Indian Merchants and the Decline of Surat c.1700-1750
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Indian Merchants and the Decline of Surat c.1700-1750 by Ashin Das Gupta
Surat was the principal Mughal port in early 18th century and was connected not only with all of northern and western India but with Central Asia as well. Merchants of Surat dealt regularly with the Safavid Empire in Persia and the expanded Ottoman structure which guarded Iraq and covered the Red Sea. These three Islamic empires contributed to the prosperity of the merchants of Surat. The mercantile families of Surat had a special concentration on Mocha in Yemen. However, Surat's prosperity declined in the first half of the 18th century when the Safavid Empire and the Mughal Empire broke down, the Ottomans were gravely weakened, and a civil war waged in Yemen. The book explains the decline of the port city of Surat. The account is based on English, Dutch and French records. Information from Persian chronicles and Gujarati sources has also been included.
"It is nothing short of a classic, bound to appeal to the lay as well as the initiatedDasgupta's book is a scholarly exercise in empirical scholarship, written in elegant prose and dredged out of material that is unscrutable, inconsistant and downright unreliable... The bookis a delightful, compulsive read." The stateman. "It is a real pleasure to welcome this new edition of this classic essay. a stunning essay which tell us as much about merchant society at the time, the best example of what use can be made of eorepean records. The fact of the decline of Surat is well attested. This has long been seen as a very important thesis." The northern mariner.
Professor Ashin Das Gupta (b. 1932) took early retirement from Visva-Bharati as its Vice-Chancellor in 1990. He was at the time elected a National Fellow of the Indian Council of Historical Research.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9788173040832 |
| ISBN 10 | 8173040834 |
| Title | Indian Merchants and the Decline of Surat c.1700-1750 |
| Author | Ashin Das Gupta |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Manohar Publishers and Distributors |
| Year published | 2025-04-09 |
| Number of pages | 317 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |