This chapter first presents quantitative statements about the south Indian economy from 1757 to 1800. Much of the economic history even of the first half of the nineteenth century is still obscure for the Madras Presidency and more so for the native states. The best one can do is to evaluate what is known about the important magnitudes such as foreign trade, population, and agricultural and industrial output, and speculate on some of the interconnections between them. There were three striking features of the Madras Presidency's foreign trade in the first half of the nineteenth century. Exports grew very fast; the pattern of exports changed sharply; and despite the large net trade surplus, bullion was exported in large amounts. One would expect an increase in agricultural output to stimulate industrial growth, not only directly in the agricultural processing industries but also by increasing the demand for agricultural producers' goods and for consumer goods.