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In 1765, the company was granted the right to collect the land tax across all of Bengal.
1765年，東印度公司獲得了在孟加拉地區(qū)全境征收地稅的權(quán)力。
For the British, it marked the irrevocable shift from trading to ruling. The theory of empire had been turned on its head.
這明確地標志著英國人從此不再與印度進行貿(mào)易，而是統(tǒng)治印度。這項舉措完全與帝國論背道而馳。
Trade can only thrive, that theory had said, when it's not lumbered with government or an army.
帝國論指出，只有沒有政府和軍隊橫加干涉，貿(mào)易的發(fā)展才會十分繁榮。
"Trade can only thrive in India," whispered Clive, "When it hooks up with government, when it runs a tax system, and when it supports an army."
克萊夫卻低聲鼓吹“印度的貿(mào)易，只有當殖民政府出面管理，稅收系統(tǒng)確立，并且擁有軍隊時才會繁榮發(fā)展?！?/div>
And it happened in stark contrast to what was occurring in America at exactly the same time.
與此同時，發(fā)生在美國的事情卻與此有著天差地別。
In Boston, they were sending protesting mobs into the streets, but in Bengal, the money men were falling over themselves to bankroll the British.
在波士頓，憤怒的人們在大街小巷示威，而孟加拉的富人卻爭先恐后地為英國人提供資金。
And the local land-owning tax collectors, or Zemindars, as they were called, would happily carry on harvesting the rupees, as they had for the Mughals.
而當?shù)刎撠?zé)收租的地主，又稱籍民達爾，也心甘情愿地為英國人征收賦稅，就像之前為莫臥兒王朝收稅一樣。
The British even imagined that under their enlightened supervision, Bengal would be turned from a place of grinding toil into a model of progress. In theory, everyone was going to be happy.
英國人甚至異想天開，認為在他們的英明領(lǐng)導(dǎo)之下，孟加拉地區(qū)能從民不聊生的蠻荒之地變成改革發(fā)展的典范。從理論上講，這是兩全其美的。
If the Zemindars could know for sure exactly how much tax they would owe to the government, they could go easy on the peasants.
而地主需要上繳給政府的稅款如果是一個確定的數(shù)目，他們便不會對農(nóng)民敲骨吸髓。
The peasants, in turn, would be able to be thrifty and industrious and produce a surplus for the market, and plough back the profit into self-improvement.
而這樣一來，農(nóng)民們也就有了勤儉持家、努力勞作的動力，便能夠生產(chǎn)出富余糧食以供銷售，隨后再將盈利用于對生產(chǎn)工具的升級。
The only problem with this, of course, was that it was a total fantasy.
以上所有理念只有一個漏洞，那就是太不實際。
The Zemindars' main interest was, and always had been, in shaking as much money as possible from their peasants, which they continued to do.
因為地主的主要獲利手段一直是將農(nóng)民身上的錢榨光，這一點是不會改變的。
So, instead of beginning a chain reaction of benevolence, it started a pyramid of extortion.
因此，彼此互惠的良性循環(huán)并沒有出現(xiàn)，取而代之的則是層層盤剝。
The government screwed the Zemindars, the Zemidars screwed the peasants.
政府壓榨地主，地主則將壓力轉(zhuǎn)嫁于農(nóng)民。
The Zemindars went broke, the peasants were evicted and died in hundreds of thousands. So much for good intentions.
結(jié)果地主破了產(chǎn)，而農(nóng)民則被驅(qū)逐出自己的家園，成千上萬人就這樣悲慘地死去。這就是英國人"好心"的結(jié)果。
And, in short order, famine arrived in Bengal. Walking ribcages on the trunk roads, saucer-eyed children dying in baked mudholes, flocks of kites landing on the carcasses of cattle.
不久后，饑荒席卷了孟加拉地區(qū)。瘦得皮包骨人行走于路中，眼睛突出的幼兒慘死于曬干的泥坑，成群的老鷹落在牛群的尸體上。
Perhaps a quarter of the population of Bengal perished, millions of people.
孟加拉失去了四分之一的人口，那是幾百萬條生命。
Perhaps the British didn't cause it, but they certainly didn't help. Guilty or innocent, one fact was indisputable -- Bengal now belonged to the British.
也許英國人算不上罪魁禍首，但他們確實沒能阻止。無論英國有無罪責(zé)，卻有一個不爭的事實，孟加拉從此屬于英國。
Over the next 50 years, most of the rest of India would follow. New British armies would complete the job that Clive had started.
而在接下去的50年中，印度其他地區(qū)也統(tǒng)統(tǒng)歸于大英帝國。后續(xù)的英軍將完成克萊夫未竟的事業(yè)。
