Trading refers to the exchange of goods and services for profit and revenue making. India during the medieval period used to be an interest for many foreigners for the sake of trading and commercial exchange of precious goods. The Indian Ocean was the oldest and most traversed sea route for trading, and it was known as the center of intense commercial activity. The overall picture of trade and commerce in the medieval period was marked by feudalism.

India’s Trade Relations

India and Europe’s trade relations go back to the ancient days of the Greeks. The Mediterranean and European states played a role as a monopoly of the Italians. The exchange of goods used to pass through many states, and many hands still trade profitably. The merchants of Venice Monopolised the trading between Europe and Asia; therefore, the western European states discovered new routes for reaching India and other Asian countries like Indonesia. These European states were well-equipped and highly skilled in building ships and science of navigation. They took advantage of the Renaissance, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama of Portugal discovered the sea route to Calicut, India. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Portuguese established trading settlements in Cochin, Daman and Diu, and Goa.

Trading of Luxury goods from India-

Transporting goods and products on land was found to be expensive and risky; therefore, most of this business was done via shipping. The cultural, artistic, and religious trading took place in the major center of the civilizations between Europe and India. The trade routes served the luxury goods, including jewels, perfumes, textiles, foodstuff like pepper, spices, and other raw materials from the area of surpluses majorly. The goods were traded across long-distances by packing animals overland or via shipping through seas. Silk, spices, tea, different structural pieces of antics, small wooden architectures, glass, and diamonds were traded across, and in turn, the cities along the trade grew prosperous and abundant by exchanging services to merchants via international marketplaces.

1. Tea-The trading of teas was introduced by the Zhou Kingdoms of China. It was famous for its excellent taste and medicinal properties. The origin of tea is Shu and Ba in the Sichuan regions. It was traded, paid taxes, and gifted to the capital as a valuable item. The tea trade became a standard in China, and the flying money system was developed. China earned profits through travelling merchants. Similarly, Tea plantations were prominent in the northeast and some parts of South India. The British introduced tea production and consumption in order to compete with Chinese Monopoly. The British used Chinese seeds and plated, cultivated, and traded them by giving the land over in Assam and other parts of the northeast. The British started the commercial production of tea in India and traded in the name Darjeeling tea, Kangra tea, and Assam variety.
2. Porcelain-The Europeans purchased the porcelain from China even though they had no taste for porcelain, but as per Turkish acquisitions, they believed the porcelain was a very valuable piece of material that was used by the royal people of China. So, they brought back large quantities of porcelain from the royal collection, and then the British East India Company studied Chinese ceramics. India was the main center for the loading of these items, which formed a link between the international trading markets. The British Company, East India Company, was responsible for the movement of the global commodity trade of Chinese porcelain to other European states.
3. Other Luxury Goods-The European nations exploited the precious items found in Asian countries like China, India, Japan, Indonesia, etc. They traded silk, textile clothing, spices from the southern part of India, jewels, diamonds, perfumes, and many more. The East India Company was keen to trade and exchange these luxurious objects with international merchants to gain more profits and economic stability.

Conclusion

India is a country known for its wealth and prosperity, which attracted many foreign traders to India. In the Medieval period, India used to be the oldest and major center for trading purposes. The Complete Indian Ocean coast formed a place where intense commercial trading took place. The Dutch, Portuguese, and British all these states which were a part of a vibrant trade network, exploited India for the sake of lucrative luxurious trade. This era is known as the European Age of Exploration, which observed dynamic change in the financial stability and development of new cities and trade markets with global merchants.