EHI - 4

12th Part

Q.  What are food crops, cash crops and oil-yielding crops ? Discuss their relative importance.                                                   

A. Food crops - 

Rice and wheat were the two major food crops throughout the country. The regions with high rainfall (40 to 50") accounted for the bulk of rice production. The whole of Northeast, Eastern India (Bihar, Bengal, Orissa with parts of Eastern U.P.), southern coast of Gujarat and South India, were rice producing areas. In South India, there were two main seasons of rice cultivation kuddapah-kar and samba-peshanam named after the variety of rice cultivated during the summer and winter seasons. Like rice, wheat also had specific regions. Punjab, Sind, Western Uttar Pradesh and other regions with little rainfall produced wheat. Apart from these two major crops, barley was grown extensively in the Central plains. Millet is reported with some exceptions mainly from wheat producing zones. Jowar and bajra were the two main millets. Pulses are reported from different regions. Important ones are gram, arhar, moong, moth, urd and khisari (the latter was grown extensively in Bihar and the regions of present Madhya Pradesh).

         The majority of seasonal crops in North India were grown in two major crop seasons kharif (autumn) and rabi (spring). In some areas, the peasants tended to grow even three crops by producing some short-term crops in between.

Cash Crops

Crops grown mainly for the market are commonly termed as cash cops. Unlike seasonal food crops, these occupied the fields almost the whole year. The major cash crops in the 16th-17th centuries were sugarcane, cotton, indigo and opium. Their demand increased due to enhanced manufacturing and commercial activities. During this period, a large foreign market also opened for these commodities. Sugarcane was the most widely grown cash crop of the period. Another cash crop grown throughout the country was cotton. Indigo was another cash crop widely cultivated under the Mughals. The plant yielded a blue dye (neel) which was much in demand in India and European markets. Cultivation of opium is reported from a number of places in India. The Mughal provinces of Bihar and Malwa seem to have produced good opium. Cultivation of tobacco, coffee also spread in different parts of India. 

Oil seeds - The plants whose seeds were used for extracting oil come under the category of food as well as cash crops. The main oil yielding crops listed are rapeseed, castor, linseed. Rapeseed is reported in all provinces from Allahabad to Multan as also in Bengal.

Q.  The French East India Company                                    

A.  The French were late comers to the Eastern trade. The French East India Company was founded in 1664. The first French factory was established at Surat in 1668. This was the place of prime importance to the English. But the Mughal-English armed clash at Hugli caused a sericus setback to the English possessions and

trade in India. It also provided an opportunity for the French to strike roots in India.

             In 1669, the French established their second factory at Masulipatam. In 1673, they got Pondicherry, and in 1674 the Nawab of Bengal granted them a site near Calcutta wherein 1692 they built the town of Chandranagore. There was a fierce rivalry between the English and the French. Clashes in India began with the war between the two countries (France and Britain) in Europe in 1742 leading to the three 'Carnatac wars'. The French were defeated and lost almost all their possession in India.

Q.  Mention briefly the variety of implements and techniques of agricultural production in the Mughal period.                             

A.    Tillage was performed by harnessing a pair of oxen to the plough. The latter was made of wood with an iron ploughshare. There were Regional variations in the size and weight of ploughs, from a light plough that could be carried by the tiller upon his

shoulders, to the heavy one meant for harder soil. Again, for soft soil, the iron ploughshare has been dispensed with as the price of iron was high. Unlike Europe, Indian plough just turned the soil and that deep digging was not done because deep digging would result in the loss of moisture in the soil. Moreover, it was only the upper layer which was more fertile. A separate device was used for breaking the lumps of earth. This was done with the help of wooden boards called patella in parts of north India. Like plough, this flat board was also harnessed to a pair of oxen. Generally, a man would stand on the board to provide weight. The patella was dragged on the field by oxen. The sowing of seeds was generally done through scattering by hand. 

           Efforts were made to increase the fertility of the soil through artificial means. In South India, flocks of goat and sheep were widely used. Generally, flocks of these cattle were made to spend a few nights in the agricultural field for their droppings were considered good manure. The same practice was commonly used in Northern India also. Fish manure also seems to have been used in coastal areas.

        Rotation of crops was used for the optimum utilisation of land throughout the year. It was also considered good to maintain the productivity of the soil. Peasants through the experience of generations had acquired some knowledge of using the rotation of crops for the good of the soil. They would decide which crop to be replaced by another in a particular field for a better yield.

        A semi circular sickle was used for cutting the crop. The harvested crop was spread on the ground for threshing. Our sources refer to two methods: In the first method the crop was beaten with sticks; in the second method the animals were made to move on the spread out the crop. The weight and movement of the animals treaded the grain. The threshed out matter was put in open baskets and the contents were thrown outside the basket at a controlled speed. The chaff got scattered by the wind and the grain fell on the ground.

Q.  Discuss the pattern of local, regional and intra-regional trade during the medieval period.                                                   

Q.  Give a brief account of local and regional trade during the Mughal period.  

A. Local and regional trade -

         During this period, land revenue was realized in cash. This meant that the surplus agricultural produce was to be sold. The bulk of this was sold in the village itself. Most of this purchase was made by banjaras who were the traditional grain merchants. They, in turn, carried it to other towns and markets. every locality had

markets in the nearby towns where people from the surrounding areas would come to buy and sell things. Apart from these regular markets, there were hat and penth where people from the villages could exchange or buy things of their daily need. These hats or penths were periodic markets which were held on fixed days in a week. There were hats for specific goods also. In these local markets, food-grains, salt, simple tools and equipment of wood and iron for agriculture and domestic needs and coarse cotton textiles were available. These markets existed in all small townships and bigger villages. A network of small and big markets viz., hats, penths, mandis, and the merchants in their individual capacities took care of the commercial activities in various localities.

          These local trading centres were linked to bigger commercial centres in a region. Each of them had bigger commercial centres serving as nodal centres for all the commodities produced in various pans of the suba. Generally, these big towns also served as administrative headquarters of the suba. Patna, Ahmedabad, Surat, Dacca, Agra, Delhi, Lahore, Multan, Ajmer, Thatta, Burhampur, Masuliputnam, Bijapur, Hyderabad, Calicut etc. are a few examples of such trading centers these places are big commercial centres not only for the products of their respective regions but also for serving as emporia for inter-regional and foreign trade. Each had a number of markets. Ahmedabad alone had as many as 19 maadis in and around it. The products from nearby towns, suburbs and villages found their way to these centres. Patna, for example, had silk from Baikanthpur, cotton clothes from Nandanpur and Salimpur; fruits vegetables, opium and sugar from different other parts of the suba. 

             There were some towns that specialised in the trading of specific commodities: for example, Burhampur (cotton mandi), Ahmedabad (cotton textiles), Cambay (gems market), Surat-Sarkhej (indigo), Agra for Bayana indigo, etc. All these commercial centres had mints which struck silver, copper & at some places gold coins. These cities had a large number of merchants, brokers and Sarraf's. There where a large number of sarais (rest-houses) in these cities for the convenience of merchants and travellers.

Inter-regional Trade -

During the period of trade between different regions of India was quite developed. Goods produced at one place were carried to long distance thousands of miles for purposes of trade. The main commodities of large scale interregional trade were food grains and various sorts of textiles. Luxury items, metals & weapons were also traded. 

            In the east, Bengal had well-developed trade relations with all parts of India. There were many trading centres in Bengal like Hugli, Dacca, Murshidabad, Malda etc. Here products from Bihar, Orissa & some parts of Bengal were brought. Bengal supplied food grains to all parts of the country. Rice and sugar from Patna, Textiles of all sorts from Bihar, Benaras and Jaunpur, Saffron from Kashmir etc were available in the markets of Bengal. The large scale silk manufacture in Gujarat and Bihar was completely dependent on the raw silk from Bengal. The silk cloth produced from this raw silk found its way to all parts of India and abroad.

           In the west, Ahmedabad and Surat, the biggest commercial centres of the period, attracted textiles from the south, north and the eastern parts of India. Gujarat received the supply of pepper and spices from Malabar coast. 

           In the north, Agra received large quantities of silk from Bengal. Carpets and textiles from the Awadh region were taken to Gujarat, Bengal, Patna, Lahore and Multan. The saffron, wood products, fruits and woollen shawls, etc. from Kashmir.

             Most of the trade from the south was along the coast. Large quantities of Bengal indigo were sold in Masulipatan. Pepper and spices of the Malabar coast were taken to Bijapur, Coromandel, the Konkan coast, and the Gujarat tobacco from Masulipatam were taken to Bengal. Diamonds from Golkunda mines were taken to all parts of India. Minerals and metals which were produced at select places only were taken to all parts of Mughal India. Salt produced mainly in Rajasthan and Punjab was taken to all parts of north and south India. The main sources of iron were Gwalior in central India, Rajasthan, Punjab and Sindh. Good quality steel was made in Cutch in Gujarat, some places in Deccan and South India. The bulk of copper was produced in Rajasthan. Bihar, Sind, Rajasthan and parts of north India were important places to procure saltpetre.

Q.  Discuss the relations of European trading companies with Indian rulers.    

A.     The Mughals and the Indian rulers were interested in the development of India's overseas trade as it would have increased their revenue resources. So long as the Mughals were strong, the European merchants followed the policy of seeking concessions through petitions and presents but with the weakening of the Mughal power, the European Companies started imposing their will on the Indian rulers to get monopolies and concessions. 

Dutch - 

The Dutch got a favourable response from the rulers of Golkunda who granted them concessions to trade on payment of 4 per cent customs duty on their exports and Imports and also given exemption from duty on cloth. In 1612, the duty of 4 per cent was commuted into a fixed payment of 3000 pagodas annually. In spite of getting concessions from the Indian rulers, the local officials constantly used their power to evade the orders and imposed duties on Company's trade. It frequently resulted in clashes with the local officials resulting in closing down of factories. For trade along the west coast, the Dutch succeeded in getting farman from the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. They were exempted from tolls from Burhanpur to Cambay & Ahmedabad. Shah Jahan also issued two tarmans granting them permission to trade in Bengal (1635) and at Surat.

The English

It was during Jahangir's reign that the first English envoy reached the Mughal court and received a royal farman in 1607 and the English established their first factory at Sura. The Mughals wanted to counter the Portuguese naval might by joining hands with the English. Besides, they also wanted benefits for Indian merchants who could aspire to gain better profits in case of competition between the foreign merchants. The English tried to take advantage of the naval weakness of Indian rulers. They harassed the Indian traders and ships. These pressures resulted in the issue of another farman by which the English merchants got the right to open factories in all parts of the Mughal Empire. The rulers of Golkunda also maintained friendly relations with the English Company. In 1632, the ruler of Golkunda issued a farman by which they were allowed to trade freely in the ports belonging to Golkunda on payment of 500 pagodas irrespective of the volume of trade. This certainly gave a great boost to English trade in the Coromandal region.

The French -  

The French had to face the wrath of the Marathas (Shivaji) as early as 1677. French commander readily acknowledged the authority of Shivaji and agreed to pay him an amount in lieu of a licence to trade in his dominions. Shivaji accepted the French request on the condition that they would not participate in military operations against him. In 1689, the French got permission to fortify Pondicherry (from Bambhaji). The French also succeeded in getting a farman from Aurangzeb in 1667 to open their factory at Surat. In 1688 the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb ceded Chandranagore village to the French. The French maintained close ties with Dost-Ali the Nawab of Carnatic on whose recommendation the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah issued a farman granting permission to the French to mint and issue gold and silver currency bearing the stamp of the Mughal Emperor and the name of the place of minting.

Q.  Write a note on textile manufacture during the Mughal period.   

A.  Cotton textile

     Cotton textiles were manufactured all over the country with the exception of the sub-Himalayan region. Many centres specialised in producing the only yam which was taken to weaving centres and even exported. The spinning of yam thus became a specialised occupation. In and around all the major centres of textile production. many peasants and women took it up as an additional source of earning and supplied yam to weavers.

           There was a considerable variation in quality among cotton textiles produced in different regions as every region had their own specialities. Some of the varieties were like Bafta which is described in the Ain-i Akbari as a type of high quality, Tafta was a silk cloth some times inter-woven with cotton yarn. Zartari was a cloth which was inter-woven with gold or silver thread. Muslin was a very fine quality of thin cloth. Chintz (Chheent) was cotton cloth with floral or other patterns printed or painted. Khasa was a kind of muslin. It was expensive cloth of fine quality. Some clothes were named after the place of production, such as Dariabadi and Khairabadi etc. Some regions specialised in a particular variety, Bafta from Gujarat and muslin from Sonargaon and thereafter from Dacca in Bengal are examples of this specialization.

Silk textiles

Silk was another important item for the manufacture of textiles. Patna &Ahmedabad was known for silk fabrics. Banaras was equally famous. In the seventeenth century, Bengal produced the largest amount of raw silk which was exported abroad as well as to other parts of India. In Bengal, silk fabrics were manufactured at Qasimbazar and Murshidabad.

Wool

Wool was another important material used for manufacturing textiles. The most famous was the Kashmiri shawl, exported all over the world. The fine wool used in these shawls was imported from Tibet. Blankets were made from wool almost all over North India. Other textile items included cotton durries, carpets (of silk and wool), tents and quilts, etc. Carpet weaving was yet another branch of textile production. Bihar (Daudnagar, Obra, etc.), Delhi, Agra, Lahore and Mirzapur were famous centres in the north. Warangal in the south was also famous for carpet weaving. The carpet weaving was also done in Masulipatam along the Caromandal coast.

Q.  Trace the emergence of European trading companies in India.    

A.  The Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company was formed in 1602 through a charter. The Dutch were primarily interested in the spice trade. Therefore, they paid more attention to the Far East. India was just a trading depot for them. They established their first factory at Petapuli in North Coromandal in 1606, followed by another at Masulipatam in the same year. Gradually, they realized that Indian textiles could be the best commodity for exchange with the spice islands (Indonesian Archipelago). This necessitated the expansion of their network in India and established their factories at different places in India like Pulicat (1610), Cambay (1620), Surat and Agra (1621), Hariharpur (1633), Patna (1638). Dacca (1650), Udaiganj (1651), Chinsura (1653), Qasimbazar, Baranagore, Balasore and Negapatam (1659-60). 

The English East India Company

In 1600, English East India Company obtained a Royal Charter with her trade monopoly in the East by Queen Elizabeth. In 1608 the English merchants decided to open their 'first' factory at Surat. By 1619, they succeeded in establishing factories at Agra, Ahmedabad and Broach. Conditions were more favourable to establish a factory in the South as there was no strong Indian state in that part. English opened their first factory at Masulipatam in 1611. In 1626, another factory was opened at Aramgaon. In 1639, they got Madras on lease from the local Raja. Soon, they fortified it which came to be known as Fort St. George. They acquired the island of Bombay in 1668 and fortified it soon after. The English penetration in the East was comparatively late. They established their first factory in Orissa at Hariharpur and Balasore in 1633. In 1651, they got permission to trade at Hugli. Soon they also opened their factories at Patna (Bihar) and Qasimbazar (Bengal). In 1698, the English acquired the zamindari of Sutanati, Kalikata and Govindpur, where they built the Fort William. Soon it grew into a big city and came to be known as Calcutta.

French East India.Company

The French were latecomers to the Eastern trade. The French East India Company was founded in 1664. The first French factory was established at Surat in 1668. The Mughal-English armed clash at Hugli caused a serious setback to the English possessions and trade in India. It also provided an opportunity for the French to strike roots in India. In 1669, the French established their second factory at Masulipatam. In 1673, they got Pondicherry, and in 1674 the Nawab of Bengal granted them a site near Calcutta wherein 1692 they built the town of Chandranagore. 

Q.  What role did the money lenders & Sarraf play in the Mughal economy?   

A.  In large parts of Northern India, the traditional merchants played a dual role as traders as well as moneylenders. In villages, traditional Baniya lend money to individual peasants to pay land revenue. In towns and bigger places also merchants acted as moneylenders.

        Another category among the personnel of trade which played a significant role was that of the Sarraf's. They performed three distinct functions: (i) as money-changers; (ii) as bankers, and (iii) as traders of gold, silver and jewellery. As money-changers, they were considered as experts in judging the metallic purity of

coins as well as their weight. 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 Sarraf's, in turn, would give money on loan to the needy on a higher rate of interest. 

       Money lending for personal needs and commercial purposes was an established practise. Much of the trading was conducted through the money taken on interest. Generally, the sarrafs and merchants both indulged in money lending. As bankers, they would receive deposits and give loans on interest. They used to issue

bills of exchange or hundis and honour the ones issued by others. 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 for smaller loans is difficult to ascertain. It depended mainly on the individual's need, his credit in the market and his bargaining power

      The Sarraf was also a part of the Mughal mint establishment. Every mint had a sarraf who would fix the purity of bullion. He also verified the purity of coins after minting.