Book contents
- A History of Bangladesh
- A History of Bangladesh
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Plates
- Maps and Figures
- Preface to Second Edition
- Acknowledgements
- Timeline
- Introduction
- Part I The Long View
- Chapter 1 A Land of Water and Silt
- Chapter 2 Jungle, Fields, Cities and States
- Chapter 3 A Region of Multiple Frontiers
- Chapter 4 The Delta as a Crossroads
- Part II Colonial Encounters
- Part III Becoming East Pakistan
- Part IV War and the Birth of Bangladesh
- Part V Independent Bangladesh
- Conclusion
- Bangladesh District Maps
- Key Political Figures since 1947
- Glossary of Bengali Terms
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 1 - A Land of Water and Silt
from Part I - The Long View
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 June 2021
Book contents
- A History of Bangladesh
- A History of Bangladesh
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Plates
- Maps and Figures
- Preface to Second Edition
- Acknowledgements
- Timeline
- Introduction
- Part I The Long View
- Chapter 1 A Land of Water and Silt
- Chapter 2 Jungle, Fields, Cities and States
- Chapter 3 A Region of Multiple Frontiers
- Chapter 4 The Delta as a Crossroads
- Part II Colonial Encounters
- Part III Becoming East Pakistan
- Part IV War and the Birth of Bangladesh
- Part V Independent Bangladesh
- Conclusion
- Bangladesh District Maps
- Key Political Figures since 1947
- Glossary of Bengali Terms
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Contemporary Bangladesh needs to be understood in the context of its early geological history and the power of its monsoon climate. Most of the country covers the largest river delta in the world, and two of Asia’s greatest rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, meet in these floodplains. This chapter highlights how water in three forms plays a crucial role in facilitating, as well as threatening, human life here: seawater, monsoon rains, and giant rivers breaching their banks.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A History of Bangladesh , pp. 3 - 10Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020