Trade and Politics on the Coromandel Coast: Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth CenturiesThis work is a study of the connections between trade and politics in the Coromandel Coast in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with special focus on Madras. It questions the largely uncontested view that trade and traders in pre-modern India were disconnected from the world of politics and the state, arguing instead that south Indian merchants depended on, and functioned within the structures and the stability provided by the state. Trade and Politics on the Coromandel Coast: Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries addresses the breakdown of the political structures within which the merchants operated, and the impact of the arrival of the Europeans, especially the English. In so doing, it explores the transitional nature of the seventeenth century and the ways in which the European trading companies, Indian states, and merchants interacted with each other. Situated within the larger historical context of the trading world of the Coromandel Coast, this regional history challenges accepted notions about the place of merchants and the state, and through a detailed economic history, sheds new light on the political and transitional nature of the period. |
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Common terms and phrases
activities allowed Arasaratnam areas Armagon Armenians ARSIE attempts began Bengal Bijapur Black Town caste Chief Merchant Chinanna Chola Choultry cloth Company’s Coromandel Coast Court of Directors customs Daud Khan David Deccan Delhi Despatchesfrom England Devanamapattinam Diary Dutch early East India Company economic eighteenth century English established Europeans factors fanams farm farman Fort St French George Golconda Sultanate Governor grant guilds Gulcondah henceforth Ibid important Indian merchants inscriptions involved January Jinji joint stock Jumla Kanchipuram Kasi Viranna king kingdom later Lingappa London Madanna Madras Maratha Masulipattinam mentioned earlier mercantile Mir Jumla monopoly Mughal Mughal Empire Nadu Nagapattinam nagaram Nayak of Madurai officials pagodas Peddanayak pepper Pondicherri port Porto Novo Portuguese Pulicat region reported revenue RFSG role rulers San Thomé settle settlement seventeenth century ships Shivaji south India spices Sriranga Surat textiles Thanjavur Timanna trade and politics Vestiges Vijayanagar Empire weavers