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

Some of the Muslim traders were so rich that they lent money to the East lndia Company.
Mohamed Ali Baig a merchant and ship owner in Cuddalore, was a financier to the company. The
company was not financially sound to repay the debt to him and the company discharged the loan in
lnstalments 53, Tamil Mush merchants settled in Ceylon coasts regularly &ited Madms port for trade".
The bade in metal was an important item from Southeast Asian countries. Mohamed Sah~l, a Coromdcl
Muslim, was virtually a monopolist in metal trade and he lifted large quantities of lead and tin5"
The merchants of PortoNovo like Shaik Sunda Marakkayar and Shaik lsmail Marakkayar plied
their ships in interportal bade from Pulicat to Kovalam and they had considemble trade with Tennaserims.
Peer Marakkayar of Portonovo was a trader of considerable repute. He had business connections In
Pondicheny. He acted as an agent of Ananda Ranga Pillai, the merchant and Dubash of Duplexi7.
Mohamed Meem Lab was a shipowner and prominant merchant in Cuddalore hahg good relationship
with the East lndia Companys8.
After the year 1753, we find only a few reference to the arrivals and departures of vessels from
Madras port in the Madras Council Consultations. Even in these few references we find only
the names of the ships of the Company, Company merchants, Chettiar merchantsand English
prlvate traders and very rarely Muslim ship names. The ship crews of the company vessels were all
English. By this time, we understand that the Chettiar merchants came too close to the East lndia
Company, mainly due to their sound financial condition. Thq made even investments on behalf of the
Company. One Yalla Chetty made huge investments for the Company in Cuddalore5'. Lingi Chetty.
Pigu Nalla Chetty, P e d Chetty were other important merchants and intermediates to the companp
Thus by the third quarter of eighteenth century the Muslim merchants lost ground and volce in the
company trade in Madras. With the investments of the Chettiar merchants the company merchants
plied their ships to England, Batavia, Surat, Culcutta and St. David (Cuddalore). The Tamil Muslim
merchants sent their merchandise in such ships of the Companfll. The Chettiar merchants bought the
comrnodlties from the company and afforded space for the storage of company goods and the goods of
English private traders.
Some of the native rulers were themselves engaged in overseas trade, inspite of the political
troubles. Muthummalinga Sethupathi of Ramanathapuram (1 772- 1795) was a trader prince and he had
bade amtact with Bengal ad Mahbar. He had aka commercial rektions with d ous European companies