Forbidden Fabrics: The Strange Story of Calico Prohibition

Imagine a world where the buying and selling of a printed cotton cloth can get you fined/jailed/executed, but the buying and selling of human beings is perfectly fine. We humans are very strange.

During the industrial revolution in Britain, capitalist class came forward. They didn't wanted Indian goods (calicos, muslins sugar etc). They simply wanted Indian raw material( raw cotton and silk) to produce their own machine goods and use India as a market to sell these. For this they imposed such high import duties on Indian goods that it almost vanished and the export duty from Britain to India was almost free. So from manufacturers we were simply reduced to consumers and raw material suppliers😢 and all this ON OUR OWN COST

Okay, this may be the coolest, most accessible explanation of the inherent evils of prohibition, ever.

I never knew any of this .. Thankyou and thanks to the Indian Calico makers for the beautiful cloth ..

I love your books! Calico is a fabric made from plane weave cotton. Printed calico is just what is sounds like. Chintz is glazed, printed calico. I think it would have been helpful here to note the difference, because most of the examples shown on screen are chintz, and chintz and calico were not interchangeable terms.

Fabulous history. I have been working with textiles since I was a child. Now, as a senior adult, I love hearing and reading about the tools of our trade, so to speak. These peaks into history make me proud to be a textile artist.

Given human nature, prohibitions generally makes the prohibited more desirable.

Am from calicut. Land of calico fabric

This information is so important not for drowning in music. Your voice is fine on its own. Your subject is fascinating.

The "tissus de Provence" designs of printed cottons in France were inspired by the printed calico from India. The most notable company still operating today is Souleiado. I went to their museum in Provence a few years back, where they explain some of this.

The Video is 3 years old. I agree about the audio. Once people start talking the Music should go away so you can hear clearly. I have been doing Commercial Radio professionally for 47 years, for the most part we avoid talking over music because of this issue.

Love it! I had wondered why classic books depicted rich people liking calico, which we now consider to be cheap cotton. Although I love cultural trade history, like the stories of porcelain and tulips, yet I had never heard the controversy this simple fabric began. Thanks so much!

Yeah we read about this in Indian history. Indian calico was hit by tariffs and cost at one point became 300X Btw the name calico derived from the port of "Calicut" which is still on the western coast of India

Very nice, but the music is a bit too loud. But still very nice!

My mom is a seamstress over 50 years. I am an emerging fiber artist who really appreciates learning this history! Thank you!

I love fabrics, and I am a dedicated fabrics-hoarder. To my surprise I found out recently that my old home-town, where I grew up, had a cotton-calico factory in the 1700-1800's. That's nice to know.

Love all the corrections made by random commenters. This expert literally WROTE the book. I am obsessong over the print on the thumbnail. It calls to my symmerty-loving soul. Very fond of calico prints, too. Been sewing since I was 12. I'm 67. My teens in the 70s was calico and denim. Skirts, dresses.

Actually, Toile was invented and first manufactured in Ireland. The French loved it so much, they 'stole' the technique and produced their own beautiful designs which eventually put the Irish out of business. The Irish designs were so popular, Benjamin Franklin had an exclusive American design produced in Ireland for his own use. I often wondered how he felt about it after the Americans broke free from the British Crown. 😉

I do wish people didn’t have music while they talk. It drowns out whatever they’re saying😟

Wonderful, Virginia! I'm so glad I found your channel!!!