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

The East lndia Company granted concessions and afforded every encouragement to the
Muslims for the development of their trade, in the early years. Considerations were shown to the
persons who had rendered special sentices to the Company. Towards the end of eighteenth centuy
when the British East lndia Company took over Nagore, they imposed certain duties on exports and
imports. The local Muslim Merchants claimed concessions from such duties, on the ground that the
king of Thanjavur had issued certain cowlies granting tax concessions and that was the reason why
they had come and settled down at Nagore as traders and made Nagore a flourishing commercial
town. Their request was looked into133. The Company extended concessions to the Muslims who
rendered service to the Company. Mohamed Kasim Marakkayar the principle merchant of Nagore
had helped the Company in their trading activities A cowie had been granted to him by the English
w~th a concession of 50% in customs duties and other taxes. After his death his son Mohamed
Ackel claimed the same conce~sions'~~ The ancestors of Abdul Kadar Sahib Marakkayar of Tondi was so
~nfluencial that they owned cannons which they fired on festive occassions In them family. The Engllsh
Government granted special permission to Abdul Kadar to retain the cannons135 Chinrla Marakkayar
Malumiar a ship merchant of Nagore was appointed as the member of the landing and shipping committee
at ~aga~attanarn'~~. As a special gesture English colours were given to the ships of Mohamed Ali
Marakkayar of Nagapattanam and Naina Malumi of cuddalore13'.
But the claim of the residents of Kayalpattanam for the exemption of certain taxes was rejected
by the English administration. In a memorial to the company in 1820, the Muslims of Kayalpattanam
had represented that " they came from Arabistan and purchased the village of Kayalpattanam, where
they had created sixtyfour mosques and brought up pulmyrah and coconut topes to defray the expenses
of the mosqws. They had been the inhabitants of the place for the past 900 years, durlng which perled
their honour was prese~ed by the favour of the Rajas and the Nawabs with special concessions. They
were enjoying those concessions till the tenure of the previous Collector. But the new Collector demands
to wmit the taxes for the pulmyrah and coconut topes ". They prayed for the continuance of the concessions
hither to enjoyed by them'38 , Their request was considered in detail and finally it was rejected by the
bglish Government on the ground that they were all prosperous at that time'39. However the English
were liberal to some extent towards the maritime activities of the Muslims when compared with the
Portugues and the Dutch.