Why did Bernier consider crown ownership of land as disastrous?
According to Bernier, the Mughal India did not have private ownership of land. He believed that private property had many virtues. But he regarded the crown ownership of land as harmful to both the state and its people. In the Mughal Empire, the emperor owned all the land. He distributed this land among his nobles. Bernier felt that this principle had disastrous consequences for the economy as well as society.Because of the crown ownership of land, the landholders could not pass their land to their children. Besides they could not make any long-term investment to sustain and increase production. The crown ownership of land also prevented the emergence of an improved class of landlords as in Western Europe. It had ruined the agriculture and increased oppression of the peasantry. It brought a continuous decline in the living standard of all sections of society. That is why Bernier considered crown ownership of land as disastrous.
