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

When the amount due to the merchants was not settld by the nagudha concerned they approached the
court for redressd. Chettiar merchants also sent their cargoes in Muslim ships64. Many of the Insurance
companies were IVI by ~hettiar~~.
Most of the Hindu ship owners appointed Muslim Nagudhas and the ship was given in his charge
to frieght the cargoes of the Muslim merchants in interportal trade and also for trade with other countries
The nagudha took loan on hi own accord for his trade prospects, during this business voyage. The sh~p
Mundala Veeraregava, belonged to a chettiar merchant. He appointed Meem Mohamed Labbe as Nagudha
of the ship, who was an independent timber merchant and a shipowner. Meera Mohamed Labbe took
ioan for hls bushes voyage to Southeast Asian countries, from John Straton an English private merchant.
The English private merchants also utilisod such ship for transporting their own cargoes66.
The Cholia Muslim were able to se~ve
In the highly competitive environment because of their
cost-effectived modes of operation. There was no short d~stinction between the exporters and importers
of commodities and ship owne$b~d navigators. Owners of ships and many of the crew had an interest
m the cargo camed. The enhre operation of equipping a ship, launching it, sailing it to it's destination and
back was a communal operation with most persons involved belong to a clan network Many of those
who sailed in a ship would be linked in this way, others In any case were members of the broader
Coromandei Muslim community. The crew and laskars employed on the ship were pa~d less in wages
and permitted to engage in small ventures of their own. When a vessel was ol alichor Iri 4 yorl. tlicse
people were engaged as labourers and artisans who worked as carpenters, caulkers, riggers and so on
in this way the out fitting of a ship was considerably less expenslve to owner or to the Nagudha who
contracted it. Consequently the Cholias were horn for the~r ability to operate wth small prof~t marglns
But they could not compete with the growing European capitalism in this way of operation during the
later half of nineteenth c entup'
From the beginning of nineteenth centuy. Madras, Pond~cheny and Tuticorin were the Important
major ports. PortoNovo. Nagapattanam. Kilakkarai and Kaydpattanam were also in the main stream of
oceanic trade. But not to the same extent as in previous centuries. Further, many new minor ports
sprang up for coastal trade.