EHI - 4

18th Part 

Q.  How was the Portuguese trade in India financed?

A.  There are different ways by which Portuguese trade in India was financed -

European Merchant Financers -

As the Portuguese king couldn’t finance the whole trade on his own, he encouraged and readily allowed to let European financiers and merchants participate and finance the trade. Most of the European financiers and merchants (Italian, German, etc.) concluded contracts with the Portuguese king. They supplied cash or materials to the king in Lisbon. The king used them to purchase pepper and other commodities which were in great demand in Europe from India. These commodities were given to these financiers at Lisbon in view of the contracts signed. However, some of the financiers also sent their own factors to India. Cash or commodities were always sent under the supervision of the Portuguese authorities to the East. Sometimes, the financiers could fit out their vessels, entrust cash and commodities to the India House in Lisbon to be taken to India under the Portuguese flag and buy the commodities from Lisbon according to the terms and conditions of the contracts signed with Portuguese.

Indian merchants And Rulers - 

Sometimes, Indian traders and some rulers also facilitated Portuguese trade and supplied commodities to the Portuguese on credit when the latter did not have cash or commodities to furnish in exchange. Some of the local rulers stood surety for the Portuguese when they did not have money to pay to the merchants for the commodities bought by them. For example, the king of Cochin came forward to help the Portuguese several times making the required volume of commodities available to them on credit. Also, some Indian traders provided assistance to Portuguese by supplying them with goods on credit. Defeated rulers were compelled to pay tributes to the Portuguese, either in cash or kind. This source was also exploited by the Portuguese several times for investment.

Monopoly -

Right from the time Portuguese arrived at Calicut they had demanded that other merchants, Indian as well as foreign, should be ousted and a complete monopoly over trade be granted to them. Portuguese ships equipped with arms and ammunition threatened other merchants and confiscated their merchandise and Vessels in order to thrust their demand. The Portuguese had armed vessels plying in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea. Ships carrying commodities that were not given passes (cartaz) by the Portuguese officials were confiscated by them. The booty thus obtained yielded a sizeable source of income to Portuguese which was again invested in trade. The persons interested in sending their ships to other parts of India or to Asian countries were required to take passes (cartaz) from the Portuguese for which a fees was charged. Such ships were obliged to visit any of the ports in India where the Portuguese had customs houses, and to pay taxes. This was another source of income for the Portuguese. Indian merchants, rulers and all those engaged in maritime trade, had to take cartaz from the Portuguese. While issuing such passes, it was specifically mentioned that certain items like pepper, horses, ginger, coir, ship pitch, sulphur, lead, saltpeter, cinnamon, etc. were not to be loaded on their ships. All these were monopoly items of the Portuguese routes and destinations of such ships were also sought to be controlled. Rulers like Akbar and his successors, Nilam Shah of Ahmednagar, Adil Shah of Bijapur, kings of Cochin, the Zamorins of Calicut and the rulers of Cannanore purchased passes from the Portuguese to send their ships to various places.  Indian Kings were pressurized to forbid other merchants from trading with their ports. Similarly, certain commodities were declared forbidden to be traded by others. Thus, the Portuguese demanded a monopoly of trade. The treaties concluded with the Indian rulers specifically mentioned this. The setting up of Portuguese fortresses at strategic places, surveillance by their patrolling vessels, and the insistence on passes for other ships were the attempts made to establish a monopoly of trade in Asian waters. 

Spice trade -

The Portuguese established themselves on the coastal regions of India and constructed fortresses and factories in these regions that were necessary for monitoring sea trade and also facilitate trade. It reaped large profits by conducting trade in spices. For the first time in the history of international trade, commercial treaties with Indian rulers were concluded. The production of cash crops, especially spices, kept its stride with the increasing demand overseas, thus helping Portuguese in financing trade.

Q.  Trace the evolution of the Mughal school of painting under Akbar.

A.  The emergence of the Mughal School of painting was distinct from all other styles mainly due to the deep interest Akbar took in the promotion of art. Hence the art flourishes and has obtained a great reputation under Akbar.

Royal Atelier - 

Akbar established Royal Atelier where many artists were employed. The atelier was supervised by daroghas with the assistance of clerks. They were responsible for making materials of painting easily available to the artists and to oversee the progress of their work. They also arranged for the periodical presentation of

the artists' works before the Emperor. These artists belonged to different religions and castes. The painters were assisted by a set of gilders, line drawers and pagers. Works of all painters were weekly laid before Akbar by the Daroghas and the clerks who then confers rewards according to the excellence of workmanship, or increase the monthly salaries. The minuteness in detail, the general finish, the boldness of execution, etc., now-observed in pictures, was incomparable; even inanimate objects look as if they had life. The first major project undertaken during Akbar's regime was that of illustrating the Hamza Nama which began in 1562. 

Style and Technique -

There was a gradual evolution of style and technique during Akbar time in Mughal art. In the early phase Mughal art was influenced by the Persian tradition, the identifying features of which are listed below:

# symmetrical compositions;

# restricted movement of figures;

# fineness of the lines of drawings;

# flat depiction of architectural columns; and

# profuse embellishment of buildings in the manner of jewels.

However, the paintings in the later period acquired a distinctive character of their own. They assumed a more eclectic character composed mainly of the Persian and Indian traditions with touches of European influence.

Distinctive Feature - 

The Mughal style became recognizable within a span of fifteen years since the setting up of royal atelier under Akbar. By about 1590 it acquired a distinctive form which was marked by:

# Naturalism and Rhythm

# clothing objects of daily use assuming Indian forms.

# picture space having subsidiary scenes set in background

# extraordinary vigor of action and violent movement

# luxuriant depiction of foliage & brilliant blossoms 

                 The identity of the Mughal paintings under Akbar was as much made of an original style as a fusion of the Persian and Indian traditions. It emphasizes on the depiction of action and movement which is not to be found in either the pre-Mughal art of India or the art of Persia hence it was unique in its form. 

           Painting under Akbar's period distinguish itself as a tradition from Persia painting as well, as from Indian styles particularly by the presence & of the historical subject matter. The two most commonly used themes were:

# daily events of the court, and

# portraits of leading personalities

While portrait painting was known in Persia, painting as a chronicle of actual events was a new emphasis that started during this time under Akbar. Painters used the familiar forms and for hunting or battle scenes regardless of the fact that the literacy reference for the scene was historical or purely imaginary.Moreover, specific events illustrated are frequently reworkings of scenes The painters conceived scenes according to a repertoire of types e.g. the seize of a fortress, crossing a river, an audience or battle scene. In the working of whole volumes such as the Akbar Nama, the artists seem to have reworked or adapted these compositional types. Painters usually mated new compositions only when no prototypes existed and these were produced by only a few who were capable of innovations.

Q.  What were the problems faced by Humayun at his accession? How did he overcome them?

A.  Humayun faced multiple problems during the time of his accession like -

             At the time of his accession, Humayun didn’t command the respect and esteem of the nobility like his father Babur. Firstly, Humayun faced the rebellion of nobles who were divided into different camps, supporting different candidates for the throne. The Chaghatai nobles were not favorably inclined towards him and the Indian nobles, who had joined Babur's service, also deserted the Mughals at Humayun's accession. Secondly, there were other contenders too for the throne, these contenders like Muhammad Sultan Mina, a descendant of Timur; Muhammad Zaman and Mir Muhammad Mahdi Khwaja, brother-in-law of Babur, were also considered worthy and supported by a section of nobles indicating Humayun didn’t have the complete grip on his throne initially. Thirdly, Humayun had to contend against the united Afghans both at the east and west which was supported by a large social base. These Afghans wanted to overthrow Mughal rule and establish themselves. 

                 Finally, Immediately after the death of his father Babur, Humayun was forced to divide his empire into four parts as were the norm among the Mughals. He gave Mewat to Hindal, Sambhal to Askari and Punjab, Kabul and Qandahar to Kamran Mirza. The very division itself was unfavorable to Humayun for he was left with little resources at his disposal. In spite of this kind of treatment, his brothers hardly helped him when he needed it. He even faced hostility of his brothers especially Kamran Mirza who wanted to dislodge Humayun and usurp the throne. On many occasions, he dealt with them too kindly. The situation thus deteriorated by the existence of two centers of power within the empire - Humayun at the center and Kamran Mirza who had autonomous control over Afghanistan and Punjab.

           After losing his empire to the Afghans, he started mobilizing resources with the help of Shah of Iran thereby the measures he took helped him in regaining the throne.

             Firstly, Humayun wrested Qandahar from Persia in 1545 thus gaining the support of many nobles. Thereafter, he attacked Kabul and regained control in 1553 forcing Kamran Mirza to flee and eventually killed. With the end of opposition to his rule, he redirected his power to regain his throne.

         Secondly, The weakening of Afghan rule in India due to Sedition and rebellions marred the entire country and the Empire broke into 'five' kingdoms. This created an ideal political condition that was exploited by Humayun. He started in November 1554 and reached Lahore in Feb. 1555. Humayun reached Salimgarh in June 1555 and occupied Delhi by defeating Sikander Shah Suri. 

Q.  Discuss the administrative structure of the Marathas.

A.  The Maratha polity was essentially a centralized autocratic monarchy. The king was at the helm of affairs. The king's chief objective was the happiness and prosperity of his subjects.

Central Administration

To assist the king, there was a council of state ministers known as ashtapradhan:

i) Peshwa(Prime Minister) : He was the head of both civil and military affairs.

ii) Mazumdar (auditor) : He looked into the income & expenditure of the state.

iii) wakins: He was the in-charge of the king's private affairs.

iv) Dabir : Foreign secretary

v) Surnis (superintendent): He used to take care of all the official correspondences.

vi) Pandit Rao : Ecclesiastical head

vii) Sehapati : Commander in chief

viii) Nyayadhish : Chief Justice

The council could advise the king but it was not binding on him to accept its advice. Each of the ashtapradhana was assisted by eight assistants: diwan, Mazumdar, fadnis, sabnis, karkhanis, chitnis, jamadar, and potnis.

Provincial Administration - 

The country was divided into mauzas, tarfs and prants. Mauza was the lowest unit. Then were the tarfs headed by a havaldar, karkun or paripatyagar. The provinces were known as prants under subedar,  karkun (or mukhya deshadhikari). Over a number of prants there was the sarsubedar to control and supervise the work of subedars. Each subedar had eight subordinate officers: diwan, mazumdar, fadnis, sabnis, karkhanis, chitnis, jamadar and potnis. Under Shivaji, none of the officers was permanent and hereditary. All officers were liable to frequent transfers. This was done to ensure they do not develop roots and threaten the state.

Military - 

               Forts found the prime place in Maratha scheme of military organization. No single officer was entrusted with sole charge of a fort. Instead, in every fort there were a havaldar, a sabnis and a sarnobat. Big forts had five to ten sarnobats . All these officers were of equal status and rank and were frequently transferred. This system acted as a check and balance on each others authority. The havaldar was in charge of the keys of the fort. The sabnis controlled the muster-roll and dealt with all government correspondences. He also looked after the revenue-estimates of the province (under the jurisdiction of the fort). The sarnobat was the in charge of the garrison. Besides, there was karkhanis who used to take care of grain stores and other material requirements. All daily accounts of income and expenditure were to be entered by the karkhanis. None held absolute power. Though the sabnis, was the in-charge of accounts, all orders had to bear the seal of the havaldar and the karkhanis. Besides, no single officer could surrender the fort to the enemy. 

Judiciary

The Marathas failed to develop any organized judicial department. At the village level, civil cases were heard by the village elders (panchayat) in the Patil's office or in the village temple. Criminal cases were decided by the Patil. 

Q.  Write a note on the growth of the Mansab system under Akbar.

A.   The word mansab means a place or position and therefore it means rank in the mansab system under the Mughals.The system was developed to create a centralized administrative system as well as creating a large force. Mansabdars and their large forces were used to expand the empire and administer it effectively. Akbar gave mansabs to both military and civil officers on the basis of their merit or service to the state. To fix the grades of officers and classify his soldiers. Akbar had established 66 grades of mansabdars ranging from commanders of 10 horsemen to 10,000 horsemen. Mansab denoted three things:

i) It determined the status of its holder (the mansabdar) in the official hierarchy.

ii) It fixed the pay of the holder.

iii) It also laid upon the holder the obligation of maintaining a specified number of contingent with horses and equipment.

            Initially, a single number represented the rank, personal pay and the size of contingent of mansabdar, but under Akbar, the rank of mansabdar instead of one number, came to be denoted by two numbers - zat and sawar. The first number (zat) determined the mansabdar's personal pay and his rank in the organization. The second number (sawar) fixed the number of horses and horsemen to be maintained by the mansabdar and, accordingly, the amount he would receive for his contingent. During Akbar’s reign three classes of Mansabdars emerged, these were-

a) those with horsemen (sawar) equal to the number of the zat;

b) those with horsemen half or more than half of the number of the zat, and

c) those whose sawar rank was less than half of their zat rank.

                The sawar rank was either equal or less than the zat. Even if the former was higher, the mansabdar's position in the official hierarchy would not be affected. But there are exceptions to this rule particularly when the mansabdar was serving in a difficult terrain amidst the rebels. In such cases, the state often increased the sawar rank without altering the zat rank. Thus the system was not a static one and it changed to meet the circumstances. The salaries and obligation of maintaining troops were governed by a definite set of rules which underwent changes from time to time. This is how, mansab system developed under Akbar.

Q.  Discuss various categories of land rights in the Deccan and South India in the 16-17th century.

A.  There were 4 kinds of land rights in the Deccan, these were-

 Mirasi Rights - It refers to hereditary or transferable right or patrimony (bap roti) obtained by descent, purchase, or gift, etc. The mlrasdars were the holders of land under the mirasi tenure. They owned the village land and could exact rent in money or service from persons who lived on their land. There were two categories of the mirasdars - 

(a)  the hereditary owners of the miras land, and (b)those who had reclaimed the gatkul land of the village.

The village land was held by the mirasdars: 

1)on the basis of joint co-parcenary terms according to which the village land was divided into several shares, and 

2) on the basis of single proprietor ownership of the village. The mirasdar possessed complete private proprietory rights in the miras land. The state could not encroach upon the mirasi rights.

Inam Land - Inam implied the grant of a specific amount of revenue of a village to a person. The inam village was assigned on a hereditary basis to persons or officials. The inam lands were either totally exempt from tax or subject to a low tax called inam patti. It was a privileged category of land right. Inam was assigned to different categories: hereditary village officials. state officials, temples and balutedars (priests). The holders were designated inamdars. There were both residents and absentee inamdars.

State land or Crown land - Land held by the government as a corporate body or by the Peshwa/ruler was treated as state land. State lands existed in many villages of the Deccan managed by the local bureaucrats. They could be sold by them after taking approval from the central government. These lands were granted in inam or could be developed into house sites.

Waste Lands or Lands of Extinct Families - The lands of the families which had become extinct were called gatkul zamin. Lands that were left uncultivated for long periods were called pad zamin. Even the miras lands contained pad zamin. The wastelands could be appropriated and disposed of by the village headman, local village assembly and government. The lands expropriated by the village headman were regarded as miras lands on which land revenue was levied. The houses and house sites of extinct families could be acquired by the village headman after taking

the approval of the local village assembly. 

In the south we had Kaniparru. The land tenure of the nayaks is referred to as kaniparru. It refers to rights in Lands, i.e., to buy and sell without the absolute right of ownership. It also refers to a variety of taxes. The rights were as follows:

1) to collect dues from the peasants;

2) to cultivate the land and settle people; and

3) to receive prasadam (sacred food) from the temple.

However, the transfer of land to the nayak did not imply the transfer of the right of Ownership. The Nayak could use the land and collect taxes, but the temples reserved the right of ownership to themselves.

Q  Bijapur Kingdom 

A.  The independent state of Bijapur was carved out from the Bahmani kingdom in 1490. Bijapur remained independent till 1686 when it was annexed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. During this period of around 200 years, it was ruled by Adil Shahi kings. Its founder, Yusuf Adil Khan, of Persian descent, was the tarafdar (governor) of Bijapur province of the Bahmani kingdom. He declared his independence in 1490. He enlarged his small territory by capturing Raichur, Goa, Dabhol, Gulbarga and Kalyani. But he lost Goa to the Portuguese in 1510. He was succeeded by Ismail Shah who captured Bidar. Muhammad Adil Shah (1627-1656) was the most successful ruler of the Shahi dynasty. He conquered Tivy, Barder, Sarzora etc. from the Portuguese. During his reign, the kingdom reached the zenith of its glory. At the time of his death in 1656, the boundaries of the kingdom extended from the Arabian sea to the Bay of Bengal and the tributes from the subdued Nayaks compensated for the loss incurred by payments to the Mughals. After his death, the Bijapur kingdom became weak due to the Mughal and Maratha invasions. Finally, in 1686, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb defeated the Adil Shahi forces and annexed the kingdom to the Mughal Empire. 

Q.  Turco-Mongol concept of sovereignty -  

A.   Chingiz Khan had borrowed his divine theory of sovereignty from the Uighurs, the Mongols themselves seem to believe in absolute power of the Khan. However division of the Empire among the ruler's sons for facilitating administration with all its rigors and satiating the desires of governance among princes was the cardinal principle of Mongol concept of sovereignty.But Timur followed the concept of absolute sovereignty and had accepted the nominal overlordship of a descendant of Chingiz Khan. The existence of puppet Khans was a political necessity for Timur who did not belong to the royal family of Chingiz and in the given situation if he didn’t accept nominal lordship Timur's right to accession was likely to be challenged by the Mongols. The practice of installing puppet Khans was 'merely a political game which had been played by Timur and his successors to mobilize the support of Mongol forces and to use them finally to establish their own power and to legitimize their rule over a territory which was actually usurped by them from the Mongols.