Chapter 6 City Merchant And Trade Cities Of Medieval India
From the Sanskrit word ‘Nagar’, the Persian word ‘Shaher’ has come. In the Sultanate and the Mughal period, there were many ‘Shaher’ or cities in India, such as Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Golconda, Bijapur, Surat, Ahmedabad, etc.
Fatehpur Sikri was the capital city of Akbar. Most. of these cities emerged in between the 13th to 19th century AD.
Importance of Delhi:
The city of Delhi is more important from a political, economic, and cultural point of view. It is situated in the junction of the edge of the Arabella range and the plains of the river Yamuna. In the Mahabharata, we find the name of a city ‘Indraprastha’.
Its present name is Delhi. The city of Delhi was founded first by a Rajput clan in the 7th century. In the 12th century, the city of Delhi was rebuilt by Qutubuddin Aibek, the commander-in-chief of Sultan Mohammad Ghori of Ghazni.
Ghori captured Delhi after defeating Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain in 1192 AD. Qutubuddin Aibek decorated Delhi and therefore the city came to be called “Qutub Delhi”.
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His son-in-law Iltutmish was the real founder of the city of Delhi. In the time of Ghiyasuddin Balban ‘Ghiyaspur city’ and his grandson Kaikobad Quilaghari palace was founded near the bank of river Yamuna.
The founder of the Khalji dynasty Jalaluddin Khalji a new city known as “Shaher-i-Nau” for the nobles like ‘Amirs’ and ‘Sardars’. The next sultan Alauddin Khalji founded a fort city named “Siri” to protect the citizen of Delhi.
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Ghiyasuddin Tughlug founded the “Tughlakabad” city. But the city ‘Qutub Delhi’ or ‘Purana Delhi’ never lost its fame and glory. Many scholars, travelers, and traders from foreign countries visited here and enlightened the city of Delhi.
Contemporary historians Ishami, Uthbi, Minhaj-us-Siraj, and Jiauddin Barani are highly admired. the historic city of Delhi.
Ishami said that Sultan Iltutmish well decorated his capital Delhi, for which aristocrats, artisans, artists and travelers, Jewell traders, physicians, sages, and saints from Arab, Central Asia, China or Byzantine came to permanently settle in the new city Delhi.
Turk Sultan Firoj Shah Tughluq made the new city ‘Firojabad’ (1354) which is also called “Firoj Shah Kotla” (Kotla means Fort). Among the Mughals Humayun built the city ‘Dinpanah’ and ‘Shergah’ (1533) and Shahjahan founded the city ‘Shahjahanabad’ (1639).
Shershah Suri built ‘Purana Quila’ (1540). All these together increased the importance of Delhi. After the destruction of the city of Baghdad, an important center for Muslim culture and civilization Delhi had come to an important shelter for Sufi Saints.
The Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Aulia permanently settled in Delhi and was popularly called “Chirag-i-Delhi” or “light of Delhi” and the city of Delhi was “Hazrat-i-Delhi”.
Water Supply System in Delhi:
To get job men of various professions were gathered in Delhi irrespective of ‘caste and religion. So the town planning of Delhi was not followed properly. The ‘Kasba’ or ‘Suburbs’ sprang up around the cities of Delhi.
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The inborn problem of Delhi was it scarcity of water, for which the Sultans dug some ‘Hauz’ or ‘tanks or ‘Talao’ for the supply of water. Iltutmish built an eight-corner water reservoir known as “Hauz- i-Shamsi” or “Haaur-i-Sultani”.
Similarly, Alauddin Khilji built a four-cornered reservoir named “Hauz-i-Alai” or “Hauz-i-Khas”.. The Sultans of Delhi ruled in India for more than 300 years. During that time the rulers of Delhi changed their capital for 11 times.
Sultan Sikandar Lodi shifted his capital from Delhi to Agra. But the city of Delhi did not lose its importance to the people of Hindustan.
Mughals And The Delhi
The Mughal emperors like the Sultans of Delhi changed their capital several times. Akbar founded his new capital at Fatehpur Sikri in the native village ‘Sikri’ of Sheikh Selim Chisti.
In 1585 he left this city for the scarcity of water and went to Lahore and finally in 1596 AD, he came back to Agra. After the breaking of the shores of the river Yamuna city life of Agra was hampered.
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As a result, Shahjahan built a new city.’ Shahajahanabad’ in 1639 and the Shahjahan came to Agra in 1648 AD. At that time importance of Delhi was not lost. He built the Red Fort in Delhi, for which he spent Rs. 91 lacks at that time.
He dug the canal outside the fort. This canal was called the “Nehr-i-Beheset” or “Canal of heaven”. Near the Red Fort ‘Chandni Chowk Market’ was built. Various types of people were there in Shahajahanabad city.
The big and beautiful houses of the city were called “havelis” and the ordinary houses were called “Kothari” or “Makan” and the small rooms were called “Kothi”.
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The highways of Shahajahanabad were known as “Bazar” as there were many shops by the side of the way. The sultans of Delhi introduced three types of currencies like ‘Mohar’ made of gold, ‘Tanka’ made of silver, and ‘Jital’ made by copper.
During the Mughals, the gold coin ‘Mohar’ was called ‘Asrafi’ but the well-known silver coin was called ‘Rupaya’. The copper currency of the Mughals was ‘Dam’. In South India gold coin ‘Hon’ made of gold was popular.
The British merchants made their trade centers in Surat, Masulipattam, and other parts of India. British King James-I sent his ambassador Sir Thomas Roe to the court of Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1615 AD.
After getting permission from the emperor he established trade centres in Agra, Burhanpur, and Patna. For indulging in the slave trade another Mughal emperor Shah Jahan drove the Portuguese out from Hooghly.
The Dutches were forced to go to Bangladesh and the French were made pressured to restrict their political activities in India.
Ultimately the British and French merchants carried out their trade and other activities in India with the help of local middlemen who were popularly called ‘Dalal’. These Dalals directly collect the raw materials from local farmers or artisans.
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From this diagram, we can easily understand the trading of European merchants.
The export and import systems of India developed the cultural and commercial relations between the world. The European traders developed with export-import trade through Surat, Masulipattam, Hooghly, and Pulikot.
Surat was the international seaport of the Mughals. The Mughal emperors, aristocrats, and nobles involved themselves in trade, but the luxurious items produced from their ‘Karkhanas’ were not sold outside.
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The luxurious items were for their own use only. All the industrial towns in medieval India were trade centers. Quilon and Calicut of Malabar coast, Cambay and Surat of Gujarat, Saptagram and Gauda of Bengal, Multan and Lahore of North-West India, Delhi, Benaras and Lucknow of North India, etc.
Each and every city were however industrial and commercial center. From Lahore and Multan, the trade relation was developed with Central Asia and West Asia. In every city of India, traders had a deep influence.
Chapter 6 City Merchant And Trade The Merchants
The traders were divided into four types during the Mughal period-
- European merchants
- Indian export traders
- Traders engaged in internal trade and
- Local traders. The Gujarati Hindu merchants were the most prosperous.
The traders had different names according to regions
- Lohana or Kshatri merchant (Sind and Punjab),
- Persian merchants (Western India),
- Marwari and Armenian merchants (Eastern India),
- Komati (Andhra),
- Bohra Khoja and Menon merchants (Gujarat),
- Chettiyan merchants (Madras).
Moreover, the Banjaras (mobile traders in rice, wheat, sugar, etc). Dasanami and Feriwalas were also known as traders.
Chapter 6 City Merchant And Trade Trade In Mughal India
Trade in Mughal India can be divided into 3 parts:
- Local trade
- Internal trade and coastal trade
- External trade.
The local trade of the villages and markets was developed on the basis of the popular or local necessity. The main centers of local trade were Agra, Lahore, Multan, and Gujarat.
The wide roads from Sonargaon to Lahore, Agra to Burhanpur, and Agra- Delhi to Surat in Gujrat through Rajputana had great commercial importance. The kotwals and the faujdars used to give a watch on the roads.
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Lahore and Multan on the river Indus were big ports. The other famous ports were Saptagram, Patna, Allahabad, and Varanasi on the Ganges and Agra on the river Yamuna.
The big boats or ships used to travel from one part to other with merchandise weighing 3/4 hundred tons. In the case of coastal trade, the loaded ships used to travel from the port of Saptagram in Bengal to Andhra.
Tamilnadu and Kerala with rice, sugar, cloth, cotton, tobacco, etc. Spices like Ichilly, pepper, etc. used to come from South India to Bengal. In Bengal rice was sold at one rupee per maund.
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The description of the ‘Saptadinga Madhukar’ of Dhanapati Saudagar traveling of Ceylon, as found in the ‘Chandi Mangal’ of Kobikankan Mukundaram Chakraborty was not only an imagination.
It was a direct description or proof of coastal and seaborne trade. Dr. Tapan kr. Roychowdhury said, “the nobles’ lavish lifestyle implied a very large demand for domestic manufactures”- The Cambridge Economic History of India (v-1).
In the case of external trade, India had a land trade with Kabul, Kandahar, Persia, Turkey, etc. In seaborne external trade ports like Surat, Broach, Cambay in Gujarat, Goa, Calicut, Cochin, Daval, Bessain in the west coast, Madras, Negapattam, Musalipattam, Satgaon, Sonargaon, Chittagong in the east coast were main centers of trade.
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Silk from China, Chinaware, lac made goods, camphor and many other cosmetics used to come from China to India, Spices, and cardamom came from Burma, horses and Kasturi used to come from central Asia and Arabia, carpets and velvets used to come from Persia.
Industries: Along with the growth of trade, there was a development of art and artistic production in Mughal India. The cotton clothes of Bengal; particularly muslin from Dacca and calico clothes and woolen clothes from Kashmir became famous.
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Bernier said that the luxury items for the ‘Mughal harems’ were produced a lot and the imperial makhanas fulfilled the needs of the royal court. Along with the cotton silk trade was also developed in Bengal.
There was satisfactory growth in the leather craft and metal industries. Dr. Irfan Habib has discussed the improved technology of bronze-made cannons and missile weapons, and ships, in his book ‘Technology in medieval India’.
Jagadish Narayan Sarkar called it the primary stage of “heavy industries”.
Causes for the growth of Mughal trade:
- Political peace and unity and as well as a stable government encouraged the Mughal traders.
- The manufacturing of trade goods and construction of trade routes under the patronage of the rulers greatly helped to develop trade in Mughal India,
- Dr. Tapan Roychowdhury said that the manufacture of luxurious items for the pomp and luxury of the Mughal harem increased a lot of domestic needs.
- The Mughal administration did never interfere in the enterprises of the Mughal merchants and trade duty was not so much unbearable.
- The growth of towns, trade centers, markets, shops, etc. was another cause of the growth of Mughal trade.
- The rise of imperial ‘Karkhanas’ by the emperors and its large number of artisans and workers made the primary basis for the growth of trade and commerce. A foreign traveler Bernier remarked that the consumption of luxury goods in the ‘harem’ of Mughal rulers was “Greater than can be conceived of.”
- Equal implementation of trade law by the Emperors was another factor.
- Apart from these new currency policies, the introduction of bank drafts and the system of cash-making salary payments helped people to purchase commodities from the markets.
- Coming of the European merchants in India also played a vital role in the rapid expansion of Mughal trade and commerce.
Chapter 6 City Merchant And Trade Relation With The European Merchants
In the Mughal age, many travelers and merchants came from France, Spain, Portugal, England, Holland, Italy, and many other countries. Among them were Bernier, Tavernier, Manuchi, and Munric,
Ralph Fitch, Edward Terry, Pachars Hawkins, Thomas Roe, Cartwright, and Batan are important. It is very important to write the social, economic, and political history of the Mughal empire. India has had trade relations with European countries in very ancient times.
This trade continued through the middle ages. India had many things that the Europeans praised highly but the most important thing was spice. Europe could hardly do anything without Indian spices.
In 1498 Vasco-da-Gama discovered the sea route to reach India. We have already seen that Alfonso d’ Albuquerque was sent to India by the king of Portugal.
Albuquerque captured Goa in 1510 and this was a signal for Portuguese domination in the eastern trade. This domination was achieved not only by the strength of arms.
Diu, Surat, Daman, Bombay, Calicut, Cochin, Masulipattam, and Colombo came under their sway. Several famous Portuguese missionaries like Francis Xavier and Stevens tried to impose their religion on India.
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In 1602 the Dutch East India Company was established. They soon drove out the Portuguese from Surat, Calicut, Cochin, Balasore, Chinsura, Cossimbazar, and Masulipattam. They established trading posts in Cambay, Nagapatam, and Patna.
“craftspersons “
In 1608 captain Hawkins and Thomas Roe in 1615, the ambassador of James I obtained certain trading rights from the Mughal emperor Jahangir. In 1640 the English had a port in Madras where they built a fort.
In 1651 they obtained permission to trade in Bengal and soon there were trading posts at Cossimbazar, Patna, and Hooghly. In 1690 the English had a lease of Sutanate, Gobindapur, and Calcutta.
The initiative was taken by Job Charnock. In 1668 the English East India Company had earned trading rights in Bombay. The French sent to India a ship or two in the sixteenth century.
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French attempts at setting up trade in India hardly succeeded then. They formed their East India Company in 1664. Since then the French company made progress having built.
Trading posts also at Pondicherry, Chandennagar, Mahe, Dacca, Cossimbazar, and Balasore. Dupleix even dreamt of a French empire in India.
Dupleix’s dream did not, however, come true and the failure of the French left the British the only European power to hold away throughout India.