India’s position in the Great Divergence debate has remained tentative due to scanty data availability for the medieval and early modern periods. In the years 1800-01, Dr. Francis Buchanan conducted one of the first agricultural surveys in the erstwhile state of Mysore and its adjoining regions. His Journey contains a wealth of information, both quantitative and qualitative, which has not been studied systematically so far. This paper brings together the information scattered throughout his report to construct an aggregate welfare ratio in order to ascertain the overall living standard in Mysore at the turn of the nineteenth century, the eve of colonial intervention in the state. The results from this study have interesting and important implications for the Great Divergence debate.
