India has had trade relations with other countries like China, the Middle East, Java Islands, Sumatra, and Bali. But the arrival of the Europeans had a serious impact on that thriving trade as Indian goods started reaching the West directly instead of through the Middle East. There was an increase in exports of Indian goods as well as a massive shift in the nature of the exported goods.
Overseas Trade:
- Historically, India has exported goods to other countries and imported high-quality goods. This inflow of wealth made India a prosperous nation. India also traded with China, Egypt, Arabia, and other countries during the medieval period. There was also maritime trade between the South China Sea and the Persian Gulf. The imported goods included silk, camphor, porcelain ware, wax, horses, etc., from places like China, South Asia, Aden, Muscat, Bahrain, and Persia. Cotton cloth, aromatics, spices, precious stones, semi-precious stones, ivory, and other goods were Indian exports.
- The Indian Ocean played an important role in trading in medieval India. China imported spices from India and Southeast Asia, glassware from West Asia, and ivory from Africa. So India and Southeast Asia became significant locations for trade between China and countries of Africa and West Asia. The Silk Route was one of the major arteries of this trade, and many stories exist about caravans operating on this route.
- It is said that the trade of India’s neighbor Ceylon island (modern-day Sri Lanka) had been primarily controlled by Indians. Merchants from Coromandel, Vijayanagara, Malabar, Gujarat and Deccan kingdoms visited Ceylon island and Colombo city. The Malabar merchants did the coastal trade of the kingdoms of Coromandel and the Vijayanagara with import of horses, cocoa nuts, areca nuts, etc., and exports of cloth and rice.
- The medieval period had increased money usage, agrarian expansion, and the market economy revival where goods were produced for exchange instead of local consumption. This era also substantially grew urban settlements in different parts of the subcontinent.
Trade in the Sultanate Period:
- The Sultanate Period, during which an Islamic empire was based in Delhi, covered massive parts of South Asia from approximately 1206 to 1526 (~320 years). The territory included modern-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and southern Nepal. During this era, India traded with Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. India exported textiles, food grains, indigo, and precious stones. In contrast, imported precious metals (silver, gold, etc.), brocades, silk fabrics, horses, and other goods.
- In the early fourteenth century, there was extensive and profitable trade between Indian ports such as Chaul, Diu, Goa, Dabhol, Calicut, Bhatkal, etc. and Arabian and Persian ports such as Aden, Jeddah, Ormuz, Esh-Shihr, etc. The good leaving Indian consists of cloves, cardamoms, pepper, ginger, saffron, sandalwood, indigo, and others. In return, India received many goods, especially Arabian horses.
Trade in the Mughal Period:
- The Mughal Empire covered most South Asia from the 16th to 19th centuries CE, 1526–1857. In the Mughal era, foreign trade in India increased due to the European trading companies arriving and participating in Asia-Europe-intra Asian trade market. India traded with many countries like Egypt, Arabia, Central Asia, China, Japan, Persia, Nepal, Holland, France, England, Portugal, and more. It is said that at the end of the 17th century, India’s global market share of textile exports was an estimated 25%, but unfortunately, the share is currently less than 1%.
- Cotton cloth was an extremely important exported good; European traders exported muslin, silk, and cotton textiles. Sugar, spices, opium, and saltpeter were also exported. Foreign traders were also looking for Malabar peppers.
There were velvet, horses, guns and gunpowder, wine, scents, decorative items, and dried and fresh fruits for import commodities. Carpets from Persia and horses from Arabia were also traded.
- By the 17th century CE, the trade pattern of India had changed since the Portuguese had control over India’s foreign trade with Europe until the 16th century CE. Then the English founded the East India Company in the 17th century CE. Before this, English settlements have taken root in cities like Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, and more. In return, the Portuguese got pushed to Goa and the French to Pondicherry. After the Industrial Revolution, the British also made sure that cheap manufactured goods made their way to Indian markets to have a captive market for their own factories. In fact, India became an exporter of raw materials instead of fine high-end goods, which was very evident in the area of textiles. The change in the nature of trade also changed crop patterns as the British forced Indian farmers to grow crops that suited their needs.
Conclusion:
In the medieval era, India had far-reaching trade relations with several countries. This helped in putting India at the crossroads of international trade. With foreign traders coming into India, places like Goa, Quilon, Cochin, Calicut, and others became valuable ports that helped in this cross-border endeavor. The massive number of resources India had attracted many merchants from all over the world. The advent of the Europeans started a significant change in India’s trading relations. And the rest, as they say, is history.
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