Local Government in Ancient India c9.90

c9.90

Merchant-guilds do not seem to have attained the same development as the craft-guilds. The reason seems to have been that the merchant was necessarily a wanderer, while industrial organizations in these olden times depended largely upon settled relations and ties of neighbourhood. A Hansa League, for instance, can only grow in highly developed markets and at sea-ports. Nevertheless there is some significant evidence of corporate, concerted action among the merchants: the *Cullakaseṭṭhi-Jātaka* mentions a hundred or so of merchants offering to buy up a newly-arrived ship's cargo (*Jāt.* I. 122); 500 traders were fellow-passengers on board the ill-fated ships mentioned in *Jāt.* II. 128 and V. 75; 700 others were lucky enough to secure Suppāraka as their pilot (*Jāt.* IV. 138-42), thus showing 'co-operative chartering' of the same vessel. Again, caravan-traders had a common chief who was to give directions as to halts, watering, precautions against robbers, and, in many cases, as to route, fords, &c. (*Jāt.* I. 98. 99. 107. 174; II. 295. 335; III. 200). Further, several partnerships are mentioned, e. g. in a deal in birds exported from India to Babylon (*Jāt.* III. 126. 127), in horses imported from the 'north' to Benares (*Jāt.* II. 31), partnerships of traders of Sāvatthi who carried on joint-business and set out with 500 cart-loads of merchandise (*Jāt.* IV. 350-4); of two other traders of Sāvatthi who 'joined partnership and loaded 500 waggons full of wares' (*Jāt.* II. 181); partnership business in pots and pans (*Jāt.* I. 111); partnership of two merchants of Benares who 'took 500 waggons of merchandise from Benares to the country-districts' with an equal interest of both in the 'stock-in-trade and in the oxen and waggons' (*Jāt.* I. 404). A concerted commercial enterprise on a more extensive scale appears in *Jāt.* II. 294–6, where some traders in Sāvatthi carried on a joint business and came upon rich finds of ‘minerals of all sorts from iron to lapis lazuli’, which they stowed away in a common treasure-house, giving food to the brotherhood on joint account. These are distinguished from another partnership of traders who were more greedy and came to grief. Again, *Jāt.* II. 248 shows concerted action in business and sport of ‘certain traders in Benares who made a journey to Ujjenī for trade’, where they afterwards gave themselves up to merry-making.