The focus of this volume is the rise and fall of the Indian maritime merchant in the early modern period: the heyday of Moghul Surat, the appearance of a group of independent merchant shipowners, and their eclipse at the end of the period in the face of European competition and monopolies. Much of the evidence for the activity of these Indian merchants comes from the records of the Dutch and English East India Companies, as well as the papers of English private merchants, and this is carefully assessed by Professor Das Gupta in these articles. He is also concerned to set the picture thus gained in the context of the trade of the Indian Ocean region as a whole, and to relate it to the questions of continuity and change raised by Van Leur.

This collection of essays surveys the history of maritime India from 1500 to 1800, focusing on trade and economic history as well as on the activities of European merchants and local traders. It convincingly argues that even though the Europeans often traversed the Indian Ocean to trade, their presence was not crucial to India's economic stability.

This book is a collection of essays of the late Professor Ashin Das Gupta - one of the pioneers of maritime history in India. It is divided into two sections: the first contains the author's general essays and the second deals with the projects on Malabar and Surat. It will interest students and scholars of history, particularly those interested in maritime history of India.

This collection brings together some seminal essays of the late Professor Ashin Das Gupta, one of the pioneers of maritime studies in India. It is organised into two parts: one containing Professor Das Gupta's general essays, and the other his more specific ones on Malabar and Surat. These essays chronicle the rise and fall of Indian port cities and of the communities of merchants who traded from them.

This volume discusses the various socio-economic and political processes that evolved over centuries in the vast coastal fringes of India and out of the circuits of the Indian Ocean, ultimately giving it the distinctive consciousness and identity of Maritime India. The book comments on a wide range of issues, including the nature of maritime trade of the Sassanids with India; the impact of maritime trade on the political processes of Goa; the impact of Portuguese commercial expansion on the traditional Muslim merchants of Kerala and the role of private traders in the structure and the functioning of Estado da India.

Collection of essays presented at an Indo-French Seminar on "the Bay of Bengal in the Asian Maritime Trade and Cultural Network, 1500-1800" held in New Delhi in December 1994.

The spectacular rise in world trade following the great discoveries of the closing years of the fifteenth century had important implications for each of the major segments of the newly emerging early modern international economy. As far as Asia was concerned, the commercial operations of the European corporate enterprises as well as private traders in the Indian Ocean region between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries had far-reaching consequences for the economies and the polities of the countries of the region. Asian merchants engaged in the Indian Ocean trade interacted with the European intruders into the Ocean in a variety of ways. The twenty-one essays included in this volume are firmly embedded in original archival sources. They deal mainly with issues arising out of the Europeans' commercial presence in the Indian Ocean region and the interaction they had with their Asian counterparts. The volume discusses how over a span of three centuries, the Indian economy was integrated into the world economy as a result of these interactions. The macroeconomic implications of the European encounter for the Indian economy are analysed in detail. Another important area explored at some length is the monetary history of the subcontinent in the early modern period. This collection of essays will be of interest of the historians of India and of the Indian Ocean. It will also have a great deal of appeal for the historians of early modern Asia as well as Europe. Those interested in what is being increasingly described as world history will also find the volume useful.

Professor Arasaratnam has drawn on his own researches into the overseas trade of India and its commercial economy. He supplements this with a thorough study of the current historiography on these themes. The author presents a profile of the maritime region in what is arguably its most dynamic and productive period.

This Omnibus Brings Together Two Of Ashin Das Gupta`S Works-Malabar In Asian Trade 1740-1800 And Indian Merchants And The Decline Of Surat. It Has A Detailed Introduction By P.J. Marshall And A Memorial Essay By Irfan Habib. Useful For Students And Historian Working On Maritime Trade In Indian History And Interested General Readers.