Overview

• There were different towns with different functions in the medieval

times such as temple towns, administrative centres, commercial towns

famous for arts and crafts or port towns.

• These towns represented the process of urbanisation.

• After the 8th century, many small towns emerged out of large villages in

the whole subcontinent and tax and the zamindari system developed.

• Extensive trade was carried out with the ports of the Red Sea, Persian

Gulf, East Africa, Southeast Asia, China. The products in turn reached

different European markets and thus due to it, the European traders

were drawn to India. Their arrival changed the scenario of the trading

and towns of India.

• Different crafts like Bidri, weaving, cotton cleaning, spinning and dyeing

developed and the architecture included temples, palaces, tanks,

reservoirs etc.

• Hampi (village in Karnataka) developed as an architectural splendour and

became the cultural capital of Vijayanagara Kingdom in the 15th and

16th centuries.

• Surat (city in Gujarat) developed as a major trading centre in the

beginning of the 17th century.

• Masulipatnam became a major port of the coast of Andhra Pradesh in

the 17th Century.

French formed East India Companies in order to expand their

commercial activities in the east and emerged as the commercial and

political superpower of the subcontinent.

• New arts,crafts and new towns were developed.

• The 18th century saw the rise of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras which

are major metropolitan cities today.

Towns, Traders And Craftspersons

Different Towns

• In the medieval times (between the 8th and the 18th centuries), there

were temple towns, administrative centres, commercial towns famous for

arts and crafts, and port towns. Moreover, some big towns and cities

were famous for more than one of those things.

Administrative Centres, Temple Towns, Pilgrimage Centres

• Thanjavur, situated on the banks of river Kaveri in Tamil-Nadu, was the

capital of the Chola dynasty a thousand years ago.

• It was a busy commercial town with markets for grains, spices, cloth,

and jewellery. And water was supplied to its people and visitors from big

wells and tanks.

• Its architecture included different temples and palaces with

'mandapas' (pavallions) that were used by kings to hold courts and carry
 out their administrative affairs. But they were also used as prayer

halls, and some even housed religious dancing and music concerts.

• So Thanjavur is also an example of a temple town, where urbanisation

(the process by which cities grow) happened as temples became central

to society and economy.

• Temples were built by rulers not only to show their devotion but also to

unify different communities. And they were maintained through cash and

land grants from rulers and merchants, as well as from donations made

by pilgrims. Big temples also used surplus (extra) funds for businesses

such as trade and banking.

• To cater to the needs of the pilgrims and of the temples, priests,

workers, artisans, traders, etc. started living in the areas around the

temples. This led to the growth of temple towns such as Somnath in

Gujarat, Kanchipuram and Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Tirupati in Andhra

Pradesh, and towns around Bhillasvamin (Bhilsa or Vidisha in Madhya

Pradesh).

• Centres of pilgrimage also started turning into townships such

as Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh and Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. Ajmer,

the city in Rajasthan that was both the capital of the Chauhans in the

12th century and the suba headquarters of the Mughals, is a great

example of religious co-existence.

• After the 8th century, many small towns emerged out of large villages

all over the Indian sub-continent.

• These towns had 'mandapikas' where markets or (haats) were set up to

sell agricultural produce, horses, salt, camphor, saffron, betel nut and

spices like pepper. Streets were also set up to help small businesses and

artisans such as potters, oil pressers, sugar makers, toddy makers,

smiths, and stonemasons.

• Samantas (zamindar, landlords) built forts around large villages and

turned them into developing towns. They also collected taxes from

traders and artisans, and inscriptions in temples tell us that

some samantas gave away the rights to collect taxes to temples.

Different Traders

• There were different kinds of traders in the medieval times, including

the banjaras (nomadic people). And traders who travelled a lot came

together to form traders' associations or guilds, the most famous ones

being Manigramam and Nanadesi. They did this to protect their

interests both within the Indian sub-continent and in Southeast Asia and

China.

• The largest Indian trading groups were the Chettiyars and Marwari

Oswal, and Gujarati traders such as Hindu Baniyas and Muslim Bohras.

• There was extensive trade with the ports of the Red Sea, the Persian

Gulf, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and China. Indian spices and cloth
 were exported, and gold, ivory, spices, tin, Chinese blue pottery, and

silver were imported.

• Many of these products also reached European markets, and this

attracted European traders to India. Their arrival once again changed

the structure of trading and towns in India.

Different Towns, Different Crafts

• The inlay work in copper and silver done by the craftspersons

of Bidar (a district in north-east Karnataka) became very famous and

came to be called bidri (from Bidar).

• Goldsmiths, bronze smiths, blacksmiths, masons, and carpenters of the

Panchala or the Vishwakarma community built many public buildings such

as temples, palaces, tanks, reservoirs etc.

• As town developed, some aspects of cloth making, such as cotton

cleaning, spinning and dyeing, became specialised and independent crafts.

And many weavers, such as those from the Saliyar and the Kaikkolar

communities, became very rich and made donations to temples.

Regional Development

Hampi: An Architectural Splendour

• Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka. It was located in the ruins of

the city of Vijayanagara (once the capital of the the Vijayanagara

Empire).
• By archeological findings, we know that the city was well fortified but

no cementing material was used for binding the bricks or stones, rather

they were wedged together by interlocking.

• The architecture in there was splendid, consisting of the royal buildings

with arches, domes, pillared halls, sculptures, well-designed gardens and

orchards.

• In the 15th and the 16th centuries, Hampi became the centre for

various cultural and commercial activities. The markets consisted of

traders such as Moors (name used for muslim merchants), the Chettis

and the Portuguese.

• The cultural activities included celebration of various festivals such as

Mahanavami (known as Navaratri now in the sothern part of India), one

of the most important festivals of Hampi. Temples became the centre

for not only worship but also for the development of various religious

and cultural traditions such as that of 'devadasis' (the temple dancers).

• Archaeologists have also found the Mahanavami platform, that the kings

used to hold meetings and from where they watched various music and

dance performances and wrestling matches.

• Inspite of all these developments, Hampi, the cultural capital, started

deteriorating after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, as it was

defeated by the Deccani Sultans- rulers of the Golconda, Bijapur,

Ahmadnagar, Berar and Bidar.

• The city of Surat was cosmopolitan as people of all castes and creeds

lived there. During the Mughal period, Surat, Cambay (present day

Khambhat) and later Ahmedabad carried out trade with the west.

• It was also called the gate to Mecca as the pilgrim ships set sail from

here.

• In the 17th century, the Protuguese, the Dutch and the English set up

their factories and warehouses in Surat. Textile industry of Surat has

been famous for its Zari Work (intricate art of weaving threads of fine

gold and silver) and has a market in West asia, Africe and Europe.

• Architecture of the city included magnificent buildings, many rest

houses, pleasure parks, huge banking houses (set up by Kathiawad seths

or Mahajans). The 'hundis' (financial instrument developed in the

medieval times for use in trade and credit transactions) of Surat were

honoured in markets of Cairo in Egypt, Basra in Iraq, and Antwerp in

Belgium.

• Towards the end of the 17th century, Surat began to decline as the

trade capital because of many reasons like the decline of the Mughal

Empire and resulting in the loss of markets and productivity, control

over the sea routes by the Portuguese and competition from Bombay

(present day Mumbai) as the East India Company shifted its

headquarters there in 1668. However, Surat is a bustling commercial

centre of Gujarat today.

• The town of Masulipatnam is located on the bank of river Krishna.

• In the 17th century, the English and the Dutch East India Companies

tried to control the town as it became the most important port of the

coast near Andhra Pradesh.

• The Golconda rulers established royal monopolies on the sale of the

textiles, spices etc. to prevent the various East India Companies to

control them completely. But due to this competition between

the Golconda nobles, Persian merchants, Telugu Komati Chettis, and

European traders – made the city populous and prosperous.

• The Mughals in the 17th century started extending their power to

Golconda and in 1686-1687, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb conquered

Golconda. Thus the East India Companies then devised a new policy

which described that the new trading centres should combine

the political, administrative and commercial roles.

• In the 18th century, Masulipatnam declined and lost its merchants and

prosperity as the Company traders moved to Bombay, Calcutta (present-

day Kolkata) and Madras (present-day Chennai).

• In the 16th and the 17th centuries, the English, the Dutch and the

French formed East India Companies in order to expand their

commercial activities in the east.

• Initially they faced a resistence from the local traders, but the

companies soon gained control over the sea routes and forced the local

traders to be their agents and emerged as the commercial and political

superpower of the subcontinent.

• The demand for goods like textiles increased and so the crafts of

spinning, weaving, bleaching, dyeing, etc. expanded greatly as many

people participated in it and the quality of the textiles improved.

• But this period saw the decline of the independence of craft persons as

they now began to work on a system of advance payments which

meant that they had to weave cloth which was already promised to

European agents. Weavers no longer had the liberty of selling their own

cloth or weaving their own patterns.

• The 18th century saw the rise of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras which

are major metropolitan cities today.

• The crafts and commerce also underwent changes as the local or native

artisans and merchants were moved to the 'black towns' (areas set up

by the whites for the blacks or locals) while they occupied the
superior residencies of Fort St George in Madras or Fort St William in

Calcutta.