EHI - 4

11th Part 

Q.  Mention the mainland routes operating in India during the seventeenth century. What were the major means of transport used on these routes?     

A.  The credit of an elaborate network of trade routes linking all the commercial centers of the Empire by the beginning of the 17th century goes to the Mughal emperors. The roads were looked after by the state or chieftains through whose territory they passed. In certain regions, these roads were obstructed by a large number of rivers which were crossed by fords or sometimes bridges had to be built.

            The fords and bridges were also built and maintained by the state or nobles. However, during rains, the roads were in pathetic condition. To mark the alignment of roads as also to indicate the distance traveled, the state provided towers known as kosminars. However, only those routes which were traversed more frequently had kosminars. All the prominent routes had sarais at short intervals. These sarais were used by the merchants and travelers as halting places. Apart from residential quarters, big sarais also provided to the itinerant traveler space for the storage of goods. Some important trade routes were - 

Agra-Delhi - Kabul Route

Agra-Faridabad-Delhi-Sonepat-Panipat-Kamal-Ambala-Ludhiana-Fatehpur-Lahore

Rohtasfort-Rawalpindi-Shamsabad-Peshawar-Fatehabad-Kabul.

Agra-Burhanpur-Surat Route

Agra-Dholpur-Gwalior-Narwar-Sironj-Handiya-Burhanpur-Talner-Nandurbar- Kirka-Surat.

Surat-Ahmedabad-Agra

Surat-Broach-Baroda-Ahmedabad-Palampur-Jalore-Merta-Ludana-Hinduan

Fatehpur Sikri-Agra.

Agra-Patna-Bengal Route

Agra-Firozabad-Etawa-Sarai 

Shahzada-Allahabad-Banaras-Sahasram-Daud Nagar

Patna-Munger-Bhagalpur-Rajmahal-Dampur-Dacca

Means of transport -

Oxen'played a major role. They were used as pack animals for carrying the load on their backs. We get references to grain merchants traveling with 10000-20000 pack animals in one caravan called tanda. Apart from the banjaras, other merchants also used them for transporting goods. Oxen-drawn carts were also used to transport goods. An ox could carry four maunds and a cart 40 maunds. The oxen which drew carts could travel 20 or 30 days without break, covering on an average 20-25 miles per day. Camels were commonly used. in the western part of the country for carrying goods. They carried goods by land to Persia and Central Asia. On high mountain regions, mules and hill ponies were used to carry heavy loads. Here human labor was also employed.

Q.  State briefly the nature of the relationship of the European companies with their parent countries.                                           

A.  The Dutch

The Dutch East India Company was established through a charter granted by the Dutch Government (States-General). The Company was governed through 17 Directors are commonly known as 'Gentlemen XVII'.Though States-General was the final controlling power the Gentlemen XVII enjoyed real powers and worked as a state within the state. Batavian Governor-General-in-Council had sovereign authority related to Dutch East Indian trade. The Council at Batavia was an efficient administrative body. Each factor in the East was asked to send regular reports. Periodic inspection by senior officers was also done. It was difficult for the Gentlemen XVII to interfere and check the Council's activities on account of the long distances and absence of speedy means of communications. 

Gentlemen empowered

Batavian Governor-General in Council to enter into treaties with the rulers in the region to the east of Cape of Good Hope, to build fortresses and garrisons and appoint governors, etc. But all the treaties were concluded in the name of the Dutch state. 

The English 

In the early 17th century, the English East India Company was the single largest Company in England. It strictly adhered to monopoly with regard to Eastern trades-a-vis other English merchants. There existed a close relationship between the Company and the Crown. Queen Elizabeth herself was one of the shareholders of the Company. However, the Company had to face a a tough time under Charles I. A charter was granted to the Company in 1661 by Charles 11. By this charter, the Company was empowered to, appoint governors and subordinate officers for administration. Their judicial powers to punish were enhanced. The Company succeeded in ensuring more and more military and administrative powers for the Company in lieu of huge loans granted by the Company to the Crown and the Parliament.

The French

The French East India Company was a state-controlled organization and thus differed from the Chartered Companies of England and the Netherland. The French East India Company was highly dependent on the French government for its grants, subsidies, loans, etc. After 1723, it was almost wholly controlled by the French government with Directors as its representative. Its shareholders were mostly nobles and rentiers and not merchants. They were more interested in short term dividends. For all practical purposes, the Directors had no power. Even the shareholders seldom met, and when they did they had no say in the presence of royal officials or the king.

The 'Assemblee Generale' also could hardly think of rejecting any proposal of the Syndics of Directors which had the ministerial approval.

Q.  Analyse the organization of craft production under the Mughals.     

A. The organization of production varied in different crafts and industries in accordance with the needs and requirements of that craft.

Village Artisans: - The artisans in rural areas produced articles of daily use, formed a regular part of the village establishment called jajmani system. The most crucial services were those of the blacksmiths, carpenters, potters, and shoemakers. They were paid in kind for providing the basic tools, agricultural implements, and their maintenance needs. The system was much more organized in Deccan and Maharashtra where village artisans and servants were called balutedars. With the increase in demand, the rural artisan catered to urban markets also. Production for the market was mainly done at the independent artisan-level production. Almost every craft had specialized artisans manufacturing articles for sale. The high level of specialization is most evident in textile manufacture. Almost every operation was performed by a different group of workmen like carding, the spinning of yarn, winding silk thread weaving of cloth, bleaching, dyeing, printing, and painting of cloth, etc. Peasants in villages played a significant role by taking up various manufacturing activities. In almost all the agro-based crafts like indigo, sugar, and others like the spinning of silk and cotton yam, manufacture of salt and saltpeter, they were at the core of manufacturing activity.

Dadni -  

          The artisans had little capital to work with. Therefore, the individual output was small and merchants had to make great efforts to procure it. The quality also differed. These problems gave rise to a revised form of production called dadni or a sort of putting-out system. In dadni the money was advanced to artisans by the merchants and the artisans promised to deliver the goods at a given time. Here the merchant was in a position to dictate his specifications. The practice in the textiles sector became so widespread that it was difficult to obtain cloth without making the advance payment to the artisans. In the seventeenth century, the weaving industry in Deccan was found to be dominated by merchants. The system of dadni empowered the buyer to dictate the quality and quantity of the goods produced. The artisan got the much-needed money to buy raw material with the guarantee of the sale of the goods made, but he lost his control over the sale.

Karkhanas - 

      A unique feature of production in the period was the karkhanas. These karkhanas were part of the royal establishment and also of the nobles. These produced things for the consumption of the royal household and the court. Many high nobles also had their own karkhanas. Generally expensive and luxury items were produced here. Skilled artisans were employed to work under one roof to manufacture things needed. They were supervised by state officials. The need for such karkhanas arose because the artisans on their own were not in a position to invest huge amounts required for royal needs. Because of valuable raw material, the state also did not want to give these to artisans to work at their own places.

Manufactories - 

In 1620-21, the English factory at Patna established the first unit for winding silk yarn and employed around 100 workmen. The Dutch at Qasimbazar employed 700-800 weavers in their silk factory. Another specialized areas where a large number of workmen were assembled to work in one place was shipbuilding and building construction. Almost all the shipbuilding centers in Deccan and South India had a large number of artisans working on each ship under one single supervision. Building activity also likes ship-building required a large number of artisans working under one single supervision. There were two other production sectors where a large number of workmen (though not very skilled artisans) were employed. One, the diamond mines of Golconda and Deccan had around 30,000 to 60,000 people working at the periodical season of mining. The second case of an assemblage of large workers was in the production of saltpeter. In this case, also a large number of people worked under one master in small groups.

Q.  Discuss the commercial practices in trade & commerce during the seventeenth century, with special reference to bills of exchange (hundis).              

Q.  Discuss the various commercial practices employed in trade and commerce during the medieval period.                                   

A.   Various commercial practices employed in trade and commerce of the period were - 

Bills of Exchange (Hundi)

During this period hundis or bills of exchange became an important form of money transaction. Hundi was a paper document promising payment of money after a period of time at a certain place. The practice started because of the problems involved in carrying large amounts of cash for commercial transactions. The merchants interested in carrying cash to a particular place would deposit it with a sarraf who would issue a hundi to the merchant. The merchant was to present it to the agent of the sarraf at his destination and encash it. This started as a safe and convenient method of transferring money. In due course, hundi itself became an instrument of transaction. It could be presented against a transaction. It could alsobe freely bought or sold in the market after endorsement.  (The use of hundi was so widespread that even the imperial treasury and state were using it. In 1599, the state treasury sent Rs. 3,00,000 to the army in Deccan through a hundi. Tributes paid by Golkunda (Rs. 10,00,000) and Ghakkar Chief (Rs. 50,000)

to the Mughal Emperor were also transferred through hundi.) 

      Many big merchants also issued hundi. Such merchants and sarrafs had their agents at important commercial centres. At times, members of one family (father, son, brother, nephew) worked as agents for each other. Big firms had their agents even outside the country. A commission was charged by the sarrafs on each hundi. The rate of exchange depended on the rate of interest prevalent and the period for which it was drawn.

Banking - The sarrafs, apart from issuing bills of exchange, also received money for the safe deposit. This was returned to the depositor on demand. The depositor was paid some interest on his deposits. The rate of interest payable to depositors kept changing. The bankers, in turn, would give money on loan to the needy on a higher rate of interest. (Sarrafs who accepted deposits were honest in dealings. Even strangers could deposit thousands for safekeeping and demand it any time.)

Usury and Rate of Interest

Money lending for personal needs and commercial purposes was an established practice. Much of the trading was conducted through the money taken on interest. Generally, the sarrafs and merchants both indulged in money lending. The loans were taken for various purposes. The money was taken on loan by peasants for paying revenue and repaid at harvest. Nobles and zamindars would take it for their day-to-day expenses and repay it at the time of revenue collection. Money lending for business purposes was also very common. (The rate of interest depended mainly on the individual's need, his credit in the market and his bargaining power. There was a difference in interest rates in various regions which suggests that the integration of the financial market had not taken place. )

Bottomry

A number of uncertainties and risks were involved in long-distance sea voyages. These uncertainties gave rise to a new practice called 'avog' or bottomry. It was a type of speculative investment which was quite popular during the period of ourstudy. In Bottomry money was lent at high rates ranging between 14 to 60 percent.

The money was lent to be invested in cargo for a particular destination. The rate of interest depended on the risks involved. The lenders were to bear all the risks of the voyage.)

Partnership

In partnership, the merchants pooled their resources to carry on trade. Some persons formed joint ventures for overseas trade.

Insurance (Inland and Marine) Another important commercial practice prevalent in India on a limited scale was that of insurance or bima. In many cases, the sarrafs used to take responsibility for the safe delivery of goods. At sea, both the ship and the goods aboard were insured. By the 18th century, the practice was well-established and widely practiced. The rates are also available for different goods for different destinations. The rates for sea voyages were higher than goods going through the land.