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

The Muslim merchants of Nagore. Nagapattanam, and PortoNovo continued their trade with
Pegu. Ache. Penang. Malacca. Malay, Ceylon, Malabar Coast and Bengal. The trading activity from
Kilakkarai and Kayalpattanam was mostly confined to Ceylon, Malabar, Bengal and other Coromandel
ports. Due to the wars in Europe among the nation who had interest in Indian ocean trade, there was
unrest in the Indian ocean region. The native merchants were afraid of sending their ships on voyage
because they were captured by the enemy nations. The French privateers mercilessly captured such
ships of the enemy's territories -with their flags and colours - in large numbers and confiscated the
vessels and cargws. This resulted in the loss of ship and cargoes in many cases.
In such troubled circumstance during the last decade of the e~ghteeenth century and in the f~rsl
decade of the nineteenth centuy, the Danes helped the Muslim merchants of Nagore, Nagapttanam.
Karaikkal, and Tranquebar. We find informations about such shipping activities, in the archival records
where the names of ships, their owners and the cargws freighted.
The merchants in Nagore used to despatch their ships to the ports of Colombo, Ache, Penang.
Malacca,Malay. Bengal, and Malabar with Danish flag to exape the depredation of the French privateers
since the Danes were neutral in the war. During the course of war In the first quarter of nineteenth
centuy, when the Danes were no longer neutral, the vessels of native merchant sent with Danish colours
were in danger. The merchants who had despatched their ships in such circumstances requested the
East India Company to give protection to their ships by using the Brihsh fleet. Thus the native mechants,
ship owners had to depend on one or other European power to continue their trade, and the colonial
nvaly was additional challenge to their shipping actidties.
The names of the ship owners as found in the records, reveal that the Muslim mechants of
Nagore were vey brisk in the Coromandel coast In one instance, out of seventeen signaturies in a
memorial to the English authorities in1808, requesting their protection for their ships, only four werr
Chettiar merchants and the rest were Muslims. The names of these ship owners (signaturies in the
memonaI)were, klohamed M&yar, Mohamed Syed Mamkkayar. Ab Sahib Nagudha. Habib Mohd
Malwni, Peer Sahib Nagudha, Muthumeera Sahib, Syed lsmail Labbai, Mohamed Rafeek Marakkayar.
Mohideen Sahib Nagudha. Syed Mohideen Nagudha, Sulaiman Malumi, Fakir Mohamed Nagudha.