Snipped from www.yorku.ca/furedy/papers/ko/rtcalcu79.doc "Retail Trade in Calcutta." Capital, Vol 183, No. 4587, December 24, 1979, pp 4-10. RETAIL TRADE IN CALCUTTA Offshoot from the land of shopkeepers by CHRISTINE FUREDY THE foundations of the modern retail trade of Calcutta were laid by British tradesmen who established businesses primarily to serve the needs of the European population of Bengal from the late 18th century. >From a miscellany of small shops and services grew a complex retail sector which made Calcutta the centre of 'modern' retail trade in India, for Calcutta's sector was larger and more diversified than those of other urban areas such as Bombay and Madras. From Cal­cutta retail trading relationships can be traced in the 19th century through­out the towns, cantonments, hill sta­tions and plantations and even beyond India to towns and cities in China, East and North Africa and South East Asia. Some of Calcutta's famous early retail firms still persist although most have vanished. Nevertheless, several aspects of Calcutta's retail sector today can only be understood in the light of its colonial development. ======================== ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India