Step 1 - The basic role of cities in empires:

Cities were the points through which the wealth of the countryside was collected, stored and moved to the centre of the empire. They linked the rural interior with distant markets.

Step 2 - Cities as centres of surplus and administration:

The surplus produced by villages was gathered in cities in the form of taxes, tribute and revenue. Cities housed the administration, the army and the treasury needed to control the territory.

Step 3 - The colonial port cities:

Under British rule Madras, Bombay and Calcutta grew as port cities. They were built to serve trade with Britain rather than the needs of the interior.

Raw materials such as cotton, jute and indigo were collected from the hinterland, sent through these ports to Britain, and finished goods were brought back and sold in India.

Step 4 - The changing fate of older cities:

Old inland centres such as Surat, Masulipatnam and Seringapatam declined as trade shifted to the new colonial ports. This shows how cities rose and fell according to the needs of the empire.

Step 5 - Cities as centres of a new culture:

The colonial cities also became the home of new occupations, English education, printing presses and a Western-educated middle class, which later played a leading role in the national movement.