IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India History From 8th to Mid 15th Century - Inland and Foreign Trade

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History India From 8th to Mid 15th Century

Inland and Foreign Trade

Structure

23.0 Objectives
23.1 Introduction
23.2 Inland Trade
23.2.1 Local and Regional Trade
23.2.2 Inter-Regional Trade
23.2.3 Coastal Trade
23.3 Foreign Trade
23.4 Trade Routes and Means of Transport
23.4.1 Trade Routes
23.4.2 Means of Transport
23.5 Administration and Trade
23.6 Let Us Sum Up
23.7Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

23.0 OBJECTIVES

In this unit we will discuss the inland and foreign trade of India during the Mughal
period. After going through this unit you will be able to:
know the pattern of local, regional and inter-regional trade:

list the main commodities of inland trade;
have an idea about the pattern of India's foreign trade, both over land and
sea.horne; and
list the commodities of import and export.

23.1 INTRODUCTION

In units 21 and 22 of this Block, we discussed the agricultural and non-agricultural
production of India. In those units we discussed the commodity productiori in
different regions of the empire. We also noticed that the volume of production was
higher than the local consumption. Large amounts of this surplus production were
used for trading purpose.
Trade in agricultural products started from the field itself. Similarly, commercial
transactions of craft products also started from artisan's household. All this took
place at various levels - local, regional, inter-regional and outside the country. In
this unit, we will discuss the pattern of inland and foreign trade during the
seventeenth century.
During this period, political stability and enhanced production gave a fillip to trading
activities. The volume of trade increased manifold. Another significant feature was
the entry of few prominent European countries in the trading arena of India. The
Portuguese had already settled in the Western parts of India by early 16th century.
In the 17th century, the French, Dutch and English also participated in large-scale
trading activities. .
In this unit, we will confine our. discussion to two aspects:
i) the pattern of inland and foreign trade, and
ii) the main articles of export and import traffic.
With the increase in commercial activities, a number of specialised groups involved
in trade also grew. At the same time, some basic commercial practices were also
established. These aspects will be discussed in Unit 24. The organisation of European
trading Companies will also be di~~*lsspd in a separate unit (Unit 25).
Let us begin with the inland trade.