jan af geijerstam Landscapes of Technology Transfer Landscapes of Technology jan af geijerstam Landscapes of Technology Transfer Swedish Ironmakers in India 1860–1864 In the early 1860s British colonial interests commissioned three young Swedish metallur- gists to plan and lead the construction of two ironworks in India, one in the foothills of the Himalayas, the other in the Narmada Valley. In their Indian setting, both ironworks were pioneering enterprises, based on the most modern European ironmaking technology. Neither ironworks went into full and continuous production and the Swedes had to return to Sweden. In spite of this lack of success, or maybe because of it, the history of the iron- works and the Swedes forms a fascinating narrative. And it is of wide relevance, not only in explaining the workings and effects of colonialism, but also as a description of the complex totality influencing a transfer of technology. Landscapes of Technology Transfer is a wide-ranging empirical study. From a local and indi- Jacket front: The blast-furnace house of vidual perspective it traces lines of connection across boundaries of time and geography. the Burwai Iron Works, Madhya Pradesh, The historical landscapes of technology transfer are described in their cultural, social, India. Photo: Jan af Geijerstam 1997. economic and political dimensions and the remains of the ironworks and their local land- scapes in present-day India are used as a central source for writing their histories. The Jacket back: The construction of the new book is illustrated with more than 170 photographs and drawings, both nineteenth-century iron and steel works in Dechauri in early and modern. 1863. Photo: Gustaf Wittenström. The Jan af Geijerstam has held a postgraduate research position at the Department of History archives of the National Museum of of Science and Technology, Industrial Heritage Research, of the Royal Institute of Tech- Science and Technology, Stockholm. nology, Stockholm. Landscapes of Technology Transfer is a doctoral dissertation. Title spread: From the blast-furnace house of the Burwai Iron Works. A pupil from the Govt. Boys’ Higher Secondary School in Barwah. Photo: Jan af Geijerstam 2003. Landscapes, omslag 1 04-04-24, 17.52 landscapes of technology transfer 1 2 Landscapes of Technology Transfer Swedish Ironmakers in India 1860–1864 * Jan af Geijerstam jernkontorets bersghistoriska skriftserie 42 3 © Jan af Geijerstam 2004 Jernkontorets bergshistoriska skriftserie 42 ISBN 91-974131-5-1 ISSN 0347-4283 Stockholm Papers in the History and Philosophy of Technology TRITA-HOT 2045 Editors: Maja Fjæstad & Brita Lundström ISSN 0349-2842 Linguistic editing: Bernard Vowles Photography: Peter Nyblom Drawings: Staffan Schultz Graphic design: Johan Laserna Printing: Preses Nams, Riga 2004 4 Contents Foreword 7 Preface 11 Questions Raised and Investigative Method 17 part i The Colonial Context and Histories of Iron Chapter 1 An Imperial Context 43 The Making of Iron and Steel, Part 1 61 Chapter 2 Notes on Iron in India, Sweden and Britain 65 part ii The Stage and the Key Players Chapter 3 Phase I: 1815–1860 87 Chapter 4 Phase II: 1860–1862 111 Chapter 5 Phases III and IV: 1860–1880 135 part iii Technology Carried Chapter 6 Industrial Landscapes and Systems of Production 173 The Making of Iron and Steel, Part 2 203 Chapter 7 Technology Transferred 213 Chapter 8 Technology Tested 241 part iv Projects in a Global System Chapter 9 Natural Resources: Inventory and Utilization 261 Chapter 10 Social Systems of Production and Transfer of Knowledge 291 Chapter 11 A Local System in a Colonial Context 327 Final Discussion: Brittle and Bonded Projects in a Global System 359 Appendices 377 Notes 385 Bibliography 435 Index 451 5 6 Foreword This thesis is the product of research conducted in the discipline of Industrial Heritage Studies at the Department of History of Science and Technology of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. An intellectual fellowship manifested in informal and formal discussions has been an essential constituent of the setting and my work has been completed with the support of close friends and colleagues in the Department. I hope I have been, and will be able, to repay at least a part of the generosity I have experienced. In the course of my work, I have exchanged views and information with scholars and friends, and with scholars who have become friends, all over the world. Even a brief word, a short conversation or an exchange of letters has often left a lasting impression - the ongoing, everyday support received from others even more so. In different ways, they have all been of great importance. At times I have felt it would be both a necessity and a pleasure to name each and every one of these helpful friends, but finally, rather than risk omitting some – and embarrassing others in a context they might not fully endorse – I have decided to contend myself with thanking them all collectively. Yet there are some I would like to mention individually. It was Professor Marie Nisser who invited me to conduct a study at the Royal Institute of Technology and she has been my tutor and close ally throughout this work. Under her guidance I was generously received and introduced to a happy atmosphere of constructive criticism and encourage- ment at the Department of History of Science and Technology, with first Professor Svante Lindqvist and since 1999 Professor Arne Kaijser as its heads. Special thanks are also due to Dr. Per Hilding, Department of Economic History, University of Stockholm, who has been my co-tutor and to Dr. Göran Rydén and Dr. Chris Evans who were my opponents at a final semi- nar. Peter Nyblom has been my companion for more than fifteen years. We first met in the midst of the Swedish steel crisis in the early 1980s and in 1987 we travelled from Peter’s former place of work at No. 2 Steel Mill in Fagersta to Bhoruka Steel in Bangalore and Tisco in Jamshedpur. All along he has been an untiring and generous supporter and through his many photographs he is also an important co-author of this book. He and many 7 other friends have also helped me to remain in touch with present-day realities in Fagersta, Norberg and other communities in Bergslagen. * Many new friends in India have helped me in the most personal and gener- ous manner. An important part of my work has consisted of discussions and co-operation with distinguished Indian historians in history, economic his- tory and the history of science. They have not only shared their knowledge with me and given me constructive critics, but also given invaluable practi- cal support. Across the world close ties of scholarly interaction and friend- ship have been established. Among Indian colleagues, I would like especially to mention Professor Deepak Kumar and his family and Professor Nasir Tyabji, both at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. Equally deeply felt thanks are extended to Dr. Girija Pande and Professor Shekar Pathak, both at the Department of History, University of Kumaon. Together we arranged a joint conference of our respective departments in March 2000 in Nainital, Uttaranchal in order to transcend boundaries be- tween different traditions and research environments. The theme was iron and steel in India and Sweden and the conference resultet in the co-edited volume Tradition and Innovation in Ironmaking History. An Indo Euro- pean Perspective (Nainital 2002). * Ottonie Nyberg helped me to interpret Mitander’s diary and interpret his handwriting, Geetali Jonson to arrange travels and to interpret letters in Hindi, Yngve Axelsson at the library of Jernkontoret to answer each and any question on the history and technique of ironmaking and Per-Olov Bjällhag at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm who has given me the most generous support concerning the archives of Julius Ramsay and Gustaf Wittenström. Bernard Vowles has tried to keep me within the bounds of a reasonably correct English by rectifying my manuscript. His work has been absolutely indispensable. Staffan Schultz has made the artwork of drawings and maps and Johan Laserna has given this book its final lay-out. Thanks to their sacrificing and skilful work during extremely pressed time limits, this book could become a reality. * Closest, enduring the daily and seemingly never-ending preoccupation with this work, are of course the members of my family, Kri, Karin and Peder. * The research has been carried out through a postgraduate research position at the Department of History of Science and Technology and through gener- 8 ous grants from a number of funds and foundations: Axel och Margaret Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse för allmännyttiga ändamål, Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse, Jernkontoret (Prytziska fonden nr. 1), Sida-Sarec, Harald och Louise Ekmans forskningsstiftelse and Stiftelsen Vargöns smältverk. While conduct- ing this research I have also been attached to the research project Teknik- Industri-Kulturarv in Norberg (TIK) and to a multidisciplinary research pro- gram, ”the Landscape as an Arena”, financed by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (The Bank of Sweden Centenary Fund). Travel grants from the Swedish Institute have financed visits to India. The printing of this thesis has been made possible by generous grants from Stiftelsen Torsten Althin’s minnesfond at the National Museum of Science and Technology, Stockholm, Jernkontoret (Prytziska fonden nr. 1), Allan Wetterholms stiftelse för arkeologisk utbildning och forskning, Sven och Dagmar Saléns stiftelse and Stiftelsen Konung Gustaf VI Adolfs fond för svensk kultur. I am indebted to Jernkontoret for including this book in their series of publications on history. * And finally, I would like to thank and commemorate Harry Pettersson, blast- furnace worker and trade unionist, for his ever humanitarian, joyful, generous and inspiring energy.