A History of Agriculture in India v2.c84: Chapter 32. Trade, Commerce and Industry in the Seventeenth Century

A History of Agriculture in India v2.c84

Language: English

v2.c84.s1 Gujarat Trade — 3 parts
v2.c84.s2 Transport of Foodgrains, Sugar, Ghee and Salt — 3 parts
v2.c84.s3 River Transport and Exports — 4 parts
v2.c84.s4 Imports — 2 parts
v2.c84.s5 Industry — 4 parts
v2.c84.s6 Pilgrimages — 2 parts
v2.c84.s7 Sarais — 9 parts

Chapter 32. Trade, Commerce and Industry in the Seventeenth Century

AGRA, the capital of the Empire, and Ahmadabad, the capital of Gujarat, were great centres of trade in the seventeenth century. Mandelslo, a native of Mecklenburg, who came to India in 1638, describes Agra in his day as the noblest city of Hindustan, and the one in which the Mughal most delighted. He says it was as much as a horseman could do to ride round the city in a day. ‘Its streets are fair and spacious, and there are some of them vaulted, which are above a quarter of a league in length, where the merchants and tradesmen have their shops, distinguished by their trades and the merchandises which are there sold, every trade and every merchant having a particular street and quarter assigned him.’ There were eighty caravanserais for foreign merchants, ‘most of them three stories high, with very noble lodgings, store-houses, vaults, and stables belonging to them.’ He counted seventy great mosques, and estimates the number of public baths ‘or hot-houses’ at above 800, the tax on which brought in a considerable revenue to the State. In and outside the city he saw numerous palaces of the rajas and lords, and, chiefest of all, the imperial palace, fortified with a moat and drawbridge.’¹

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¹ Lane-Poole, Stanley. *Mediaeval India—Under Mohammedan Rule*, A.D. 1712-1764, Vol. II, pp. 223

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Describing the trade of Agra and the East Country, Pelsaert states, ‘All goods must pass this way, as from Gujarat, Tatta (or Sind); from Kabul, Kandhar, or Multan, to the Deccan; from the Deccan or Burhanpur to those places, or to Lahore; and from Bengal and the whole East country; there are no practicable alternative routes, and the roads carry indescribable quantities of merchandise, especially cotton goods.

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‘All these countries are very fertile, and yield immense quantities of grain, such as wheat or rice, sugar, and butter, large quantities of which are brought up the river Jumna, or carried by oxen overland, to provision this country (that is, Agra) and the King’s army. In the other direction shallow-draught vessels carry from here much Sambhar salt, also opium, asafoetida, ‘painted’ cloth called chits (chintz), red salu from Burhanpur, ormesines from Lahore, horses, and large quantities of cotton, which is grown largely between Surat and Burhanpur, and supports an extensive trade to Agra.’²

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² Moreland, W.H. and Geyl, P. (tr). *Jahangir’s India—the Remonstrantie of Francisco Pelsaert*, pp. 6, 9.

Gujarat Trade

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'Ahmadabad is the capital of Gujarat, and receives annually from Agra large quantities of goods, for example, much Patna silk, to be manufactured there into ormesines, satins, velvets, and various kinds of curious stuffs,' states Pelsaert. 'Carpets are also woven there with an intermixture of silk and gold thread; while the imports include spikenard, tzierila, asafoetida, pipel and numerous such drugs, . . . and clothing for Hindu women from Bengal and the Eastern provinces, pamris from Kashmir and Lahore, and Bengal kand or white sugar. In the other direction are brought hither turbans, girdles, orhnis or women's head-coverings, worked very cleverly and ingeniously with gold thread; also velvets, satin of various kinds, striped, flowered, or plain; coconuts from Malabar; European woollen goods; lead, tin, quick-silver, vermilion; large quantities of spice, viz. cloves, nutmeg and mace, and sandalwood.'³

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³ Moreland, W.H. and Geyl, P. (tr). *Jahangir's India—the Remonstrantie of Francisco Pelsaert*, p. 19

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Travelling was full of hazards in Gujarat in 1638. The Rajputs—a kind of 'Highwaymen or Tories', Mandelslo calls them—infested the roads, and he had to journey in company with large caravans, and even then had occasion to fight for his life.

Transport of Foodgrains, Sugar, Ghee and Salt

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Transport of goods on land was by means of camels, pack-oxen, and goats. In the mountains the transport of commodities like foodgrains and salt was by sheep and goats. Even now the Gaddi shepherds of Himachal and Bhotiyas of Kumaon use their goats for the purpose. Camels on account of their endurance were used for transport of commodities over long distances. In a painting of the Babur-nama relating to the reign of Akbar, traders are depicted weighing almonds, and loading them on camels at Kand-i-Badam in Afghanistan (Fig.65).

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Transport of foodgrains, sugar, salt and ghee was the monopoly of a nomadic trading community known as banjaras. They drove enormous herds of pack-laden bullocks. They lived with their families in camps or tandas. A large tanda might contain as many as 600 or 700 souls and up to 20,000 bullocks, which would have carried something like 2,700 tonnes. On occasions such as when a large army had to be supplied, the banjaras could collect a hundred thousand bullocks or more.⁴

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⁴ Habib, I. *The Agrarian System of Mughal India*, p.62

River Transport and Exports

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The rivers offered the cheapest means of transport. Barges of 300-500 tonnes sailed from Agra to Patna and Bengal. The downward journey FIG. 65. Weighing and transport of almonds at Kand-i-Badam, from the Babur-nama. Mughal, 1597.

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FIG. 64. The coconut sheath opens and the flowers appear like a bundle of brooms.

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FIG. 63. The flowers of coconut are enclosed in a sheath about a cubit long.

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was performed during the monsoons when the rivers were in flood, and upward journey during the rest of the year. Rice and sugar were exported from Bengal to Patna and Agra. Agra had flourishing trade in indigo. Bengal silk was exported to Japan and Holland by the Dutch. Lahore and Multan were important river ports in the Punjab with traffic down to Sindh. From Lahore and Multan sugar and ginger were sent down on boats to Thatta, whence they returned laden with pepper and dates. Butter for export was brought down by the river to Thatta from Bhakkar. Indigo was carried in the same way from Sehwan for shipment to Basra and, occasionally, via Surat to Europe.

Imports

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Briefly mentioning imports of India, Bernier states, ‘Hindostan is in want of copper, cloves, nutmegs, cinnamon, elephants, and other things, with which she is supplied by the Dutch from Japan, the Moluccas, Ceylon, and Europe;—that she obtains lead from abroad, in part from England; broadcloths and other articles from France;—that she is in need of a considerable number of foreign horses, receiving annually more than five and twenty thousand from Usbec, a great many from Persia by way of Kandahar, and several from Ethiopia, Arabia, and Persia, by sea, through the ports of Moka, Basra, and Bander Abas. It may also be observed that Hindostan consumes an immense quantity of fresh fruit from Samarkand, Bukhara, and Persia; such as melons, apples, pears and grapes, eaten in Delhi and purchased at a very high price nearly the whole winter;—and likewise dried fruit, such as almonds, pistachio and various other small nuts, plums, apricots, and raisins, which may be procured the whole year round;—that she imports a small sea-shell from the Maldives, used in Bengal, and other places, as a species of small money; ambergris from the Maldives and Mozambique, rhinoceros’ horns, elephants’ teeth, and slaves from Ethiopia; musk and porcelain from China, and pearls from Beharein, and Tutucourin, near Ceylon.⁵ Woollens, silks, and velvets were also imported from Europe and elsewhere, but their use was confined to the upper classes.

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⁵ Francois Bernier. *Travels in the Mughal Empire*, pp. 203, 204

Industry

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The chief industry of India was handloom textiles, and its aggregate production was impressive. Its magnitude certainly impressed the Portuguese, as may be seen from the statement quoted by Pyrard, that ‘every one from the Cape of Good Hope to China, man and woman, is clothed from head to foot’ in the products of Indian looms. Fine muslins were manufactured in royal karkhanas. These muslins were used for turbans, and also for drawers worn by females, so delicately fine as frequently to wear out in one night. ‘This article of dress, which lasts only a few hours,’ says Bernier, ‘may cost ten or twelve crowns, and even more, when beautifully embroidered with needle-work.’

Paper

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Paper, which was required for official work on a large scale, was manufactured from wood-pulp obtained from trees. A good deal of paper was manufactured from wood-pulp in Lahore, and Rajgir, in Bihar. There was a considerable progress in the production of paper in the seventeenth century. During the reign of Aurangzeb paper was manufactured in Awadh also.

Lac

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Lac was extracted from the trees, and, besides being used for manufacturing women’s bangles, it was also utilized in varnishing furniture, doors, windows and toys. The Dutch exported it to Persia. The lac bangle and toy industry flourished most in Gujarat especially at Surat.

Iron

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Iron was smelted in comparatively small quantities. Hence only essential hand-tools for agriculture were manufactured from iron. Moreland states, ‘At the Imperial Court 1 lb. of iron in this form was worth 10 lb. of wheat, while about the year 1914 the value was just over 3 lb., and on this basis Akbar’s peasants had to pay more than three times as much grain as their modern successors for the iron they required for tools and implements.’⁶

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⁶ Moreland, W.H. *India at the Death of Akbar*..., p. 150.

Pilgrimages

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Here a mention may be made to pilgrimages and mode of travel in the seventeenth century. Pilgrimages to Jagannath Puri and Hardwar were popular with the Hindus during the Mughal rule. ‘These pilgrimages are not made, as in Europe, one by one, or two by two,’ states Bernier, ‘but the population of a town or of several villages assemble in order to travel together in company. The poor who come from afar, sometimes 300 or 400 leagues, and who, with all the savings which they have accumulated for that purpose during their lives, are unable to sustain the expenses of the journey, are assisted by the rich, who expend very great sums in such alms. Each one travels according to his station and means, some in pallankeens or litters, others in carriages; and the poor, some on foot and others on oxen, the mother carrying her child, and the father the cooking utensils.’ The pilgrims carried their idols in litters covered with gold brocade with silver fringes.

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A fair idea of the modes of transport used by the pilgrims is provided by a Mewar painting. The chief is seated in a palanquin carried by his servants. His wives are riding a bullock cart, which is screened by curtains to ensure purdah. Goods are being carried on backs of camels and bullocks. The servants and retainers are walking, or riding on horses, mules and bullocks (Fig.66).

Sarais

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The pilgrims and other travellers rested in sarais during their journeys. From Sher Shah onwards sarais were built for the use of travellers along the Grand Trunk Road. Some of these sarais have crumbled, but a few are still in good condition. The sarai at Shambhu about eight kilometres from Sarhind is typical (Fig. 64). Inside are the cells in which the travellers rested along with their goods (Figs. 67, 68). Food was cooked by women of jhiwar caste. A Mughal painting provides us a glimpse of a cooking scene in a sarai. The woman is making chapatis. Scattered around her are cooking implements and utensils. One of the travellers is kneading flour. Their leader is resting on a charpoy, which is surrounded by chickens. The expression on the faces of men shows that they are more interested in the charms of the cook than in food (Fig. 69).

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How the sarais functioned, and what was life like in these sarais? An answer is provided by Niccolao Manucci, who states, ‘For the use of wayfarers there are throughout the realms of the Mogul on every route many sarais. They are like fortified places with their bastions and strong gates; most of them are built of stone or of brick. In every one is an official whose duty it is to close the gates at the going down of the sun. After he has shut the gates, he calls out that everyone must look after his belongings, picket his horses by their fore- and hind-legs; above all, that he must look out for dogs, for the dogs of Hindustan are very cunning and great thieves.

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‘At six o’clock in the morning, before opening the gates, the watchman gives three warnings to the travellers, crying in a loud voice that everyone must look after his own things. After these warnings, if anyone suspects that any of his property is missing, the doors are not opened until the lost thing is found. By this means they make sure of having the thief, and he is strung up opposite the sarais. Thus the thieves, when they hear a complaint made, drop the goods somewhere, so as not to be discovered.

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‘These sarais are only intended for travellers. Each one of them might hold, more or less, from 800 to 1,000 persons, with their horses, camels, carriages; and some of them are even larger. They contain different rooms, halls, and verandas, with trees inside the courtyard, and many provision shops; also separate abodes for the women and men who arrange the rooms and the beds for travellers.

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'In these *sarais* travellers are pestered by dealers, who offer for sale different kinds of cloth, not only white, but coloured; also by musicians, dancing-boys, women dancers, barbers, tailors, washermen, farriers with horse-shoes, endless cheating physicians, and many sellers of grass and straw for the horses. All these things are cheap; but there are no longer dainty morsels for the foot-travellers to be eaten at the cost of the king, or any supply of bedsteads with mattresses and sheets. Still there is never any dearth of women of pleasure.'⁷