maritime activities economy and social customs of the muslims of ...

and confident merchants as share holders and money were advanced to the producers of
textiles through the contractors. There were money lenders to advance to the English for
the duration of the voyage and the rate of interest was vey high up to 30%. The English
ships carried Corornandel plece goods and returned with silver that overflowed in to Manlla
from Spanish America. The profit earned by them was vey highsW.
When tho East India Company lost it's trade monopoly, private English merchants
took up the place. They competed still vigourously with native merchants in all the traditional
markets and commodities. The English administration showed racial discrimination against
the native traders and favoured the English merchants.
The English tried to curb the rival commercial competitions. To safeguard the English
shipping interest an act was passed in 1814 restricting lndian shipping and ships employing
lndian sailors. lndian built ships were prohibited in lndo British trade from 1814. The act
stipulated that the ships entering English waters whose crews were not atleast 75% English.
were liable to forfeiture, while the captain in all ttwe .ships had to be white British. Local
shipping was discouraged by discriminat@ taritts. m.qw hdras presidency, in 1872 the
import duty on goods brought by the Ir;dian ships was raised t&5% compared with 7'/,% In
the case of English ships. These measures dealt an effective blow to native shipplng and reduced
it to insignificance in Indo-British trade by 1840207. A coroUay to these changes was the fad
that the traditional Indian merchants Hindus as well as Muslims ceased to play a major role in the
external seaborn tmde of India.
The decline of lndian ocean shipping commercial and financial enterprises meant that
Indian entrepreneural classes lost their principle and traditional income and many had to be
content with the subservient role of dealings under English enterprises and the "Nabobs", the
free merchants
The English also monopolised certain commodities. Monopoly of the Indian prodm by
the bgbsh meant that the Indian merchants were prohibited from bum commcdities dire&
from the pro& which were monopolised by the British. The agents of the Company and