History · Ch 2 — Kings, Farmers and Towns — Early States and Economies
Trade in the subcontinent and beyond
Trade in the subcontinent and beyond
From the sixth century BCE, the Indian subcontinent was woven together by a dense network of trade routes. These were not just local paths; they stretched far beyond the region, linking it to Central Asia, East Africa, West Asia, Southeast Asia, and even the Roman Empire. Understanding this network is key to seeing how early states grew powerful and how different cultures came into contact.
Routes: Land and Sea
Two broad kinds of routes connected the subcontinent to the wider world:
- Land routes criss-crossed the subcontinent and extended overland into Central Asia and beyond.
- Sea routes began at ports along the coastline. Ships sailed across the Arabian Sea to East and North Africa and West Asia. Other ships crossed the Bay of Bengal to reach Southeast Asia and China.
Rulers had a strong interest in these routes. They often tried to control them, likely by offering protection to merchants in exchange for a fee or tax.
The People Who Travelled
A variety of people moved along these routes, each with a different scale of operation:
- Peddlers — small-scale traders who probably travelled on foot, carrying their goods.
- Merchants — larger-scale traders who travelled with caravans of bullock carts and pack-animals.
- Seafarers — those who undertook risky but highly profitable voyages by sea.
Successful merchants were given special titles that reflected their wealth and status. In Tamil they were called masattuvan. In Prakrit, they were known as setthis and satthavahas. Such merchants could become enormously rich.
What Was Traded?
The range of goods carried across these routes was remarkably wide. The textbook lists the following examples:
- Salt
- Grain
- Cloth
- Metal ores and finished products
- Stone
- Timber
- Medicinal plants