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

Company semnts forced such goods on the lndian merchants at a price higher than the
prevailing ones."8
The Indian merchants had to acquiesce to the Company or it's servants
engaged in private inland trade or private English merchants, othenuise they had to find a new
ass 1
Rm
The politica1,trade and other general policies of the English affected the maritime trade
source of income.
of the Muslims also. They were the most oppressed among the native traders under the English
rule. Though the English supported the maritime trading activities of the Muslims in the early
years of thelr ascendancy their policy towards them changed in the later periods and thus the
English had an ambivalent afitude towards the Muslims. Bedling aU the diffiches, the Muslim
vessels operated from PortoNovo. Cuddalore, and Nagapattanam to Burma, Ache and Yalacca.
From the Madura coast trade with Ceylon was briskzo9. The Nawab of Arcot wanted to develop
the ports at Kovalarn, Santhome and Alarnbaram relying on the Muslim shipping. But it was not
attended to.
The English thought that influential Muslim merchants created problems for the Company's
relationship with the NawabzlO. There were occauiona-aisputq with the Muslims in the collection
of customs. The Muslim ship owners and traders moved to the places favourable to them. The
attempt of the English in the second half of the eighteenth century to attract Muslim trders to
PortoNovo failedz". The growth of Pondicheny port under the French was an attraction to the
Muslim traders of PortNovo. The customs duty at Pondicherry was only half to that of
Cuddalore. When the native traders represented for the reduction in the customs rate the
Directors rejected itz'z. Rice and grain trade from Coromandel to Ceylon continued to be an
important activity of Coromandel Muslims. In the long run it was also affected by the rise in
tariffs.
Further the English were favourable to Hindu Chettiar merchants. They were
nominated as their chief agents and principal traders at Madras. It is also a fact that Chettiar
merchants were in sound financial position than the Muslim traders. The English felt that
the Hindus were a dosilo group and very dependent on English power and hence they were
in good books213.