Medieval period (550 B.C.

– 1857)

It is important to know the prevalent conditions in India during the medieval period and it
also important to know the rulers of India during that period. There is a saying “As the king
so are the people” (Yedha Raja thadha praja). It ultimately depends on the way the King
drives the socio, economic policies of the country which the people will have to follow. It
will have great defining moment in the way people think, live and work. This will certainly
have an impact on the economic conditions of the people which ultimately decides the trade
and commerce.
The Medieval Period of India was quite lengthy and the span of the period is between 6 th

century and 18 Century. It is the period marked by the fall of the great Gupta empire and
th

ended by the start of colonial rule.

Division of Medieval period

For the sake of convenience and ease of studying India during the medieval period many
historians have divided the Lengthy Medieval period in to Early and Late Medieval periods.
Accordingly the fall of the Gupta empire upto the start of the Sultanate period in the 13 th

century is included in the early medieval period. The Gupta Empire started to fall gradually
between 480 to 550 and this can be described as end of the classical Indian period
The remaining part comprising mainly of the Sultanate period and Mughal period are
included in the late medieval period.

The Delhi Sultanate probably was the first largest dynasty in North India.
There were several different dynasties ruling large areas for long periods,
There were also many dynasties that were ruling smaller areas. The smaller dynasties used to
pay some or other form of tax or tribute to the bigger dynasties.
According to John Keay the typical number of dynasties in the subcontinent at any one time
at between 20 and 40 without including the local kings.

Some of the kingdoms during early medieval period were

 Pratihara dynasty, Ruled India from 6 century to 11 century. Was the last largest
th th

dynasty of northern India. Were able to succeed from stopping Muslim invasions for
almost 400 years. Capital was kannuaj. They were the first empire of Rajputs

 Rashtrakuta dynasty,Ruled from 6 to 10 century. Ruled most part of the India. Built
th th

Ellora in Maharastra which is a world heritage center. They were a Kannada

Dynasty.

 Eastern Chalukyas, Ruled between 7th to 12th century. Were the descendants of
Western Chalukyas. They too were a Kannada dynasty.

 Pallava dynasty, Ruled India from 6 to 9 century. They ruled Telugu and some
th th

Tamil areas.
 Pala Empire, Ruled India from 8 to 12 century. They were from Bengal and had
th th

control of most of North India. They were major Buddhist rulers.

  Chola Empire, Ruled India from 9th century to 13th century. They ruled from
Tamilnadu and upto South East Asian territories. They were South Indian rulers.

 Empire of Harsha, Ruled India briefly from 601 to 647 century. Formed Vardhana
dynansty. Controlled most of north India.

 Western Chalukya Empire, Ruled India from 10 century to 12 century. Controlled

th th

most of the western Deccan and part of South India. They were also Kannada-
speaking and ruled with capital from Badami.

 Kalachuri dynasty, Ruled Indian from 10 century to 12 century. Controlled central

th th

India.
 Western Ganga dynasty, Ruled India from 350 to 1000 AD. Also from Kannada from
the ancient Karnataka, The statue of Bahubali of Shravanabelagola was built during
their rule.

 Eastern Ganga dynasty, They have ruled Orissa region and were the descendants of
Kannada Western Ganga Dynasty and Tamil Chola Empire. The famous Sun Temple
at Konark and the famous temple of Puri Jaganath were built by them.

 Hoysala Empire, Ruled India from 10th to 14th century. Also an important kingdom
from South Indian Kannadiga empire . Ruled most part of what is now the modern
state of Karnataka. The first capital was at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu.

 Kakatiya Kingdom, Ruled India from 1083 to 1323 CE. They were a Telugu dynasty
and ruled most of the unified Andhra Pradesh.

 Sena dynasty, Ruled India from11th to 12th century. They were a Hindu dynasty and
controlled most of the north-eastern region. They ruled from Bengal. These rulers too
basically have their origin from Kannada area.

Trade and commerce during the later part of early medieval period

During the 2nd part of the early medieval period the textile Industry, grew to be a major
economic centre. Traditionally Textile was always identified as a good economic activity in
India. Latter different types of textile like fine quality and coarse quality also were being
made.
Marco Polo (A.D. 1293-Italian merchant and writer) and Arab writers were in praise of the
excellence of cotton fabrics from Bengal and Gujarat. It might be that the availability of
madder in Bengal and Indigo in Gujarat might have helped significantly for the growth of
textile industry in these two regions.
There were mentions of Paithan, Nagapatinam, Kalinga and Multan in the 12th century text of
Manasollasa. It was mentioned that the above places were significant centres of textile
industry. Apart from the above the other influential markets have been the silk weavers of
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Goods that were traded

Throughout this period oil industry got great prominence. We hear more about the farming of
the oil seeds and Oil mills called as ghanaka from the tenth century onwards. Manufacturing
of Jaggery from sugarcane also had references along with the manufacture of other sugars
from sugar canes. Food grains, oil, butter, salt, coconuts, areca nuts, betel leaves, madder,
indigo, candid sugar, jaggery, thread cotton fabrics, blankets, metals, spices, etc. are the main
goods that were transported from one place to the other Benjamin Tudela, a Jesuit priest from
Spain 12th noted that wheat, barley and pulses, besides linsed fiber and cotton cloth were sold
in Persian gulf from India.

Al Idrisi refers to the transport of rice from Malabar to Sri Lanka in the 12 century.
th

Fridhar Jordanus noted in 1330 A.D that palm sugar and coir used in making ropes were
exported.

Apart from the agricultural and agro based products the other products like craftsmanship in
metal and leather goods also attained a high level of excellence. Craftsmen of metals such as
copper, brass, iron, gold, silver, etc also were found in this period.

In the two big and the world famous temples of Jagannath at Puri and the Sun temple of
Konark huge beams made of iron were used in the construction of the temples. This was an
ample proof of the great work and expertise of the iron smiths of India in the twelfth century.
For the manufacturing of swords, spears and other arms and weapons of excellence Iron was
used. Swords of high quality and excellence were manufactured from the places of Magadha,
Benaras, Kalinga and Saurashtra.

Gold and silver embroidery became famous in Gujarat. Apart from the excellence in gold and
silver embroidery, Gujarat occupied special place in the leather industry as well. Marco Polo
mentions that the people of Gujarat made beautiful leather mats in red and blue which were
skilfully embroidered with figures of birds and animals. There was a huge demand for these
products in the Arab.

In the Ginza records of the Jewish merchants of the 12th century had references to how well
the Indian brass industry was recognized. It mentions that the customers in Aden used to send
broken vessels and utensils to India which was refashioned as per their specifications.
The excellence of the Indian metal workers could be seen from the existing specimens of
Cola bronzes and those from Nalanda, Nepal and Kashmir.

Marco Polo refers to the export of Indigo from Quilon which is on the Malabar Coast and
Gujarat. Cotton fabrics, carpets, leather mats, swords and spears also were referred to be
exported .Horses, Elephants and jewellery which were goods of high value were also referred
to be exported. China, Arabia and Egypt which has very rich inhabitants were the main
customers of these goods.

Trade Route
Onland trade and Trade by Sea was also very popular. The respective kingdoms have
focussed keenly on roads and highways and some kingdoms even had separate department to
over see the condition of road as they understood the importance of trade. They also punished
thieves and robbers strictly.
From the Chinese texts it was known that the following goods were received at the Malabar
coast from China and South east Asia. Silk, Porcelain-ware, camphor, cloves, wax,
sandalwood, cardamom, etc. Some of these goods like Silk were consumed in India while the
rest were again exported to the Arabs.Marco Polo refers that Gold, Silver Copper and Tin
were received at the Cambay port of Gujarat from East.
 The following goods were also sent from India :
Aromatics, spices, most importantly pepper spice.
Chau Ju Kua. a Chinese port official of the thirteenth century referred that Cotton cloth was
sent to China from Gujarat, Malwa, Malabar and Coromandel .
Ibn Battuta (A.D. 1333) referred that fabrics made from finer cotton fetched much better
prices than silk in China.
Ivory, rhinoceros horns, and semiprecious stones and other valuable stones also were sent to
China. rabic inscriptions at Cambay, Samaratha and Junagadh reveal that merchants and
shippers from the Persian Gulf visited Western India in the 12 & 13 centuries.
th th

Spices, Aromatics dyes, medicinal herbs, bronze and brass vessels, textiles, pearls, drops,
coconuts, etc were sent from the West coast of India. Teakwood was exported to Persian gulf
and South Arabia where there are no trees for the construction of ships and houses.
Rice and other food grains were sent out from the Indian ports to the other coastal regions
which did not produce enough food grains. The fine and embroidered leather mats of Gujarat
fetched very high prices in Arab. Swords, Spears and some other iron and steel products from
India enjoyed a wide market in Western countries. Traders paid taxes and tolls on the goods
sold.
Some of the countries with which India did trade during this period are China, Arab, Persia,
Egypt, Nepal, Yemen, Sri Lanka

Subsequently Muslims started to capture the Indian sub continent which saw the gradual fall
of Buddhism. This led to the formation of Delhi Sultanate. This period saw the rise of Indo-
Islamic architecture and also saw the rise of Bengal Sultanate which was successful in
becoming a major trading nation in the world.

Later Medieval Period

The following are the dynasties that ruled during this period.
Delhi Sultanate, Ruled India from 1206 to 1526. There were a total of five dynasties which
were short-lived. They were based in Delhi, Mughal empire ultimately defeated this dynasty.

Chero dynasty, Ruled India from 12th CE-18th CE and controlled most of eastern Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Bengal Sultanate, Ruled India from 1352 to 1576. Controlled Bengal and most of Burma.
This dynasty grew to be a major trading nation in the world.

Ahom Kingdom, Ruled India from 1228 to1826. Controlled the valley of Brahmaputra,
Assam, They were able to stave of Mughals but were ultimately defeated by the British.

Reddy Kingdom, Ruled India from 1325 to 1448. They were based from Andhra Pradesh.

Seuna (Yadava) dynasty, Ruled India from 1190-1315. Controlled the area between the two
rivers of Tungabadra and Narmada.The area which is now known as Maharastra, Northern
Karnataka and some part of Madya Pradesh. This is an ancient Kannada-Maratha dynasty.
They have their capital at Devagiri.
Rajput States, were a group of Rajput Hindu states that ruled present-day Rajasthan, and at
times much of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Western Uttar
Pradeshand Central Uttar Pradesh. Many Rajput kingdoms continued under the Mughals and
as Princely States in British India until Indian independence.

Vijayanagara Empire, Ruled India from 1336–1646, Based in Karnataka, it is Hindu empire
in Karnataka, in the Deccan Plateau region.They ruled with Hampi as their capital. Hampi is
an UNESCO world heritage place in Bellary district, Karnataka.

The above mentioned empires and periods may vary slightly based on the versions of the
Gajapati Kingdom, Ruled over Kalinga which is the present day Orissa, it is a Hindu dynasty.
historians but broadly the scenario would remain the same.

Mughal Empire,ruled India from 1526 to 1857.

The situation in the early medieval period is such that there are more of regional and local
kingdoms or powers in large numbers. It is conspicuously marked by the absence of huge
power centres or dynasties. But the kingdoms present are quite powerful. There is no
centralisation of power and is vested in many small kingdoms.
The situation in Late medieval period is quite opposite with power vested only in the
powerful Sultanate and Mughal rulers and is more centralised.
According to many historians the death of Emperor Aurangzeb was considered to be the end
of Medieval Indian history and the start of Modern Indian history.

SULTANATE PERIOD:(1206-1526)
As the first sultans have to safe guard their own position in India the first of the Sultans didn’t
spend much time or didn’t devote their time on trade and commerce.

Reforms and administrative changes made by Sultanate rulers from improving trade
and commerce
Balban(Malmuk Dynasty) was the first of the sultans to focus on these aspects. He realised
dense forests as a problem as dense forests are the safe havens for dacoits. First and foremost
he cleared dense forests and laid roads. This paved the way for ease of transportation. And
helped the traders to move their goods from one market to the other.

Alauddin Khilji (Khilji) made some economic reforms by which the prices were brought
down which encouraged import of goods from places like Persia. He encouraged farming and
gardening by providing facilities for irrigation by building wells & canals. Khilji became the
first emperor who undertook the control of markets in a serious and organised method. He
made it a rule for all the traders to register themselves in the emperor’s court. They were
made to inform the nature and volume of business they were going to do. Strict and stringent
laws were passed to put a check on unfair trade practices and methods.

For smooth conduct of business practices he appointed Market inspectors called as Shehna.
Intelligence officers called as Barids and secret spies called as munhian were also appointed
by Khilji. Royal courts themselves constructed the warehouses. For the distribution of food
grains during times of any short supplies a public distribution system was kept in place.
He encouraged many industries like textile which in turn involves the manufacture of cotton,
woollen and silk cloth,dyeing industry, printing industry, calico printing industry sugar
industry, metal work, paper industry, stone work, enamelling, etc.

Different crafts and arts reached their pinnacle during this period. Arts like stone carving,
carvings on temples and temple architecture, carpet making, preparing utensils made of brass,
copper and bronze etc.

The empire liberally gave permissions and grants to merchants and industries. Advance
money was paid to the merchants who brought goods from long distances and or foreign
countries, on a condition that they will not sell their goods to any intermediary.For markets
dealing in costly and expensive goods an officer was appointed to issue permits. This was
done with the thought to prevent any hoarding or black marketing.

The empire also established royal karkhanas or workshops to cater to the needs of the Sultan
and his family. As many as 4000 silk workers used to work to weave and do embroidery in
Muhammad Tughlaq’s karkhanas in Delhi . They made different kinds of cloth for robes of
honour. Almost every article used by royals like caps, curtains, tapestry, waistbands, sashes,
shoes etc. were supplied from these karkhanas. In this way the karkhana industry provided
employment to a large number of workers.

Even as so many industries were supported by the emperor the chief occupation was still
agriculture. The farmers became so prosperous that the emperor decided to increase land
revenue Once a foreign traveller by name Ibn- Battura in one of the royal feast has consumed
black rice and he spoke of the black rice for days and he also described those days as the best
of Khilji.

Sher Shaw(Suri Empire) made some very tougher laws for traders and he was very strict.
Sher Shah foucussed on the construction of roads and even got old roads repaired. He
concentrated on construction of a network of roads connecting important places of his
empire. During his period he constructed the following 4 highways
(i) Sadak-e-Azam (Grand Trunk Road): From Sonargaon in Eastern Bengal connecting Agra,
Delhi, Lahore and ending at Peshawar . total distance covered in this road was approximately
3,000 km;
(ii) Agra -Jodhpur and the Chittor fort;
(iii) Agra to Burhanpur;
(iv) Lahore to Multan.

He also made it a point to construct Sarais at every 2 kos( about 8 kms). The Sarais built by
him were like fortified lodging or inn. The travellers could pass the nights here and also keep
their goods safely. Separate lodgings were provided for Hindus and Muslims. Brahmins were
appointed for providing beds and food to the Hindu travelerrs. Abbas Khan who was a
historian for Sher Shah told that each and every person were provided with provisions as per
his rank.
The traders were so well protected that if the merchant suffered any loss on the road it is the
responsibility of the village headman called as muqaddams and zamindars for the loss of the
goods. If the robbers weren’t caught or if the lost goods were not recovered they had to
undergo the punishment , meant for the thieves.
SherShah also tried to fix uniform and standard weights and measures across his empire
which were very helpful to the traders.
He took good care of law & order and concentrated on protection of traders on road. He
issued new currency.
But importantly he simplified all the taxation system and had only two points of tax
(i)Where the goods enter his empire
(ii)Where the goods were sold. All other forms of taxes on goods and trade were abolished.

TRADE & COMMERCE:

Both internal and external trade (foreign trade) flourished under the Sultans.
There were many classes of merchants and shopkeepers for the internal trade.Bigger deals of
commodities were made in the 'Mandis.'The local bankers also called as the Baniks used to
give loans and accept deposits.

The important goods that were imported during this period were:
Silks, velvets, embroidered goods, horses, guns & gunpowder, and some precious metals.
The luxury goods like horses & mules are for the elite people, which were scarce in India.
After observing the success the muslim business people had in this trade, Hindus also started
trading in horses instead of elephants.

The important goods that were exported were:

Food Grains, Cotton, Precious stones, Indigo, Hides, Opium, Spices and Sugar. The
agricultural products also included wheat, pulses, oilseeds, scents etc .
Cotton and other textiles were exported to Southeast Asia, East Africa, and Europe.
The Arabs carried these textiles to Damascus and Alexandria via Red Sea. From here the
textiles were sent to Mediterranean countries. Trade by the Sea ways, and coast along the
seashore was more highly developed than the present days.

Internal and External Trade:

Indian trade moved both ways i.e by land and by Sea. Indian traders were basically from
Tamilnadu and Gujarat and consisted of Hindus as well as muslims. Arabs had dominated
the trade in the Indian Ocean during this period but they couldn’t touch the Indian traders.
The trade was so divided that the trade between coastal ports and upto North India was in the
hands of Marwaris and the Gujaratis. Gujaratis traders mostly comprised of Jains.
The trade by land route with central and West Asia was dominated by Multanis consisting of
Hindus and Khurasanis. Kuurasanis were the Afgans, Iraninans and others.
Tax System:
During this period of the Delhi Sultanate five types of taxes were collected:
They are:
1)Ushr, 2)Kharaj, 3)Khams, 4)Jizya and 5) Zakat.
The main expenditure during this period were expenses for the maintenance of the army and
salaries to the civil officers and the for the personal expenditure of the Sultan

Social status of the traders.

Most of the traders were very wealthy. Particularly the Gujarati and Marwari traders were
highly wealthy. The merchants contributed to the construction of temples with Jains being the
ones who donated big amounts They lived in a place called Cambay. Cambay soon became a
popular and great city as most of the wealthy merchants and traders lived there and the
houses with roofs made up of tiles built by these people were huge built in mortar and fine
stones.
The splendour of the houses was such that each house had orchards and with gardens having
flowering and fruit yielding plants. As discussed above they led a rich and luxurious life
style. Wore the best of the cloths, always feasted on the best of the food. The knife and
swords of the people were decorated with gold, silver and diamonds.

The Hindu merchants living in Delhi also lived very luxurious lives and had horses with rich
strapping and decorations. They showed off their wealth in the way they celebrated the
festivals.The Multani merchants were known to be so rich having an abundance of gold and
silver in their houses. When ever the nobles want money they used to borrow the same from
the Multanis. Muslim Bohra merchants and traders also had a share in the trade.
Most of these traders have settled in Delhi.

MUGHAL EMPIRE : (1526-1857)

In this period broadly the merchants, ayurvedic vaidyas and hakims were from middle class
and also the ayurvedic vaidyas and hakims.
There were different trading classes like….
 Long distance traders: They are specialised in doing long distance trade only and
Inter-regional traders
 Merchants were again classified as whole sellers and retailers
 Whole sellers are called by the names of Seth or Bohra. These people were also
called as Modis.
 Retailers were called by the name of Beoparis or Banik. The bainiks appointed agents
called as gumasthas in Villages and townships. The responsibility of these agents is to
purchase food grains and cash crops for the bainiks.
 Chettis are the people in South India who were involved in the trading class.
 Other important section involved in the trade are ‘banjaras,’
 Chief role of the Banjaras is to move from one pace to other selling their goods that
may include live cattle, food grains, and other items needed for cooking like ghee, salt
etc.
 These are different traders in the sense that they move from one place to the other to
sell they goods. They gather in bulk their goods like food grains, pulses, salt, ghee etc
and load them on large number of cattle like ox. In addition to the food grains they
also gather textiles, silk and other expensive goods on carts, camels and mules.Their
main style of selling is they move from one place to the other to sell their goods and
they move very long distances for this purpose.

The merchants in India had a leader from each business community. This leader is known as
Nagarseth. In times of need he would interact with the local officers on the behalf of the
traders.

People involved in monetary market i,e money / finance etc:

The community called ‘sarrafs’ (shroff) are the ones involved in dealing with money.
They excelled in Exchanging money, Accepting deposits and Lending money for interest.

Hundi: By hundi they used to transfer money from one part of the country to the other parts
This Hundi system which was used in those days is still prevalent now which goes on to
show how well developed our financial system was. Hundi is something like a letter of credit
which was payable at a certain latter date. These Hundis like our D.D and present day L.C
can be discounted, had insurance of the goods lost or damaged. Due to Hundis, the
transportation of goods and money from one place to the other easily and infact export of
goods to the countries in West Asia also became easy. Apart from west Asia, goods were sent
to places where the similar Indian banking set up is available. In the 17th century when traders
from English and Dutch came to India they were surprised to find the highly evolved and
developed Indian financial system.

Social Condition of traders

Jahangir the Mughal Emperor ruled that “if anyone, whether a nonbeliever or Muslim man
dies, his property and other belongings should be left for his heirs, and no one should
interfere with them.”

All the traders and Merchants were easily identifiable with the way they lived and moved.
They generally resided in mansions, had the best of dresses and generally moved out in
procession with their followers carrying banners and flags in the front. However the French
traveller, Bernier, had observed and wrote that “the merchants tried to look poor because they
were afraid that they might be squeezed of their wealth.”His observation may not be correct
as the emperors and rulers at that time brought up many laws to protect the properties of the
merchants.In such cases when the rich dies with out leaving any heir, he ordered for an
inspector to be appointed and guardians also appointed to take care of such properties. By
doing so the value of the property would be used for good and social cause which may
include building of mosques, repair of bridges, digging of water wells and tanks etc.

During this Medieval period, the trading community is big in number and also comprises of
some of the world’s richest merchants.
To mention a few:
Virji Vohra – This merchant with a huge fleet of ships, he had dominated trade in Surat for
many decades.
Malaya Chetti – This trader had dominated trade in the Coromandel Coast
Abdul Ghafur Bohra. This person was a very prominent and rich trader. In those days itself
he left behind him almost 5.5 millions worth of cash and goods when he passed away in the
year 1718.
Kashi Viranna and Sunca Rama Chetti were also reported to be amongst the most wealthiest
merchants.

The trading community in India at that time didn’t belong to a particular or single religion.
The merchants from- Gujarat include Hindus, Jains and Muslims who were mostly Bohras.
Rajasthan include Oswals, Maheswaris and the Agarwals called as Marwaris.
Land trade to Central Asia was dominated by Multanis, Afgans and Khatris.
In South India the Chettis on the Coramondal coast, the Muslim merchants from Malabar
were the important trading community from South India.

Monetary Policy
Silver coins of highest purity were introduced by the Mughals which became standard coins
in India and abroad. This eventually helped in the growth of India’s trade as well. During the
time of Akbar he introduced gold coin called as Sahnsub or Sahansah. This is the coin with
the highest denominator and it was to be used only in high business tractions. There was
another popular gold coin called as Illahi which was equal to 10 rupees in value. The rupees
had smaller denominations also with the least being one twentieth.
Big cities during this period
Ralph Fitch visited, India during the Akbar’s time and at that time told that Agra and
Fatehpur Sikri, both were larger than London.
Monserrate said that Lahore was second to none of the cities in Europe or Asia.
Bernier says that Delhi was not much less than Paris and that Agra was larger than Delhi.
Ahmadabad town was also as large as London and its suburbs.Dacca, Rajmahal, Multan, and
Burhanpur were large towns, while Patna in Bihar had a population of 2 lakhs.
All these towns were not only administrative centres but also became centres for trade and
commerce.

Policies for improving economy.

Mughals have made certain policies which helped the growth of money market and
commercialisation of economy.
Salaries: Salaries for army and the administrative staff is paid in cash.
Zabti system: The land revenue was assessed periodically and paid in cash.
Small townships: Growth of rural markets and increase in the market of grains paved the way
for formation of many small townships also called as Qasbas.
Handicrafts: The nobels started to utilise more luxurious products which paved the way for
the production of handicrafts and this led to the growth of small townships as well.
Agriculture was the main source of trade and as much as 20% of the total produce was sold in
the market with the help of dealers. Farmers were given the choice of crop sharing.

Mughals had the great ability to collect big share from the rural produce . This share was
converted to money. This money was concentrated in the hands of the nobles. This money
power in the hands of the nobles created a demand for all kinds of luxury goods inclusive of
building material for residential complexes, sarais, baolis etc.

As a result of the direct involvement by the government in this matter there is a growth of
arms manufacturers, guns of all types and kinds, cannons, armour etc. Amongst the Mughal
rulers both Akbar and Aurangajeb were very keen and depply interested in the manufacturing
of all types of guns including mobile guns. They took steps for increasing the production of
guns.

Another important feature of Mughals is the building of ship yards. During the time of Shah
Jahan, in 1665 he initiated the process of building sea going vessels. He made about 6 vessels
for voyages to west Asia and the following year the 6 ships were put in to use. This was a
part of the ship building process for the nobles and the wealthy merchants.As a result Indian
shipyards were able to produce ships on the model of European ships.
This reduced the freight to West Asia.

For the development of the Indigenous industry Akbar took a special interest. He was directly
responsible for the expansion of silk weaving at Lahore, Agra, Fathepur-Sikri, and in Gujarat.
Large number of factories were opened by him at important centres. He even got master
weavers from Persia, Kashmir, and Turkistan.Akbar himself visited the workshops on a
regular basis near the palace to watch the artisans at work. This greatly encouraged the
craftsmen and raised their status. He ordered people of certain rank and file to wear
particularly woven local cloths in order to generate interest in the people and push the
demand. This helped to establish a large number of shawl manufacturers in Lahore.Foreign
weavers who weave carpets were offered special packages and increments and offered to
settle in Agra, Fathepur Sikri, and Lahore. He wanted to compete with those imported from
Persia.In the course of time, the foreign traders established close contracts with important
markets in India. The production was increased for those goods that had more demand in
Western Europe.

Organization of Trade & Commerce:

Transport and Communication:

Travelling in that period had been a risky one with lot of dacoits and some tribes who kill for
anything apart from the regular robbers. The royal road were hence were in good condition
and many Sarais were constructed on the way. Sarais are resting places in between with
facility for traders to store their goods. They also provided good security to the people staying
in. For some they charge money and for some it was free of cost.

Construction of Roads:To make transportation and communication free, the Mughals paid
concentration on roads and sarais.
The important of the roads were royal road from Peshawar to Sonargaon and the road to
Daulatabad. These road were maintained in such a way that the post and letters meant for
communication was sent quickly from one place of the country to the other by means of
multiple soldiers posted at different posts and in the method of relay. Just like the present day
relay system in running were the batton was passed on from one runner to the other the posts
or important communications to the emperor or eatables etc were relayed.

India had several sea ports and though the sea ports had overseas trading relations with the
Arab countries, countries, Persia and Egypt.
Apart from the above places India also traded with various countries of South-East Asia and
China. In India there is a gradual increase in demand for luxurious goods and toys from
Europe.

Tax: At the entry point to the empires, tax which is uniform is levied on the goods.
The prevalent Rahadari cess was abolished but it was still enforced by local kings.
.

Internal and External Trade:

The Indian trading classes were highly professional and were organised in the way they did
their trade. Transporting the goods by water ways was many times cheaper than transporting
them by road .Compared to the present day water navigation and transportation it was very
well developed in the medieval period.

Important goods that were sold during this period in the inter- regional trade include:
 Food items, food grains etc
 Textile and textile products, Sugar, Rice, Silk and Muslin were exported from Bengal.
 Coast of Coromandel became the entry point for foreign goods/imports. Coramandel
had become the textile centre for production and did trade with Gujarat. Patola silk
and fine textiles were exported from Coramnadal to North India.
 Agra and Burhanpurad were two intermediate or stoppages points in the above route.
 Pepper was imported from Malabar.
 North India imported luxurious items and exported food grains and Indigo.
 For handicrafts, Lahore was another important centre for the production. Lahore is
also the central place for the distribution of luxury products of Kashmir shawls,
carpets etc .
  The goods and products of Punjab and Sindh were traded down the area of river Indus
and had close trading links with Kabul and Khandahar on one side and with Delhi and
Agra on the other side.
 Amongst those goods that were imported were silver, raw silk, metals, coral, precious
stones, textiles, perfumes, European wines, African slaves, glasswork and China
porcelain.
 The art of making natural perfumes from the flowers blossomed and excelled during
this period.
 It got so much popularity that many Europeans came to India to learn this technique
of preparing perfume from natural flowers. Even the present days we find our markets
flooded with fragranced hair oils and body oils that are made from natural flowers.

Role of European Trading Companies

The arrival of Dutch and English traders in the start of 17 century also contributed to the
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growth of Indian trade.The Portugue had a monopoly in sea trade during those days. This
monopoly was broken when the Indian traders started to welcome the foreign traders which
gradually paved the way to establish direct link between Indian and the European markets.
Seeing the prospects of the business as the Portugese had done the Dutch and the English
traders also planned to establish their monopoly in the markets and started to make well
protected and strong establishments by which they planned to take on the local rulers.

England defeated Spain in the year 1588 which signalled the fall of Portugal power.The
Dutch were able to establish at Machilipatnam staving off stiff opposition from the Portugese.
Simultaneously they established control in Java and Sumatra( known for spices) by 1610 and
they started their domination in the field of spices.
Dutch-English tussle: Seeing the Dutch, Englishmen too had shown their interest in the spices
market and came to the coast but the hostile Dutch obstructed them to do so.

Export of textiles as the main base of foreign trade:

Trade of Cloth: Coromondal coast produced the finest and cheapest cloth which became very
popular. Dutch capitalised on this and they increased their trade from Machilipatnam upto the
Coromandal coast. After grabbing it from the local kings the Dutch made Pulicat as their
base.
In the year 1612, the English defeated Portuguese fleet out-side Surat and they have
established a factory in Surat. Mughal emperor Jahangir gave permission to English man
Thomas Roe for establishing the factory in Surat. Following the English Dutch also soon
established a factory in Surat. Export of textiles thus became the base of India’s foreign
trade.
An English writer observed, that “From Aden to Achin from head to foot, everyone was
clothed in Indian textiles.” Though Ottoman Turkey also exported textiles the words of the
English writer who also was an agent were practically true. If China was excluded from the
list Indian was the only manufacturer of the Asian countries.

In exchange the only goods that India really needed were certain metals like Tin and copper
as their production in the country was not enough. Tin was essentially used in making bronze.
Apart from the metals, some spices for the purpose of food and as medicine also were
imported. War horses and ivory also were imported.But as a result of increase in foreign trade
the direct implication was the increase in the import of silver and gold so much so that
Bernier said that India has become the sink of Gold and Silver which travelled to India after
circulating the entire world. Apart from India China was the only other country which held on
to its gold and silver reserves

Decline of Portugese in the Indian Ocean

In 1622, the Portugal base Ormuz near the Persian gulf was captured by the English with the
help of Persian forces. Gradually the Portugese monopoly was broken completely and were
restricted only to the three places of Goa, Diu and Daman only. By the end of the century the
market share of Portugese have become insignificant in India . In that place the Dutch and the
English established themselves in the Indian trade within the first quarter of the 17 century.
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Machilipatanm fort and the Madras fort (earlier known as Fort St. David) became the chief
centers of trade and in the year 1640 the export of cloth from Coromondal became equal to
that of Gujarat and by the year 1660 Coromandal overtook Gujarat by 3 times.

Salt Petre: Salt petre was another famous material to be exported to Europe which was used
in making gun powder and ballast in ships. Bihar was the best source for Salt petre and as a
result exports increased rapidly from this area. By the end of the century, the trade of salt
petre became equal to that of textile trade of Coramandal.

Indian Textiles in Europe:

India got closely linked to the international markets and especially to European markets.
India had everything to give to European markets but had nothing to take back from Europe.
Indian textiles particularly became a huge rage in England so much so that everything in the
household be it dress, be it entire furniture everything is from India, either made of wool or
silk.The impact of the exports to England was so huge that the local market of Europe has
fallen due to which an agitation was seen in Europe in 1701. As a result all models of calicos
were banned from India, China, Persia etc.

European Trade:
Indian overseas trade steadily expanded from the mid of 16th century to 18th century.
This was made possible due to the trade with many European companies in this period. From
very ancient times India did business with foreign countries particularly with western
countries.From the seventh century A.D Arabs took control of the trade done through Indian
Ocean and they gradually dominated the Indian Ocean and also Red sea. Merchants from
Venice and Genoa purchased Indian goods and products from Arabs.With Portugal business
directly with India ended the domination of Arabs and also Venetian traders in this sea route.

The discovery of Sea route to India by India by Vasco da gama permanently changed the
whole world. By the seas route many countries were connected to each other by Sea route
and it has become easy and accessible for all to reach anywhere.Portguese were the first to set
foot in India and were followed by the other European countries like the Dutch, The English
etc.Very soon the Indian Sea coast was dominated and was taken into the control of the
European trading companies.But upon proper research we observe that inspite of the fact that
European traders dominated the sea, they were practically unable to remove the Indian traders
from the Asian trade. The results also show that the European market share is only a
fractional share of India’s foreign trade. Some of the reasons for this situation is that the
Indian traders knew both domestic and foreign markets in the textile industry better than the
Europeans.Secondly the Indian traders were prepared to trade even with small margins of 10-
15 % where as the European traders were working for a profit margin of 40-50%. The Dutch
couldn’t work at lower than those prices because of the over heads it had to meet, the cost of
its war ships and other factories etc.

As they found it difficult to match Indian traders they offered Indian traders ferrying the
products and goods of Indian merchants in their ships. Indian traders also didn’t have any
problem to this as their shipping rose from 50 ships at Surat to about 112 by the end of the
century.This also proved that there was growth in the Indian foreign trade. Apart from
ferrying the ships the English and Dutch gradually started exporting goods from India. And
eventually the English set up their base at Hoogly and Balasore in Orissa. The growth of
Indian foreign trade, influx of huge quantities of gold and silver into the country and the close
association India with European markets ultimately gave rise to a number of consequences. It
resulted in power struggle, greed & corruption amongst the nobles, economical inequalities in
rural areas and others factors.

This led to series of events which ultimately led English, Dutch and the French to try and
conqur India.Even this was not easily possible. India as long as it remained united European
countries couldn’t do much. Only after the unity was lost they gradually took over.
Earlier too India had good business association with foreign countries whose main aim was
to do trade. But European traders with their political and military support from their countries
instead of coming to the country as traders in individual capacities to do trade started
representing their countries and gradually established their control on the trade. This trading
interest was gradually replaced by political interest and in trying to grab the territory. So their
commerce interest changed to territorial ambitions and territorial hunger.

Through trade, Globalisation was thus first noticed in 17 century with several countries in
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the market. Through trade these European countries entered Mughal empire and gradually
gained control and wielded more power in the trade. Latter on they gained control over the
empire. This was till the British took over in the 19 and established their complete control
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and colonized the Indian subcontinent. All along the coastal belt, big trading centres and big
towns which have commercial they spread the European language and gradually they spread
their language to other parts of the country also.

Transport and Communication for Europeans

The Mughals paid much concentration on roads and Sarais which made travelling easier.
Transportation was very cheap and suitable to the Europeans for their needs.Some Europeans
did complain about the safety aspects but our roads were good enough. Insurance was
provided for the road travel. Sarais were constructed on the roads at periodical intervals
meant for resting, storing goods and for protection from robbers etc. The travel on the Indian
roads those days with Sarais at regular intervals on the main roads or royal roads was as good
as the roads were in Europe at the time. Uniform tax was collected on goods at the point of
their entry into the empire. Road cesses or rahadari cess which was prevalent at that time was
declared illegal but still some of the local kings used to collect it.