•

• Trace the origins and histories of towns, many of which survive today
• Demonstrate the differences between founded towns and those that
grow as a result of trade
• Illustrate how travelers' accounts, contemporary maps, and official
documents are used to reconstruct history
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.
• Masuli patnam became a major port of the coast of Andhra Pradesh in the 17th Century.
• 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 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.
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
Large Villages Become Small Towns

• 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 Vijayanagar Empire, as it
was defeated by the Deccani Sultans- rulers of the Golconda, Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar and Bidar.
Surat and Trade

• 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.
Masulipatnam

• 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).
New Towns and Traders

• 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 craftspersons
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.