Commerce with Europe through Dutch, English and French Companies

Commerce with Europe through Dutch, English and French Companies

History Optional Notes {PDF}

Complete Notes Package (Paper I & II) | 4500+ Pages | Instant Download

Discounted Price | Buy Now @ ₹1,180 →

For centuries, India maintained trading relations with the rest of the world, and the pattern of this trade — along with the commodities exchanged — evolved considerably over time. During the Mughal period, India enjoyed a flourishing trade with a large number of foreign countries, but the truly distinguishing feature of this era was the arrival of the Europeans, whose presence multiplied India’s foreign trade many times over — chiefly through the export of Indian goods, since imports into India remained comparatively small. This article traces the structure of Mughal India’s inland and foreign trade, the routes and means of transport that sustained it, and the evolving relationship between the Mughal state and the Dutch, English, and French trading companies, before closing with a look at how trade was administered and the historiographical debate over whether Indian merchants were “no more than peddlers.”

Inland Trade

Local and Regional Trade

• Since land revenue was realised in cash, the surplus agricultural produce had to be sold — much of it in the village itself.
  • The French traveller Tavernier, who visited India in the second half of the 17th century, noted that in approximately every village one could purchase rice, flour, butter, milk, vegetables, sugar, and other sweets; some villages even offered sheep, goats, and fowl, while every big village would have at least a sarraf, or money-changer.
• The supply of food-grains to towns formed an important feature of inter-local trade.
  • Besides foodstuffs, villages also supplied raw materials — such as cotton and indigo — for numerous urban manufactures. This trade lay in the hands of the village baniyas and the banjaras, who transported food-grains to the mandis, or local markets, at the qasbas.
• Every locality had markets in the nearby towns where people from surrounding areas would gather to buy and sell.
  • Hat and penth: Periodic markets, held on fixed days of the week, where villagers could exchange or purchase daily necessities; some hats specialised in particular goods.
  • Mandis: Certain large villages, or katras situated between several villages, could support a full mandi, where villagers not only sold their produce but purchased salt, spices, metalwork, and other commodities unavailable locally — including simple wood and iron tools for agriculture and domestic use, as well as coarse cotton textiles.
    • Hindi writers such as Surdas suggest that the more prosperous village households also purchased luxuries — high-quality cloth, jewellery, and the like.
  • Such local markets existed in all small townships and larger villages. Banarsi Das, writing on Jaunpur around the middle of the 17th century, noted that it contained 52 parganas, 52 markets, and 52 wholesale markets (mandis) — suggesting that nearly every pargana supported both a market and a wholesale market.
  • These local markets were, in turn, linked to larger commercial centres, or cities, within each region — cities that maintained numerous sarais (rest houses) for the convenience of merchants and travellers.
• Most major towns had several bazars, one of which typically served as the chief market.
  • According to Fryer, at Surat, the space between the custom house and the mint held a crowded bazar dedicated to buying and selling cloth, while further along ran “the High Streets, with shops on each side”; Surat’s great bazar itself lay outside one of the city gates, while the market for horses and cattle stood at the entrance to the green.
  • Most urban markets served not only local consumers — both wholesale and retail — but also functioned as storing centres or entrepôts, from which dealers in other centres could draw their supplies.
• Certain towns specialised in trading specific commodities — for example, Burhanpur (cotton mandi), Ahmedabad (cotton textiles), Cambay (gems market), Surat-Sarkhej (indigo), and Agra (Bayana indigo).
  • Commercial centres often possessed mints, striking coins of silver, copper, and — in a few places — gold.

Inter-Regional Trade

• Trade between different regions of India was quite well developed during this period, with the main commodities of large-scale inter-regional trade being food-grains and various sorts of textiles.
  • Regional specialisation in particular products, including luxury goods, generated a good deal of intra-regional trade — luxury items, metals, and weapons occupying a prominent place in this long-distance commerce, though India’s inter-regional trade was by no means confined to luxuries alone.

In the East

• Bengal maintained well-developed trade relations with all parts of India, with Hugli serving as one of the most prominent centres of trade.
  • Bengal supplied food-grains to all parts of the country, while exporting sugar and rice, as well as fine muslin and silk.
  • Textiles produced at Lakhawar (near Patna) were purchased by merchants coming from all parts of India and even from abroad, while the large-scale silk manufacture in Gujarat and Bihar was entirely dependent on raw silk sourced from Bengal.

In the West

• Gujarat served as the principal entry point of foreign goods, receiving food-grains and silk from Bengal.
  • Ahmedabad and Surat, the two largest commercial centres of the period, attracted textiles from the south, north, and east of India, which were bleached and dyed there before onward sale.
  • Gujarat received its entire supply of pepper and spices from the Malabar coast, along with lac from Bengal; the celebrated Sarkhej indigo, well known for its quality, was likewise carried from Gujarat to all parts of India.
  • Gujarat, in turn, exported fine textiles and silks (patolas) to north India, with textiles carried onward from Gujarat to Multan and Lahore.

In the North

• North India imported luxury items while exporting indigo and food-grains.
  • Agra received large quantities of silk from Bengal, while carpets and textiles from the Awadh region were carried to Gujarat, Bengal, Patna, Lahore, and Multan.
  • Saffron, wood products, fruits, and woollen shawls from Kashmir found their way to the markets of north, west, and east India, while Kashmir also supplied ice to Lahore, Multan, Agra, and Delhi.
  • Lahore was itself a centre of handicraft production, and additionally functioned as the distribution point for Kashmir’s luxury products — shawls, carpets, and the like.
  • Paper from Shahzadpur (near Allahabad) was carried to all parts of India; the famous indigo from Bayana (near Agra) went to Lahore, Multan, and the southern regions; the celebrated marble from Rajasthan was taken to all parts of the country; and food-grains from the north were carried onward to Gujarat.

In the South

• Most trade in the south moved along the coast.
  • The Coromandal coast had become a major centre of textile production, maintaining a brisk trade with Gujarat both along the coast and across the Deccan.
  • Large quantities of Bengal indigo were sold at Masulipatam, while tobacco from Masulipatam was carried to Bengal, and pepper and spices from the Malabar coast were taken to Bijapur, Coromandal, and the Konkan coast.
  • Diamonds from Golkunda were carried to all parts of India; salt, produced mainly in Rajasthan and Punjab, reached both north and south India; the principal sources of iron were Gwalior in central India, along with Rajasthan, Punjab, and Sindh; and good-quality steel was manufactured in Cutch in Gujarat, as well as in parts of the Deccan and South India.

Banjaras

• The banjaras specialised in transporting bulk goods over long distances — tribesmen who travelled with their families, sometimes accompanied by thousands of oxen carrying food-grains, pulses, ghee, and salt, trading either on their own account or on behalf of larger merchants.
  • Caravans of as many as 30,000 bullocks occasionally moved under state protection to supply food-grains to the army, while more expensive goods, such as textiles and silks, were generally loaded onto camels, mules, or carts. Even so, it remained cheaper to transport bulk goods by boat along the rivers.

Coastal Trade

• Waterways and coastal trade were used chiefly for the movement of heavier goods, since overland transport proved considerably more expensive — this coastal trade was most prominent along the western coast.
  • Piracy on the western coast was rampant, and as a result, most traffic there moved in convoys, whereas on the eastern coast, small boats plied throughout the year without such precaution.
  • Boats laden with copper, zinc, tin, tobacco, spices, and chintz travelled from the Coromandal coast to the coastal towns of Bengal, while the Coromandal coast in turn received copper, mercury, cinnabar, pepper, and other goods from Gujarat, along with spices from Malabar.
  • Coastal trade movement was most prominent between Sind–Cambay, Gujarat–Malabar, Bengal–Coromandal, and Malabar–Coromandal.

Note: The movement of these goods was made possible by a complex network linking wholesalers with merchants down to the regional and local level through agents (gumashtas) and commission agents (dalals). The Dutch and English traders who arrived in Gujarat during the 17th century found Indian traders to be active and alert, with keen competition for market information — whenever demand for a good arose in one part of the country, supply was rapidly adjusted to meet it. The movement of goods was further facilitated by the growth of a sophisticated financial system, which permitted the easy transmission of money from one part of the country to another through the use of hundis.

Foreign Trade

• Between the middle of the 16th and the middle of the 18th century, India’s overseas trade expanded both in the tonnage of goods carried and in its geographical reach. Several factors explain this expansion:
  • To some extent, the activities of the various European trading companies that arrived during the period — chiefly the Dutch and English, and later the French — while other European powers, such as the Austrians, Germans, and Danes, played only a limited role. Most of this trade took the form of exports of Indian goods, with imports remaining very small.
  • The rise of three powerful Asian states during the period — the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires — with the role of the Ming in China also not to be disregarded.
    • These empires not only provided the law, order, and conditions under which trade, commerce, and manufacture could flourish, but also aided the process of urbanisation and monetisation of their respective economies — developments accompanied, however, by political conflicts and rivalries in which control over trade and trade routes played a significant role.
• The arrival of the Dutch and English trading companies in India towards the beginning of the 17th century, and of the French towards its end, reflected a recognition of India’s importance within the wider Asian trade network, as well as the growing European appetite for Asian goods — especially spices — and the expectation of substantial profit.
  • From the outset, the structure of the Dutch and English East India Companies differed markedly from that of the Portuguese: neither was a royal monopoly hamstrung by close government control. Both were joint-stock companies, sometimes described as precursors of the modern multinational, multi-product business corporation, in the sense that their trade was genuinely worldwide and implied a global system of distribution and marketing.

Exports

• Textiles, saltpetre, and indigo together formed the major share of Indian exports, with sugar, opium, and various spices and sundry commodities also significant.

Textiles

• Rising exports contributed directly to increased production, which reached new heights during this period.
  • Before the arrival of the Europeans, the principal purchasers of Indian cotton textiles were the Mughals, Khorasanis, Iraqis, and Armenians, who carried them onward to Central Asia, Persia, and Turkey — goods purchased from all parts of India and transported by the land route via Lahore.
  • The main varieties of cotton fabric included baftas, samanis, calico, Khairabadi and Dariabadi, Amberty, Qaimkhani, and muslin, along with other cotton cloths; later on, several further varieties of cotton textile were procured from the Eastern coast as well.
  • Chintz, or printed cotton textiles, were the single most favoured item of export, while carpets from Gujarat, Jaunpur, and Bengal, and silk cloth from Gujarat and Bengal, also occupied a prominent place. Beyond finished woven cloth, there was strong demand for raw cotton and silk yarn as well.

Saltpetre

• Saltpetre, a vital ingredient in the manufacture of gunpowder, was much in demand in Europe, though no references to its export exist for the 16th century.
  • In the 17th century, the Dutch began exporting it from the Coromandal coast; in the first half of the century, both the Dutch and English exported moderate quantities from Coromandal, Gujarat, and Agra.
  • In the second half of the 17th century, saltpetre trade from Bihar, routed via Orissa and Bengal ports, began in earnest, and Bihar soon became the most significant supplier of the commodity.

Indigo

• Indigo, used for blue dye, was produced across most of northern India — Punjab, Sind, and Gujarat — with the varieties from Sarkhej (Gujarat) and Bayana (near Agra) especially in demand for export.
  • Europe’s demand for indigo was very large, chiefly for dyeing woollen cloth, while merchants from Persia purchased it for Asiatic markets and Eastern Europe.
  • By the 17th century, the Dutch, English, Persians, Mughals, and Armenians were all competing to procure indigo.

Other Commodities

• Opium: Purchased mainly by the French, Dutch, and English Companies, principally from Bihar and Malwa.
• Bengal sugar: Bought by the Dutch and English Companies.
• Ginger: Exported to Europe through the Dutch.
• Turmeric, ginger, and aniseed (saunf): Exported by Armenian merchants.
• Large-scale trading operations also connected the ports of Gujarat with the Indonesian archipelago: cotton textiles were carried in bulk to Indonesia, with spices brought back in return.
  • Brightly coloured cotton cloth and chintz from India were in especially great demand, and a large part of this trade was later routed through Coromandal, from where textiles were exported to the Indonesian islands and spices imported in exchange.

Imports

• Compared to India’s exports, imports were confined to a relatively small number of select commodities.
  • Silver was the main item of import, alongside copper, lead, and mercury.
  • Silk and porcelain from China were imported through the English, while good-quality wine, carpets, and perfumes were brought from Persia.
  • Items such as cut glass, watches, silver utensils, woollen cloths, and small weapons from Europe were in demand chiefly among the Indian aristocracy.
  • Horses from Central Asia were imported in large numbers for military purposes, with the state itself as the main purchaser.
• India also maintained trade relations with its immediate neighbours in the hill kingdoms: musk was brought from Nepal and Bhutan, and borax was imported from Tibet and Nepal, while iron and food-grains were supplied to these hill regions in return.

Trade Routes And Means Of Transport

Trade Routes

Inland Trade Routes

• An elaborate network of trade routes linked all the commercial centres of the Empire by the beginning of the 17th century.
  • The products of Punjab and Sindh moved down the river Indus, maintaining close trade links with Kabul and Qandahar on one side, and Delhi and Agra on the other.
  • A well-organised trade network existed for semi-luxury and luxury goods, with Agra and Burhanpur serving as the two nodal points in north India; later, in the 18th century, as Agra declined, Banaras emerged as one of the new nodal points.
  • Lahore benefited from the ability to send goods down the Indus, just as Delhi and Agra were connected via the Jamuna — a network that carried the movement of silk and fine cotton textiles from Bengal to north India, and fine cotton and specialised cloth from Gujarat.
• Inland trade was served by a network of roads, which successive rulers, beginning with Sher Shah, sought to improve.
  • Rain badly affected road conditions — travellers’ records lament the notoriously muddy Surat–Burhanpur route throughout the monsoon.
  • To mark the alignment of roads and indicate distance travelled, the state erected towers known as kosminars, though only the more heavily used routes were provided with them; all the prominent routes also had sarais at short, regular intervals.
    • Tavernier observed that these facilities were “not less convenient than all the arrangements for marching in comfort either in France or in Italy.”
  • Important trade routes included Agra–Delhi–Kabul, Agra–Burhanpur–Surat, Surat–Ahmedabad–Agra, and Agra–Patna–Bengal.

Routes for Foreign Trade

• Overland route: The most frequented overland route throughout the medieval period was linked to the “great silk route,” which began at Beijing and passed through Central Asia via Kashgar, Samarqand, Balkh, and Kabul, meeting the Indian hinterland at Lahore.
  • This route continued through Multan, Qandahar, and Baghdad, and after crossing the Euphrates, reached Aleppo, from where commodities were shipped onward to Europe.
• Overseas route — Western route: Before the discovery of the sea route via the Cape of Good Hope, the most frequented sea routes in the north ran from Cambay, Surat, and Thatta to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, and from Dabhor, Cochin, and Calicut to Aden and Mocha — a port on the Red Sea coast of Yemen, from where certain commodities were carried by sea and then overland to Alexandria via Cairo.
  • With the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope, the European powers gained new access points, and no longer depended on Alexandria or Aleppo.
• Eastern routes: Commodities from Hugli, Masulipatnam, and Pulicat were sent directly to Achin, Batavia, and Malacca.

Means of Transport

Land Transport

• Pack-oxen and ox-drawn carts, along with camels, were the chief means of land transport.
  • Oxen were commonly used to carry loads on their backs — grain merchants are recorded travelling with caravans (tandas) of 10,000 to 20,000 pack animals, and merchants beyond the banjaras also relied on oxen for transporting goods, whether pack-laden or drawn in carts.
  • Camels were commonly used in the western regions of the country for carrying goods, while horses served mainly as mounts.
  • In high mountain regions, mules and hill ponies carried heavier loads, with human labour also employed where necessary.
  • A palanquin, carried by four to six servants with others available to relieve them, could — according to Ovington — cover twenty to thirty miles a day with relative ease, though a normal day’s journey was generally considered to be eight to twelve miles.

River Transport

• Boats were used most frequently in Bengal and Sindh, with regular boat traffic maintained between Agra and Bengal; the patella, a type of flat boat, was also commonly used.
  • River transport proved both faster and cheaper than overland routes — from Multan to Thatta, goods carried by river cost around Rs. 3–4 per maund, compared to roughly Rs. 2 per maund for a shorter distance carried by land.

The Mughals and the European Trading Companies

• The Mughals and other Indian rulers took a keen interest in the growth of India’s overseas trade, wanting it chiefly because it would have increased their revenue resources; consequently, despite various difficulties, the Mughal Emperors and local Indian rulers generally welcomed foreign merchants.
  • The Mughals and other Indian rulers, however, remained weak on the seas, making it necessary for them to align with one or another powerful European naval power to ensure the smooth sailing of Indian ships.
  • So long as the Mughals remained strong, European merchants followed a policy of seeking concessions through petitions and presents, while the Companies for their part combined trade and diplomacy with war and efforts to control the territory around their factories.
  • As Mughal power weakened, the European companies began imposing their will on Indian rulers to secure monopolies and concessions, taking full advantage of internal conflicts wherever they arose.

The Dutch

• The Dutch received a favourable response from the rulers of Golkunda, who granted them concessions and exemptions in trade.
  • The chief feature of the Company’s relationship with Indian rulers was that, despite securing concessions at the imperial level, local officials repeatedly used their own authority to evade these orders and impose duties on Company trade, frequently leading to clashes.
• Jahangir: The Dutch secured a farman from Jahangir permitting trade along the west coast and exempting them from tolls between Burhanpur, Cambay, and Ahmedabad.
• Shah Jahan: Issued two farmans granting the Dutch permission to trade in Bengal (1635) and at Surat; in 1638, a further farman permitted trade in saltpetre, and in 1642, Shah Jahan exempted the Dutch from transit duties along the Pipli–Agra route.
• Aurangzeb: In 1662, Aurangzeb confirmed all privileges granted by Shah Jahan to the Dutch in Bengal, followed in 1689 by a further farman permitting all the concessions the Dutch had enjoyed at Golkonda, which the Mughals had since occupied.
• Shah Alam (1709): Reduced customs duty at Swat and Hugli, and granted the Dutch total exemption from transit dues throughout the Mughal Empire.
  • Local officials, however, continued to hinder the Dutch factors from fully availing themselves of these rahdari exemptions, and the Dutch sometimes had to spend considerable sums to placate them. At the same time, the Company itself often abused its privilege of carrying duty-free goods — rather than carrying only its own merchandise, it frequently helped Indian merchants evade customs at Hugli.
• Jahandar Shah: Confirmed all privileges granted by Aurangzeb in Coromandal in 1712, though local authorities refused to honour these — a major conflict broke out at Palakottu and Drakshavaram in 1725–30, culminating in the Dutch factory being attacked and plundered in 1728.

The English

• Jahangir: The first English envoy reached the Mughal court during Jahangir’s reign, receiving a royal farman in 1607.
  • In 1608, when the English established their first factory at Surat, Captain Hawkins was sent to Jahangir’s court to secure trading concessions, and was initially welcomed, receiving a mansab of 400 zat from the Emperor.
  • Although Hawkins obtained permission to trade at Surat in 1611, Portuguese influence later led to his expulsion from Agra. The English soon realised that securing any concessions from the Mughal court required them first to counter Portuguese influence.
    • This led to armed conflict between the two powers at Swally, near Surat, in 1612 and 1614 — a conflict that ultimately worked in England’s favour, since the Mughals themselves wished to check Portuguese naval strength by aligning with the English, and also hoped Indian merchants would benefit from competition among the foreign traders.
  • Captain Best subsequently secured a royal farman in January 1613 permitting the English to open factories along the west coast, at Surat, Cambay, Ahmedabad, and Goga.
  • In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe was sent to Jahangir’s court, seeking to exploit the naval weakness of Indian rulers by harassing Indian traders and ships — pressure that resulted in a further farman granting the English the right to open factories throughout the Mughal Empire.
• The English success led to an English–Portuguese conflict between 1620 and 1630, which favoured the English; the Portuguese subsequently lost nearly all of their Indian possessions except Goa, Daman, and Diu, and in 1662 ceded the island of Bombay to King Charles II of England as part of a dowry.
  • Towards the end of Jahangir’s reign, when the English Company attempted to fortify its factory at Surat, its officers were imprisoned by Mughal officials — and when a rival group of English merchants attacked Mughal ships, the President of the Company at Surat was likewise imprisoned, being released only on payment of £1,80,000.
• Sultan Shuja: In 1651, the English East India Company obtained a nishan from Sultan Shuja, then governor of Bengal and son of Shah Jahan, granting trading privileges in return for a fixed annual payment of Rs. 3,000; a further nishan in 1656 exempted the Company from customs dues altogether.
  • Following Shuja’s withdrawal from Bengal, his successors ignored these orders, since they adversely affected the treasury — but customs-free English trade was eventually secured firmly under Shaista Khan (1672) and a subsequent farman from Emperor Aurangzeb.
• Aurangzeb: During Aurangzeb’s reign, the Mughal–English Company relationship shifted considerably.
  • By this time, the English Company — with fortified settlements at Madras and Bombay — felt considerably stronger, while Aurangzeb himself remained preoccupied with his Deccan campaigns. The English began contemplating abandoning their earlier role as humble petitioners, seeking instead to dictate prices by force and establish a trade monopoly by gradually driving out other European competitors.
  • In 1686, the English declared war against the Mughal Emperor and sacked Hugli, badly misjudging Mughal strength — unlike their counterparts in South India, the Mughals proved more than a match for a small trading company.
    • The result was a humiliating setback for the British: they lost all their possessions in Bengal, their factories at Surat, Masulipatam, and Vishakhapatnam were seized, and their fort at Bombay was besieged.
  • Recognising Mughal strength, the English reverted to their earlier policy of “petition and diplomacy,” once again turning humble petitioners and agreeing to trade under the protection of Indian rulers. The Mughals soon pardoned them, mindful of the benefits of continuing foreign trade — Aurangzeb granted permission to trade upon payment of Rs. 1,50,000 as compensation, and in 1691, the English secured exemption from customs duties in Bengal for an annual payment of Rs. 3,000.
  • In 1698, the English king sent a special envoy, Sir William Norris, to Aurangzeb’s court, seeking formal confirmation of trading concessions and full English jurisdiction over their own settlements.
• Farrukh Siyar: A further mission under Surman in 1714–17 succeeded in procuring three farmans from Farrukh Siyar, exempting the English from customs dues in Gujarat and the Deccan as well.
  • In Bengal, so long as Murshid Quli Khan and Ali Vardi Khan held office, they strictly checked any misuse of the privileges granted to the Company — but soon after their departure in the 1750s, the Company found the opportunity to intrigue, ultimately defeating the Nawab of Bengal in 1757 at the Battle of Plassey.

The French

• The French had to contend with the wrath of the Marathas under Shivaji as early as 1677.
  • The French commander (later Director General of French affairs in India), Martin, readily acknowledged Shivaji’s authority and agreed to pay him a sum in lieu of a licence to trade within his dominions. In 1689, the French secured permission to fortify Pondicherry (from Bambhaji).
• Aurangzeb: The French likewise obtained a farman from Aurangzeb as early as 1667, permitting them to open a factory at Surat; in 1688, Aurangzeb ceded the village of Chandranagore to the French.
  • The French additionally maintained close ties with Dost Ali, the Nawab of Carnatic. On his strong recommendation, the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah issued a farman granting the French permission to mint and issue gold and silver currency bearing the Mughal Emperor’s stamp and the name of the minting location.
• A shift in the political situation of South India gave the French an opportunity to interfere in the internal affairs of Indian rulers.
  • Chanda Sahib, son-in-law of Dost Ali, faced the wrath of the Marathas and sought French assistance in response.
  • On hearing of the successful French resistance to the Marathas, Muhammad Shah granted M. Dumas the title of Nawab, along with a mansab of 4,500/12,000.
  • Ultimately, French involvement in the affairs of South Indian principalities led to the Carnatic Wars and the eventual defeat of the French.

Administration And Trade

• The Mughal Emperors took a keen personal interest in trading activity, generally following a policy of encouraging trade and offering concessions to merchants from time to time.

Customs and Road Tax

• Policy regarding these taxes changed periodically.
  • Jahangir abolished customs on trade with Kabul and Qandahar; during the Gujarat famine, taxes on a number of commodities were remitted.
  • Aurangzeb, at his accession in 1659, abolished tolls and taxes on foodstuffs, and at one point abolished all road tolls altogether.
  • A number of royal orders and decrees exist abolishing taxes and customs on specific items — yet according to the letter of these imperial decrees, state policy towards trade appears far more liberal than it proved to be in actual practice.

Attitude of the Administration

• Provincial governors, along with subordinate officers of the markets and customs officials, remained largely reluctant to enforce these liberal policies.
  • They constantly sought methods to fleece merchants, with the dues collected often appropriated by officials themselves. The problem was further compounded when officials indulged in trade personally, and nobles and high officials regularly attempted to establish monopolies over certain commodities.
    • Prince Shuja, son of Shah Jahan, held wide-ranging trade interests; Mir Jumla, a powerful noble, attempted to establish a monopoly in Bengal; and Shaista Khan forced the English to sell all their goods and silver to him, assuring them in return a steady supply of saltpetre.
  • Legally, officers and nobles were not debarred from undertaking business activities of their own — the real problem was that fair competition was replaced by coercion and exploitation at the hands of those in power.
• Foreign companies, merchants, and individuals frequently complained of official high-handedness. Royal orders and decrees granting relief were issued from time to time, but poor communications and long distances often meant such relief was delayed, or in some cases never implemented at all.
• In spite of these hurdles, trade continued to rise steadily, attracting merchants from several countries.

In summary, Mughal India’s engagement with European commerce unfolded against the backdrop of an already dense, sophisticated network of inland and inter-regional trade, sustained by village markets, banjara caravans, riverine transport, and a mature indigenous financial system built on hundis. Against this backdrop, the Dutch, English, and French companies each pursued a shifting strategy of petition, concession, and — as Mughal strength waned — coercion, culminating eventually in decisive confrontations such as the Battle of Plassey and the Carnatic Wars. The historiographical debate between the “Peddler Theory” of van Leur and Steensgaard, and the more nuanced revisionist position of Om Prakash, underscores that Indian merchants were far from passive players in this exchange, but active participants in a trading world whose scale, sophistication, and diversity long predated — and ultimately outlasted — European intervention.