IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India History From 8th to Mid 15th Century - Personnel of Trade and Commercial Practices

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History India From 8th to Mid 15th Century

Personnel of Trade and Commercial Practices

Structure

24.0 Objectives
24.1 Introduction
24.2 Personnel of Trade
24.2.1 Merchants
24.2.2 Moneylenders and Sarrafs
24.2.3 Brokers
24.3 Commercial Practices
24.3.1 Bills of Exchange (Hundi)
24.3.2 Banking
24.3.3 Usury and Rate of Interest
24.3.4 Partnership
24.3.5 insurance (Inland and Marine)
24.4 Merchants, Trading Organisations and The State
24.5 Let Us Sum Up
24.6 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

24.0 OBJECTIVES

In this Unit, you will learn about the mercantile groups involved in trade and
commercial practices of the period. After going through this Unit, you would

know about the major merchant groups involved in trading activities;
be able to understand the role of brokers, sarrafs and moneylenders in commerce, and
know about the bills of exchange, commercial lending, rate of interest and partnership in business.

24.1 INTRODUCTION

You have already read about the inland and foreign trade during the period of our
study. A broad spectrum of merchants peddling at the local level to the big traders
inGolved in overseas commerce were to be found in all parts of the country. In the
whole commercial process, certain specialised groups of merchants, brokers and
sarrals played their role at various levels.
Large scale trading operation strengthened some of the existing practices and
institutions and gave rise to new ones. Systems of banking, bills of exchange and
lending of money were important ones. Trading partnership and insurance were also
in vogue.