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3. Mughal Empire in India, circa 1700 AD: 25% of global output
3. 印度莫卧尔帝国，公元1700年前后：占全球经济产出总量的25%
Indian civilization is one of the oldest in the world, and many empires have risen and fallen on the subcontinent throughout the centuries. But among its most economically vibrant was the Moghul Empire, which dated from the sixteenth century until the establishment of the British Raj in the middle of the 19th. According to the late economic historian Angus Maddison, the per capita output of Mughal-era India was likely about the same as in England or France at the time, but “India had a ruling class whose extravagant lifestyle surpassed that of the European society.” This was achieved, however, “by subjecting the population to a high degree of exploitation.”
印度文明是世界上最古老的文明之一，而且多个世纪以来，已经有许多帝国在印度次大陆上盛衰沉浮。但其中经济最有活力的要数莫卧儿帝国，其统治时间始于十六世纪，一直持续到十九世纪中叶，英国在印度建立殖民统治为止。已故经济史学家安格斯•麦迪森曾指出，莫卧儿王朝时代的印度人均经济产出，很可能与当时的英国或法国相差无几，但是“印度统治阶层生活的奢侈程度超过了欧洲社会的统治阶层”，但是这是通过“对印度人民进行沉重剥削而实现的”。
Though European traders who visited India during this time were impressed by the Mughal court, which Maddison describes as “one of the most brilliant in the world,” with its walled castles, gardens, fountains, literature, and painting, the Indian people were uninterested in the goods Westerners had to trade, beyond gold. Such a dynamic fueled the plunder of the newly discovered Americas for its wealth of precious metals. This persisted throughout the Mughal era, as European explorers began to insinuate themselves further into Indian society. The Mughal empire slowly decayed amid the rise of the industrialized British Empire, which officially colonized the subcontinent in the middle of the 19th century.
在这段时间里，来到印度的欧洲商人无不对莫卧儿王宫印象深刻——麦迪森称这里是“世界上最光彩夺目的王宫”，它拥有诸多围墙城堡、花园、喷泉、藏书和名画。但是，除了黄金之外，印度人对西方人用来交易的货物都不感兴趣。这种贸易关系促使西方国家纷纷涌向新发现的美洲大陆，去掠夺大量的贵金属。这种状况在整个莫卧儿王朝时代都持续存在，同时，欧洲人也开始渗透进印度社会。在工业化的大英帝国崛起之际，莫卧儿帝国慢慢地衰败了下去。十九世纪中叶，大英帝国在印度次大陆正式建立殖民地。
