Trade, Politics and Society: The Indian Milieu in the Early Modern Era

The essays deal with Indian history in the early modern era, offering new perspectives and dispelling misconceptions. They are concerned with trade and commerce in Bengal, including a survey of maritime trade in the Indian Ocean, the role of Armenians, particularly their unique contribution to Dhaka’s social and commercial life in the eighteenth century, and the role of merchants in close Indo-Persian contacts at the time. They examine varied topics like the role of hundis in commercial transactions, the problem of multiple currencies, the English conspiracy of Plassey, and mercantile protests with specific mention of the Surat crisis (1669). They analyse the British attacks and ploys to strengthen the empire as evident in their private trade and attack on Chandernagore in March 1757. They discuss issues like sati, the role of the Calcutta Madrasah, evolution of a composite culture in Bengal and the history of the Calcutta High Court.