Summer talks series: Connected histories of capitalism

• Department of History

A conversation with Professor Chinmay Tumbe.

Between the early 19th century and early 20th century, the share of Asia in the global population fell from roughly 65% to 50%. While a vast literature has emerged on the global economic divergence of this period, few studies have commented on this demographic divergence. 

In this same period, over 70 million people died due to the pandemics of cholera, plague and influenza, with a disproportionate impact on Asia. 

This talk explores the connection between these two observations and the wider role of pandemics in shaping modern global economic history.