process of transition “from import replacement to export orientation”. The character of USSR-India cooperation was determined as an effective with the dominating of Indiadirectional vector. The author considered the key directions of Russia-India trade and economic cooperation at present time, and proposed some recommendations for the purpose of its development and improvement.

Engines of Diplomacy: Indian Trading Factories and the Negotiation of American Empire by David Andrew Nichols

Engines of Diplomacy: Indian Trading Factories and the Negotiation of American Empire by David Andrew Nichols

Depredation and Deceit: The Making of the Jicarilla and Ute Wars in New Mexico by Gregory F. Michno

Reviewed by: Depredation and Deceit: The Making of the Jicarilla and Ute Wars in New Mexico by Gregory F. Michno William S. Kiser Depredation and Deceit: The Making of the Jicarilla and Ute Wars in New Mexico. By Gregory F. Michno. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2017. Pp. 336. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) Gregory Michno's account of the antebellum Indian Wars in New Mexico Territory offers a new interpretation of that conflict. He suggests that much of the trouble stemmed from false or exaggerated reports of raids, pursuant to the Indian Trade and Intercourse Acts and the government reimbursement program prescribed in those laws. Focusing specifically on Utes and Jicarilla Apaches, he contends that violence was "caused, in major part, by American and Mexican greed and . . . bolstered by a depredation claims indemnification system that almost guaranteed war" (3). The author focuses on the period from 1849–1855 and provides one of the most detailed accounts yet written about Indian warfare in northern New Mexico during that time. He begins with Kearny's conquest in 1846 and the White Massacre of 1849 along with brief ethnohistorical overviews of tribes. The narrative then traces the origins of conflict with the Jicarillas and features such prominent figures as John C. Frémont and Lucien B. Maxwell. In chapter 3 the reader finds information on an array of topics, including territorial politics, military operations, and even sheep herding. Colonel Edwin Sumner, a notorious figure in antebellum New Mexico, enters the story in chapter four. Unlike most historians who have treated this subject, Michno presents Sumner as a protagonist, while Governor James Calhoun emerges as his antagonistic counterpart. Under Sumner's watch, U.S. troops spent as much time trying "to curb militarist civilians" who worked to "impede a peacekeeping army" as they did campaigning against Indians (136). The final two chapters cover the proliferation of warfare between New Mexicans and their Jicarilla and Ute adversaries, beginning in 1854 and lasting for more than a year thereafter. Events such as the Battle of Cieneguilla and the concomitant army campaigns of total warfare take center stage. The author argues that "depredations on the American frontier were more hype than genuine" (137), that Indians "were more sinned against than sinners" (141), and New Mexico's Indian wars were largely "the end result of all those false depredation claims [and] false reports of robberies and murders" (199). Michno is correct that Hispanos and Anglos in the Southwest sometimes exaggerated their reports of thefts and raids, and indeed the government's depredation indemnity process unwittingly invited fraud among unscrupulous citizens. Based on the evidence in this book, it is well for historians to reconsider the multifarious causes of these frontier conflicts to arrive at a more balanced assessment, and he makes a convincing argument that Nuevomexicanos embellished the frequency and barbarity of Indian raids to serve their own economic interests. In his [End Page 451] attempt to write revisionist history, however, Michno sometimes oversteps the bounds of objective empirical analysis. The reader often encounters subjective interpretations that present a sweeping assumption of Indian innocence and settler guilt, distorting the shared responsibility for New Mexico's violent conflicts between Natives and newcomers. The level of detail in this book and the original research of depredation claims represent its most significant contributions to the existing literature, and the accessible writing style is another attribute. Those with an interest in nineteenth-century American military history and the antebellum Southwest Borderlands will find this book particularly appealing. William S. Kiser Texas A&M University-San Antonio Copyright © 2018 The Texas State Historical Association

Affective Counter Networks: Healing, Trade, and Indian Strategies of In/dependence in Early 'White Melbourne'

This article maps the in-situ affective strategies employed by Indian leaders to counter the 1901 Immigration Restriction Act, the legal cornerstone of the White Australia Policy. It explores how a masseur, Teepoo Hall, and a merchant, Khooda Bux, mobilised Indian trade networks at a time when British imperial networks were in complex tension with growing settler Australian and Indian projects of national independence. It does so by paying attention to the urban position of shop counters and massage benches: objects that brought strangers and acquaintances into relations economic and intimate, from where affect was produced and circulated. New imperial histories have privileged a wide-lens transnational frame. I argue that a determined focus on counters and benches—sites of bodily density that I term "clustering objects"—affords a closer view of the processes of networking and their spatial-affective dynamics. In fin-de-siècle Melbourne, counters were privileged sites where Indians and White settlers forged bonds that linked individuals to larger, transoceanic and anti-imperial networks.

Impact of Religion-Based Caste System on the Dynamics of Indian Trade Unions: Evidence From Two State-Owned Organizations in North India

Religion and its envisaged structures have both macro- and micro-level implications for business. Of the many stratification schemas prevalent in India, two macro-social stratification schemas are important at the workplace: caste, which has been an age-old, religion-mandated, closed social stratification prevalent in Hinduism that had led to inequality in the society, and trade union, which is a relatively new and optional open workplace stratification that empowers workers and fosters equality. This study tries to decipher whether these two structures influence each other; if yes how and why do they influence each other (the tensions and contradictions that may happen between them), and whether the influence is uniform for all members. We conducted in-depth interviews with 43 trade union members, three trade union leaders of two state-owned organizations in North India. Initially, we found that caste does not have any superficial effect on the relationship between union members. However, a deeper analysis reveals that roots of this social reality reflect in the social and workplace exchanges between union members, and affect their social identity and loyalty. In the discussion we present a model of twin loyalties between union and caste. From the institutional logic perspective, we also delineate the caste and trade union perspective, and show how there is a change in trade union identity because of the influence of caste-based logic. Our findings have implications for industrial democracy, worker representation, and union effectiveness.

Is social partnership the way forward for Indian trade unions? Evidence from public services

AbstractSince the start of economic reforms in 1991, India's trade unions have found themselves increasingly excluded from the political process and marginalized in collective bargaining. Using survey and interview data from the Maharashtra affiliates of two national union federations, this article examines whether social partnership with employers is a viable option for Indian unions to regain influence and protect workers' interests, as some analysts have advocated. Its findings indicate that despite Maharashtra's supportive regulatory framework, which in theory should facilitate cooperative industrial relations, the realities of workplace employment relations – coupled with state indifference and adverse judicial interventions – weaken labour's prospects for meaningful social partnership.

The Un-making of the Group Areas Act: Local Resistance and Commercial Power in the Small Town of Mokopane

In his seminal work on the rise of Afrikaner nationalism, Dan O‘Meara considers the curtailment of Indian traders to be a key component of the Afrikaner nationalist movement during the 1940s; a sentiment that was channelled through the bureaucratic machinery of the Group Areas Board (GAB) under apartheid. But this depiction of Indian traders as a vulnerable group at the whim of Afrikaner nationalist political ambitions ignores the numerous instances of resistance to the dictates of the GAB. Despite their political vulnerability throughout the twentieth century, Indian traders in the Transvaal amassed an economic power that allowed them some leeway against its monolithic power. This was particularly the case in the latter years of apartheid when the National Party (NP) grew attuned to commercial interests and relaxed its attitude towards racial segregation. This article considers the enduring and precarious hold of Indian traders in the central business district of the small town of Mokopane, formerly Potgietersrus, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town presents one instance where the realities of the local economy pushed back against the dictates of the GAB in the latter years of apartheid and succeeded.

Reply to Dr. Clarkson

Dr. Gavin Clarkson has recently released a draft paper titled: American Indians versus the Billion-Dollar Tax Weevil: The Pernicious Dual-Taxation of Tribal Economies after Cotton Petroleum. The paper is apparently in response to a December 9, 2016 Federal Register notice by DOI which says they are considering changes to 25 CFR 140 (Licensed Indian Traders) and they are requesting input on whether to proceed and if so how. They offer seven specific questions that they are requesting input to in order to determine their next step. In addition, DOI announced seven listening sessions throughout the country to receive input on their request. The listening sessions were conducted in February and March of this year but the result of those sessions has not been made public. In view of Dr. Clarkson’s recent appointment to a high-level position at the Department of Interior, I felt it necessary to address his approach to Indian trade which will further isolate Indian tribes and exacerbate an already broken system.

A New Look at the Efficiency & Volatility of Indian Agricultural Commodity Futures Markets

Indian agricultural commodity futures market is in the nascent stage. Since lifting of ban on futures trading in the beginning of this millennium, it is still facing serious threat from learned and the lay. Like any other futures market, Indian agricultural commodity futures markets are also expected to perform the role of price discovery and risk management. After having outlined the present status of Indian agricultural commodities market, a comprehensive study on the interrelationship between the spot and futures prices of 15 agricultural commodities is carried out to understand the dynamics of the co-integration, price causality and volatility factors which determine the efficiency of those markets for the period which stand different by various economical and market conditions, for arriving at relative conclusions. The Johansen’s co-integration test on the spot and futures data of the 15 agricultural commodities has shown that the spot and futures market were co-integrated). This proved that the market was efficient and the agriculture commodity futures exchanges provided efficient hedge against price risk emerging in respective commodities. The co-integration between spot price and future spot prices is the indication of efficiency and developed nature of the market. The Granger Causality Test results on the direction of flow of information between the spot and futures market shows that in majority (9 out of 15) of the commodities there were bi-directional flow of information. This shows that due to information flow from both sides, spot to future markets and future market to spot market, both were equally responsible for the price discovery process. The unidirectional causal relationship exhibited in six (6) commodities showed that futures market is leading the spot market. Whereas in terms of volatility, the GARCH test results show that there is volatility clustering and persistence throughout the study period. Even the Granger causality test on volatility revealed that the causation of volatility was bi-directional in 10 commodities. To be specific, we show that Indian agricultural commodities markets are highly efficient during the study period, including the period of price spikes and price distortions. The results of this study, stated above, shows that Indian agricultural commodity futures trading is highly efficient and playing the role it is supposed to play pretty good. The conclusions would certainly serve the concerned policy makers in decision making. Let us expect that the scenario of suspension and ban on futures trading in agricultural commodities is not repeated again, in the interest of Indian farmers. In-spite-of the above positive indications of the efficiency of Indian agriculture commodity market, it has witnessed massive and prolonged price escalations since 2007. The price spikes may be attributed to other fundamental factors not related to the scope of a futures exchange and call for further research.

The Relative Efficiency and Volatility of Indian Agricultural Commodity Futures Markets

Indian agricultural commodity futures market is in the nascent stage. Since lifting of ban on futures trading in the beginning of this millennium, it is still facing serious threat from learned and the lay. Like any other futures market, Indian agricultural commodity futures markets are also expected to perform the role of price discovery and risk management. After having outlined the present status of Indian agricultural commodities market, a comprehensive study on the interrelationship between the spot and futures prices of 15 agricultural commodities is carried out to understand the dynamics of the co-integration, price causality and volatility factors which determine the efficiency of those markets for the period which stand different by various economical and market conditions, for arriving at relative conclusions. The Johansen’s co-integration test on the spot and futures data of the 15 agricultural commodities has shown that the spot and futures market were co-integrated). This proved that the market was efficient and the agriculture commodity futures exchanges provided efficient hedge against price risk emerging in respective commodities. The co-integration between spot price and future spot prices is the indication of efficiency and developed nature of the market. The Granger Causality Test results on the direction of flow of information between the spot and futures market shows that in majority (9 out of 15) of the commodities there were bi-directional flow of information. This shows that due to information flow from both sides, spot to future markets and future market to spot market, both were equally responsible for the price discovery process. The unidirectional causal relationship exhibited in six (6) commodities showed that futures market is leading the spot market. Whereas in terms of volatility, the GARCH test results show that there is volatility clustering and persistence throughout the study period. Even the Granger causality test on volatility revealed that the causation of volatility was bi-directional in 10 commodities. To be specific, we show that Indian agricultural commodities markets are highly efficient during the study period, including the period of price spikes and price distortions. The results of this study, stated above, shows that Indian agricultural commodity futures trading is highly efficient and playing the role it is supposed to play pretty good. The conclusions would certainly serve the concerned policy makers in decision making. Let us expect that the scenario of suspension and ban on futures trading in agricultural commodities is not repeated again, in the interest of Indian farmers. In-spite-of the above positive indications of the efficiency of Indian agriculture commodity market, it has witnessed massive and prolonged price escalations since 2007. The price spikes may be attributed to other fundamental factors not related to the scope of a futures exchange and call for further research.

The Johnstone Affair and Anti-Communism in Interwar India

In 1928, British colonial authorities in India detained and held J.W. Johnstone, a US citizen, for nearly a month before deporting him first to Europe and then back to the USA. Johnstone’s eventual arrest and deportation became a major ‘affair’ with far-reaching implications for India, the British Empire and even the USA. In the weeks after Johnstone’s arrival, the colonial state launched an extensive and worldwide investigation into his identity and potential ties to communism. In analyzing the story of the Johnstone affair, this article highlights British colonial anxieties and preoccupations with the spread of international communism in interwar India. Moreover, this article also argues that the response to the Johnstone arrest – in India and the United States of America especially – produced a number of unintended consequences. Both the American working class movement and the Indian trade unionist movement appropriated the Johnstone affair to call for global solidarities against the oppression of British and US imperialism worldwide.

Глобализация индийской экономики: тенденции и перспективы

The aim of this research is the analysis of the globalization model of the Indian economy, its main trends and perspectives. The article highlights the ways of India’s integration in the world economy –its participation in the international capital movement and in the international trade as well as its positions in global value chains. The author examines the most representative definitions of globalization and draws attention that the theoretical basis of the study is the synthesis of the concept of global value chains and A.P. Thirlwall’s definition of globalization. The methodological basis of the study is such methods as induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis. The systematic approach to the overall study of the Indian economy and the Indian external economic policy in particular has become the base of this research. The author underlines that according to the OECD data the Indian participation in global value chains is 42% of the Indian gross exports. At the same time India as a large economy has a less share of exports made of inputs taking part in vertical trade in comparison with other developing countries due to diversified national economy created during the importsubstitution period. The author notes Indian positions in international capital movement. The author stresses that the Indian contemporary investment policy is aimed at attracting foreign capital that doesn’t lead to the formation of external debt. The article highlights the Indian positions in international trade of goods and services. The author examines the composition of Indian exports and imports as well as direction of Indian trade. The author draws attention to increasing the Indian positions in trade in intermediate goods. It proves the active participation of India in global value chains. The article presents statistical data on the Grubel-Lloyd Index which measures India and the world economy intra-industry trade as well as RCA coefficient which measures the comparative advantages of the Indian economy in trade both in goods and services. The article also presents statistical data on the dynamics of the Indian external trade, foreign direct investments’ inflow and exports of the Indian capital.

Tangled in the Web: Communication, Power, and the Virgin Soil Hypothesis

Tangled in the Web:Communication, Power, and the Virgin Soil Hypothesis Jonathan DeCoster (bio) Catherine M. Cameron, Paul Kelton, andAlan C. Swedlund, eds. Beyond Germs: Native Depopulation in North America. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2015. xii + 276 pp. Foreword, acknowledgments, contributors, index. $29.95. Alejandra Dubcovsky. Informed Power: Communication in the Early American South. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2016. x + 287 pp. Illustrations, map, notes, acknowledgments, index. $39.95. Most of us view our hyper-connected, web-enabled world with some degree of ambivalence. We are overwhelmed by information of uncertain reliability, our consumption puts us at the mercy of global markets and corporations, and any airplane may carry the next pandemic. While these may seem like quintessentially modern concerns, in Informed Power: Communication in the Early American South, Alejandra Dubcovsky shows us that these are in fact very old problems. Dubcovsky uses the idea of the network—a pattern of connections that links people and places together—as a lens through which to make sense of the complex interactions among multiple European and native polities in the American Southeast, from the Mississippian chiefdoms of the 13th century through the 1730s. Through her close examination of communication networks and their role in certain key historical events, we see Indians, Europeans, and Africans dealing with competing or unreliable news, using their networks to obtain or distribute trade goods, and ultimately, articulating and projecting power throughout the region. While the technology has changed, the underlying concerns are familiar. Dubcovsky's work adds to a growing body of work on what she calls the "Early South," a revision that seeks to move beyond the "Old South" and its paradigmatic Antebellum slave plantations. Like Robbie Etheridge's From Chicaza to Chickasaw (2010) and Christina Snyder's Slavery in Indian Country (2010), Informed Power benefits from a lengthening of chronology and broadening of focus. First, by extending its lens back before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, the South appears from the outset as a Native landscape [End Page 545] connected by networks of exchange. This changes our understanding of the colonial period, as Native nations remained numerous and powerful (and would well into the 19th century), and occupied a central role in colonial affairs. For example, Dubcovsky's attention to the longer history of Euro-Indian interaction leads her to conclude that it was relations with Indians that drove the British towards African slavery. She argues that the Yamasee War between British colonists and multiple South Carolina tribes reoriented the colony away from the Indian trade, while simultaneously opening up lands for a new source of profit, rice cultivation. This, plus reduced supply of enslaved Indians, led to that colony's plantation complex. Dubcovsky brings skill and creativity to the task of understanding what was going on beyond the knowledge of Europeans in Indian country, using archaeological and linguistic evidence to infer the native world that is absent from the written sources. The other key feature of scholarship with what might be called an "Early South" orientation is a vision that ranges beyond the British colonies. Here Dubcovsky also brings considerable skill. She is equally at home in the Spanish archives as she is in the British, and this allows her to see what the English and Spanish colonists did and did not know about each other, and how they sought to gather their information. Her description of the Yamasee War, for example, emerges from both British and Spanish perspectives, as English colonists "waded through these conflicting, fear-filled reports" on the strength of Yamasee and Creek raiders, while at the same time, Spanish officials learned to decipher a Yamasee delegation's use of knotted strips of deerskin as a communication method (pp. 166, 171). Recognizing, however, that these public communications were complex and often contradictory, Dubcovsky also attempts to reconstruct the internal politics of the Creek and Cherokee towns as they debated whether to support the Yamasees and join the Spaniards, to assist the English of South Carolina, or even try to pursue both policies simultaneously. She sketches in detail the negotiations and communications engaged in by local leaders (Native and European) eager to preserve...