31.5 The indian subcontinent: a.d. 1601 to 1700  (Page 2/2)

Although it is well known that cattle are considered sacred and left running free in much of India, in the 17th century many were harnessed to plows and carriages and even ridden by soldiers and nobles. The Mouris caste sometimes had enormous convoys of up to 10,000 animals transporting grain and rice. India had many highly skilled workers, particularly in the textile industries, even though they did not develop the high quality tools that were used in Europe. (Ref. 260 , 292 )

By 1700, as the Mogul administration was in decay, the Marathas were ravaging the Deccan and eastern provinces and previous Mogul allies such as Rajputs, Sikhs, Jats and Satnamis were all revolting. In the meantime Portuguese influence on the coast shrank both in territory and cornmercial profit, but Dutch, English, French and Danish companies were all eager to set up coastal trading centers to export textiles, sugar, indigo and salt petre. (Ref. 8 ) Near Portuguese Goa, because of a shortage of wood, houses were small and made of straw and most had no fireplace or windows. The furniture consisted of a few rush mats. (Ref. 260 ) Nevertheless, every urban center in India had its money-changing bankers - the sarafs , who mostly belonged to the powerful trading caste of the Banyans. Although there were no large stock exchanges as in Europe, still there were bills of exchange, currency exchange, credit and maritime insuranCe and the Banyans acted as brokers and middle men for all the European activities. Not surprisingly the Fuggers and the Welsers of Augsburg were also well represented in India, with their joint representative, Ferdinand Cron, operating out of Cochin and then Goa. He amassed a personal fortune by 1619 working with Spanish and Portuguese, although the latter finally imprisoned him. (Ref. 292 )

The French East India company, founded in 1664, never did well, perhaps because of a lack of means and the general immaturity of French capitalism. Surat, on the Gulf of Cambay, progressively became more and more of a boom city as the century progressed. First the English had a trading post there in 1609, then the Dutch in 1616 and the French in 1665, with lavish equipment. In 1652 Surat was already as large as Lyons, with a population perhaps approaching a million, acting as the gateway to the Mogul Empire. The Banyans were the most important group of intermediaries. (Ref. 292 ) Calcutta was founded by the British East India Company on the Hooghly River in 1690 by absorbing three villages, one of which was called Kalikata, honoring the goddess Kali, which may have given Calcutta its name. (Ref. 172 )

Heirs of Sivaji, the peshwas, were a tight clique of Chitpawan (purified by fire) Brahmans, who continued to resist British rule in the south. (Ref. 37 ) The poet, Tulsi Das, translated material into Hindu from the Ramayana, elaborating on the divine incarnation, Rama. This was widely popular and of enormous importance for later moral and religious education. This popular movement, along with that of Chaitanya and Sin Das, helped protect Hinduism from the charms of Islam. (Ref. 139 )

The Dutch arrived on Sri Lanka in 1658, changing the name again to "Ceilon". Life was hard there and it has been reported that rice cooked in water with a little salt, some green leaves and lemon juice passed for a good meal. There were no markets on the island but there were shops. (Ref. 260 , 292 )

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