Textile Trade in Medieval India

The oldest and the most traversed sea route from the last two millennia is the Indian Ocean. It is known to have been the center of intense commercial activity. The Indian Ocean trade of textiles has been thoroughly studied by the historians to map the routine and trace the importance of textiles in trade or exchange.

The consumption of textiles in the medieval period was by both the elite and the working class. Textiles were not only being used for apparel purposes but also had an important role to play in the domain of exchange of gifts, rituals and identity formation.

India, in the medieval times was deemed to be the largest and most-competitive producer of textiles. Thus, India was at the centre of Indian Ocean trade in textiles for a long period of time. Internationally, India was prominently trading with South-west Asia and the Mediterranean via the Arabia Sea and with Southeast Asia via the Bay of Bengal. The well-known centers of trade during the medieval period were Surat, Bengal and Masulipattanam.

The textile trade placed Bengal, Surat and Masulipatnam at the centre of a complex network of exchanges. Indian textiles such as cotton, chintz, muslin and silk became prestigious items all around the Indian Ocean. The port of Surat connected India to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Apart from Surat, India was trading from the Eastern coast as well, where the main ports were Masulipatnam which lay on the Coromandel coast and Hooghly in Bengal. The ports of Masulipatnam and Hoogly fostered trade relations with the Southeast Asian ports. The Malabar coast and its various ports such as Cochin, Calicut, Cannanore, and Onore traded with the Arabs and the Chinese.

In the early 16th century, the region of Gujarat was a leading centre for trade. The chief items of trade from this region were cotton and silk. Some of the other textiles traded from Gujarat were baftas (calicoes), patkas (sash), birampouris, Surat's and Sironj's chintz. The port of Surat was situated near river Tapti. It was a commercial center where goods were carried in the boats and moored at the steps. The ships were anchored at Suwali road and the goods were then carried to and fro by bullock carts. The port of Surat became a place for exchange of goods where merchandise were being passed through places like Central India, the Deccan, Kashmir, and Lahore.

Commodities from Europe and China too arrived at the port of Surat which included copper, rubies, almonds, diamonds, and iron. The most sought after items of export from the port of Surat were calicoes which are plain woven and coarse cotton used for bed hangings, curtains or even garments. Other desired items in the European, West and South Asian markets were silk, zarbaft (gold brocaded fabric) and Gujarat’s patola or double ikat fabrics. The Ikat pattern involved pre-dyeing of yarn before weaving them to create beautiful and colourful designs.

As the textile trade grew, some of the influence of Indian textile techniques was found on foreign textiles. Moreover, the textiles were further assimilated according to the local culture thereafter were given indigenous meaning. For example, in Indonesia, the apparels were influenced by Indian standards in terms of technique of production, designs, and importantly the material. One such type was Ikat, an Indian textile type of tying of the warp or weft yarn prior to dyeing. This textile was found both in India and Indonesia with variations.

Similarly, the double ikat patola that reached Indonesia from Gujarat exerted considerable influence especially in the eastern part of the archipelago. For example, in Indonesia, the luxury textiles called Pelangi were specifically used on ceremonial occasions in Jambi. The technique of creating Pelangi is similar to those found in Bandhani textile from India. Both the textiles are usually made of silk which were tied and sewn and further dyed to create coloured patterns.

Some other principal varieties of textiles exported from the region of Gujarat were baftas, cangans (a type of coarse cotton), chelas, cannikens, and taffechelas. The trading activity was not limited to international waters. The port of Surat also had internal trade relations with Masulipatnam and Bengal.

Masulipatnam was the focal point of intense trading in the late medieval period. It had become one of the important regions of the Andhra coast as a thriving market developed here. Masulipatnam, thus became a point of fierce competition between various trading groups such as Nobles of Golconda, European traders, Persian Merchants and the Telugu speaking Komatis. As a result, Masulipatnam became the hub of trade and one of the most important ports in the history of textile trade.

The specialization of the Coromandel coast was Chintz. It was produced in the Golconda region and was famous worldwide as the ‘chintz of Masulipatnam’. Various travellers described chintz as a cotton cloth dyed and painted in different bright colours with a variety of motifs. The main chintz producing areas in Golconda were Pallakulu, Narsapur, Aramgaon and Nizampattan. The chintz of Nizampattan were Persiansed as its consumers were Muslim ruling elites.

Chintz fabric was also held in high regard among the Mughals and the Europeans. Interestingly, it is said that once Qutb-ul-Mulk, founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda, sent twenty five pieces of fine chintz to Ali Adil Shah (Sultan of Bijapur Sultanate) as a gift. This textile was also exported to France and England. It was also transported to Persia as bedspreads and lining material. The dominant colors of chintz during this time were, red, yellow, black, pink, violent and green. The tool used to create the floral patterns was mainly, qalam (pencil). This art was called qalamkari. Chintz was also the name used for printed cotton fabrics. It is interesting to note that since the chintz produced at Masulipatnam was of such superior quality due to its texture and fineness, the French traders were willing to pay high amounts to obtain it.

With time, the Mughals took complete control of Golconda. When the British interest shifted to Madras, the golden days of Masulipatnam declined as the merchants shifted their activities elsewhere. Although, the skill and expertise of Masulipatnam’s Chintz artisans was later recognised and given due credit during the colonial period.

By the second half of the sixteenth century, Bengal was a major exporting region of India where Chittagong, Sonargaon and Bakla were important manufacturing centres of cotton goods. Muslin was an important item that was loved both within India and outside it. It was considered a superior textile because it was very fine and light. Mughal Emperors also loved muslin and had given it names like abrawan (running water), baft hawa (woven air) and shabnam (evening dew) owing to its fine and light nature. The muslin of Dacca (Dhaka) was especially famous. Sonargaon, Banaras, Agra, Malwa, Deccan, Lahore, Multan, Burhanpur and Golkonda were other centers of muslin craft, as mentioned by Abul Fazl in Ain-i-Akbari. In the early fifteenth century, Bengal produced various textiles like both fine and coarse silk and embroidered silken handkerchiefs. It was also found that the Bengal Silk was much cheaper than the China Silk. Apart from silk, cotton was grown in abundance. Bengali cotton textiles had led to massive profits in places like Persia, Europe, and SouthEast Asia.

Vasco da gama talked about a certain type of textile called estraventas which was described as a very ‘thin type of cloth’, much esteemed among the ladies which must be a reference to muslin. Variations of cotton have been mentioned in various travel accounts as Sinabafos (a fine white cloth), Cahunatar (chadar), Beatilhas and Beirames (fine cotton cloth of several colors). At this time, Bengal muslin was being traded to Thailand and China and the middle East. Muslin was highly favoured by the Ottomans for turbans. This textile was commercialised further by Portugese traders from Dhaka and Sripur.

Therefore, it is crucial to say that the domination of Indian textiles in the trade was unparalleled. The various kinds of textiles ranged from high quality Dhaka Muslins, Cotton, Silk from Gujarat and Calico from the Malabar Coast. India’s potential to manufacture these textiles in bulk and create a commercial hub was the reason behind how the various hubs became ‘industrial centres’ surrounded by Southeast and Southwest. The course of the fifteenth century witnessed the fragmentation of Indian textile trade with the world.

Further, with the advent of the 17th century, Gujarat and Coromandel was established as the two most prominent trading hubs. Maritime Trade was taken to a high level when the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.) entered into Asiatic trade. The two major textiles of these two regions were Indigo and Cotton. The following chart shows the amount of goods that was exported from Gujarat and Coromandel port through the Dutch East India Company.

There were two types of Indigo textiles which were high in demand i.e. Sarkhej Indigo, Jambusar Indigo and Biana Indigo. In the late sixteenth century, Indigo was being exported from Sarkhej and Jambusar from Gujarat and in Coromandel, Indigo was chiefly coming from Pulicat, Cantigan, Tegenapatnam and Dattcheron. The demand for Indigo declined by the end of the seventeenth century.

Another place of importance during the medieval time was Awadh. The common route of transportation was through Agra to the port of Surat and from Surat, the commodities were shipped abroad. The main market for textiles from Awadh to Surat was Agra. Agra therefore, emerged as a major market for the availability of textiles such as broad baftas and coarse baftas. According to sources, Awadh textile were in great demand among the Muslim merchants who the further exported Awadh textiles to Persia, Arabia and Turkey through the caravan route via Kandahar. Some of the other textiles from Awadh were Daryabads and Khairabads (both varieties of Awadh cloth) and Mercools (a type of broad bafta).

Textile trade also gave rise to trading communities which became one of the most important trading groups operating in the Indian Ocean. One of the famous merchants known in the trading communities was Virji Vorah who dominated the Gujarat region. He was known to have owned large fleets of ships. Till today trading communities in India go by the last names such as Seth, Vorah, Beoparies or Baniks. In South India, the trading community was dominated by the Chettis (also known as the Chettiars).