The Indian Ocean in the Making of Early Modern India

This volume looks into the ways Indian Ocean routes shaped the culture and contours of early modern India. IT shows how these and other historical processes saw India rebuilt and reshaped during late medieval times after a long age of relative ‘stagnation’, ‘isolation’ and ‘backwardness’. The various papers deal with such themes including interconnectedness between Africa and India, trade and urbanity in Golconda, the changing meanings of urbanization in Bengal, commercial and cultural contact between Aceh and India, changing techniques of warfare, representation of early modern rulers of India in contemporary European paintings, the impact of the Indian Ocean on the foreign policies of the Mughals, the meanings of piracy, labour process in the textile sector, Indo-Ottoman trade, Maratha-French relations, Bible translations and religious polemics, weapon making and the uses of elephants. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of early modern Indian history in general and those working on aspects of connected histories in particular. 1. Africa and Africans in the making of early modern India / Edward A. Alpers 2. Trade in the shaping of early modern India : notes on the Deccan / Archisman Chaudhuri 3. The story of Bengal's urbanization : role of trade in the early modern period / Byapti Sur 4. Aceh-India commercial and literary relations in the seventeenth century / Sher banu A.L. Khan 5. Warfare in early modern South Asia, c.1520-c.1740 / Pratyay Nath 6. What does the Emperor of India look like? European representations of Indian rulers (1650-1740) / Corinna Forberg 7. 'Floating political rhetoric' in the Indian Ocean : situating the Portuguese in the Mughal foreign politics / Manya Rathore 8. Scourge of the seas : Malabar pirates and the European expansion in the Indian Ocean (c.1600-1800) / Binu John Mailaparambil 9. Weavers in early modern South Asia (sixteenth-seventeenth centuries) Murari Jha 10. Indian textiles in the Ottoman Empire : the example of Damascus around 1700 / Colette Establet-Vernin 11. The Maratha Court and the embassies of Saint-Lubin and M. Montigny : a truce towards cordial relations / Umesh Ashok Kadam 12. The unquiet religious backdrog to European East Indies trade : Christian polemical literature and the first Portuguese translation of the Bible, 1642-1694 / Luis Henrique Menezes Fernandes and Stefan Halikowski Smith 13. The techniques of sword making and trade practices : Taiid-e-Bisarat, a treatise from eighteenth century Mughal court / Chander Shekhar 14. Elephants and the making of early modern India / Martha Chaiklin. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Foreword 8 Preface 12 Introduction 16 1. Africa and Africans in the Making of Early Modern India 62 2. Trade in the Shaping of Early Modern India: Notes on the Deccan 76 3. The Story of Bengal's Urbanization: Role of Trade in the Early Modern Period 112 4. Aceh-India Commercial and Literary Relations in the Seventeenth Century 138 5. Warfare in Early Modern South Asia, c.1520-c.1740 176 6. What Does the Emperor of India Look Like? European Representations of Indian Rulers (1650-1740) 214 7. 'Floating Political Rhetoric' in the Indian Ocean: Situating the Portuguese in the Mughal Foreign Politics 250 8. Scourge of the Seas: Malabar Pirates and the European Expansion in the Indian Ocean (c.1600-1800) 264 9. Weavers in Early Modern South Asia (Sixteenth-Seventeenth Centuries) 292 10. Indian Textiles in the Ottoman Empire: The Example of Damascus around 1700 330 11. The Maratha Court and the Embassies of Saint-Lubin and M. Montigny: A Truce towards Cordial Relations 376 12. The Unquiet Religious Backdrop to European East Indies Trade: Christian Polemical Literature and the First Portuguese Translation of the Bible, 1642-1694 410 13. The Techniques of Sword Making and Trade Practices: Taiid-e-Bisarat, a Treatise from Eighteenth Century Mughal Court 442 14. Elephants and the Making of Early Modern India 458 List of Contributors 477