TRADITIONAL MARITIME SYSTEMS

Give an account of traditional maritime systems in India and mercantilist practices in Europe.

Nature has provided Inia a beautiful seacoast to its East and West, and Geography has made it a maritime country. The coastline has bestowed India with numerous ports like Kandla, Mumbai, Goa, Calcutta, Mangalore, Madras, Vishakhapatnam, etc. All this had made India a seafaring nation in the world. Since the Indus Valley Civilization, India is one of the oldest seafaring nations in the world.

For the people living on the coastal line adventures in the sea had become a part of life and a means of living. They have developed seafaring tendencies and become expert in navigation. They were the first to establish trade routes by sea resulting in a vigorous maritime activity which demanded:

The construction of a number of ships and boats which were sturdy and large enough to carry passengers and goods across thousands of miles and which could withstand the vagaries (whims) of weather and sea.

It also demanded the construction and formation of a number of ports along the vast Indian coastline, which were necessary for loading and unloading goods which were exported and imported by the merchants.

The Maritime History of India is linked with the political and economic development of the country. The archaeological evidence – several seals, ornaments, bangles, traditionally shaped anchor and the remains of the Port of Lothal prove that the Indus people had maritime trade with Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and Telmun (Old Bahrain).

The Indus Valley Civilization had a number of Maritime Ports – Kuntasi in Rajkot district, Shikarpur Dholavira in Kutch and Lothal and Rangpur in Surendranagar District.

Lothal, an Indus site had revealed a brick-built dockyard system which worked on tidal principles. The discovery of Persian Gulf seal at Port Lothal reveals that Lothal was an important port for trade in the Indus Valley. Some of the articles of export were conch shell, ivory objects, gems, cotton textiles, pottery birds and animals.

In the fifth and sixth century, India’s seafaring activity was extensive. In the Buddhist and Jain sources of this period there are references of sea voyages, ships, sea dangers and shipwrecks. The most important ports in the Magadhan Period (500 BC) were Bhrigukachcha (Modern Baroach), Supparaka (Sopara) and Tamalipti (Tamluk in Bengal). The other prots were Calliena (Kalyan) near Mumbai, Comar (Cape Comorin) and Port of Masalia (Masulipatnam).

During the period the chief items of export were the spices, cotton textile, wool, silk, sugarcane, dresses, hides, cosmetics and tempered steel.

India had trade relations with Phoenicians, Jews, Assyrians, Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. India imported tin, lead, glass, amber, steel for arms and medical drugs.

Most precious of the exports of India was silk which was exchanged by weight of gold under the Persian Empire. India exported wool to Europe.

Modern Sopara was a Port of Entry for all foreign communities in Ancient India.

In the reign of Ashoka there are references to the development of maritime routes. Mauryans gave much importance to maritime activity and had started maritime administration. In Kautilya’s Arthashastra there was a maritime department. According to Megasthenes, there were salaried ship builders who built ships in the royal shipyard. The government also encouraged private companies to build ships by granting tax relief to the ship building industry.

According to R. K. Mookherjee, shipbuilding was a flourishing industry giving employment to many and the reason for its development must have arisen from the demands of ocean and river traffic.

Another great kingdom in Eastern India was Kalinga which had vigorous maritime activity. According to Japanese Chronicle there was a flourishing trade between ava and Gujarat. Harshavardhana had maintained a naval fleet. After Guptas, the Palas and then the Chalukyas had taken interest in maritime trade. Pulakesin II the famous Chalukya King had maintained a strong naval fleet. In the south the three great powers – the Cheras, the Cholas and the Pandyas kept up maritime tradition.

The greatest Chola King Karikala fortified the famous seaport Kaveripatnam known as Puhar. The port contained buildings, offices and houses of the merchants. Early Tamil literature describes Yavana (people of West Asia and Mediterranean) ships arriving at Kaveripatnam.

The southern kingdoms were familiar with large scale maritime trade and their literature refers to harbors, docks, lighthouses, custom offices, etc.

The modern Baroach imported a lot of cargo including wine, copper, tin, lead, coral, topaz, gauze, sweet clover, antimony, glass, gold, silver, medical ointments, and export was spices, diamonds, tortoise shell.

The demand by Rome of the spices of India led the Indian merchants to sail as middlemen to Malaya, Java, Sumatra, Cambodia, and this established the sea trade of India with South East Asia.

Besides the ancient Hindu dynasties, Vijayanagar Empire took keen interest in reviving maritime commerce in India.

Alberuni gives interesting details regarding the Indian maritime and commercial activity in the Muslim period. According to him, ‘Malabar’ was the key to ‘Hind’. It exported aromatics, grasses and pearls to Iraq, Khurasan, Syria and Europe.

According to Mookerjee, in the fifteenth century, Calicut was the greatest shipping center of the world and along with Chaul, Dabhol, Coromandel Coast was great trading and shipping center.

During the Mughal Period, there is a mention of Babur fighting two naval battles on the Ganges. Akbar had his navy. He used it to put down piracy and other revolts of the chieftains. He had an admiralty department. Trade is supposed to have flourished under Akbar’s rule. According to Ain-i-Akbari, the Mughal shipping industry was comparable to that of the Mauryas. 

During the Mughal period the maritime trade was in the hands of the Gujaratis, Malbaris, Bengalis and Armenians.

After the Mughals, a lot of attempts were made by different European powers like the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the English. The English settled in India as traders in 1599 and with the Naval Supremacy they established their political power which lasted till 1947.