Masulipatnam and Cambay: A history of two port-towns, 1500-1800

Language: EnglishPages: 333About the BookIn this monograph, the two authors have set out to investigate a number of issues dealing with the pre-colonial period of the two ports -Masulipatnam and Cambay. Although these two ports have their distinct characteristics, yet they betray some common feature in their historical existence.The two authors, using different nature of sources as well as different approaches in their treatment, have investigated their role of two ports in overseas trade and their integration with the regional state system. Cambay which was an important port in the Sultanate of Gujarat, was relegated to an inferior position with the conquest of the Mughas and the rise of Surat. Yet it has been shown that Cambay and its hinterland continued to play prominent role in the overseas trade. Golconda has fostered the birth of Masulipatnam and the Mughal conquest did not destroy it, although European private trade grew further. The en