This article discusses the role of the British control of India in the rise of Britain and Europe as well as in the convergence in incomes within the Atlantic economy in the late nineteenth century. Britain was at the apex of the world economy throughout most of the nineteenth century. The article argues that the emergence of Britain as the apex economic and political power depended on her control over India. This control of India then enabled Britain to pursue a set of policies that were of critical importance, both for the convergence in incomes within the Atlantic economy and the rise of Europe. The thesis advanced here can be viewed, depending on one’s prior position, as being either complementary to or alternative to the views of many of the protagonists of the divergence debate in the literature.

JEL: N10, N13, N15, N70, O4

本文讨论了英国控制印度在英国和欧洲崛起以及19世纪后期大西洋经济内部收入趋同中的作用。在整个19世纪的大部分时间里，英国一直处于世界经济的最高峰。文章认为，英国作为最高经济和政治强国的崛起取决于她对印度的控制。然后，对印度的控制使英国能够采取一系列至关重要的政策，这对于大西洋经济内部收入的融合和欧洲的崛起都是至关重要的。根据一个人的先前立场，这里提出的论点可以被视为对文献中分歧辩论的许多主角的看法的补充或替代。

JEL：N10，N13，N15，N70，O4