Map Room: Britain’s plunder of India: A history of cotton and salt

This map tracks two of the most important commodities in the economic and political relationship between India and the United Kingdom: salt and cotton. For 250 years, the United Kingdom extracted money and cheap raw goods from India, which, in turn, was forced to import highly taxed goods.

Compiled by Lisa Thomson, Jakob Sergei Weitz, and Tee Zhuo

Sources: World Bank, UN, Gandhi by Anthony Parel (1997). Hind Swaraj and Other Writings. The Great Hedge of India by Roy Moxham (2001) New Internationalist. All figures have been converted to 2015 USD.

Designed by Meehyun Nam Thompson / Illustration by Richard O. Thompson