British Empire's Colonial Theft and Destruction Quantified in New Analysis

A recent opinion piece in the South China Morning Post examines the extent of the British Empire's exploitation and brutality, focusing on India and the opium trade. Indian economist Utsa Patnaik calculated that Britain drained approximately US$45 trillion from India between 1765 and 1938, based on historical tax and trade records and a 5% compound interest rate on export surpluses. Historian Audrey Truschke's book 'India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent' documents that the British oversaw dozens of famines during two centuries of colonial rule, including the 1943 Bengal famine that killed 2 million Indians. The article also notes the conservative British press's angry reaction to comments by Jamil, who stated that while British people are not evil, the British Empire definitely was. The piece underscores the empire's avarice and brutality, powered by the East India Company, and raises questions about historical accountability and reparations.