A History of Agriculture in India v2.c84.s4: Imports
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c84.s4
- Language
- English
Imports
v2.c84.s4.1
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.
v2.c84.s4.2
⁵ Francois Bernier. *Travels in the Mughal Empire*, pp. 203, 204