Question

Write True or False against the statement: The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century.

Answer 1

The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century.

Answer: True

• In 1772, an East India Company official named Henry Patullo said that since no other nation produced goods of the same quality, the demand for Indian textiles could never reduce.
• The long decline of textile exports from India started from the beginning of the 19th century.
• The international market in textiles was dominated by Silk and Cotton goods from India, before the age of machine industries.
• Although coarser cottons were produced in many countries, often, the finer varieties were made in India.

Vibrant Land and Sea Trade – India

• Persian and Armenian merchants took the goods from Punjab to Central Asia, Eastern Persia, and Afghanistan.
• Bales of fine textiles were carried on camel backs across the deserts, through mountain passes, via the North-West Frontier.
• India had a vibrant sea trade.
• Hooghly in Bengal, Masulipatam on the Coromandel coast had trade links with Southeast Asian ports.
• Surat on the Gujarat coast connected India to the Red Sea and the Gulf.
• Supply merchants linked the port towns to the inland regions.
• A variety of Indian bankers and merchants were involved in the network of export trade – supplying exporters, carrying goods, financing production.