Itextile Industry at Nagapattinam During Early Medieval Period

International Journal of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Vol.11, No. 3, (2020), pp. 2609–2616

Itextile Industry At Nagapattinam During Early Medieval Period

Dr. G. Sheela Edward, Asst. professor of history, TBML College, Porayar

ABSTRACT

After agriculture in India the textile industry only has generated huge employment for both skilled and unskilled labor. It is the second largest employment providing sector in India. In the late 17th and 18th centuries India was well known for textile goods since ancient times and tradition of India virtually decayed during the colonial regime. Until 1750 about 25 percent of the world’s industrial textile output was produced from India. Significantly the cotton manufacturing which included the production of piece goods, calicos and muslin. The cotton textile industry was responsible for the large part of the empire’s internal trade. In India particularly in the coastal town of Nagapattinam produced large amounts of textile during early medieval period.

Introduction

Nagapattinam is an important town in Tamil Nadu state. Under Medieval Cholas the city came into prominence and become their unique port for trade and naval conquests. Ancient work Chudamani Vihara referred that the Nagapattinam was constructed by Srivijayan king Sri Maran Vijayattungavarman of Silendra dynasty with the assistance of Raja Raja Chola1. Portuguese settled in Nagapattinam and later it come under the capital of Dutch Coromandel from 1660 to1781.2

In 1781 it was annexed by the British East India Company. From 1799 to 1845 it becomes the head quarter of Thanjavur district and it continued as a part of Thanjavur district in independent India. In 1991, it was fixed as capital of Nagapattinam district. In the Ancient times Indian Textile Industries has been flourished well in the world.

Early period India is considered as “golden sparrow”. In rig Veda Earliest knew References to textile Industries in India. There is a story about sage Gritsamada in the second Mandala of Rig Veda which says Sage Gritsmada first sowed cotton tree and received some cotton from it. To make thread then he made one spinner out of this cotton and eventually he made cloth using this cotton.

Sage Gritsamada gave this idea of making cloth via cotton during Vedic period. Historically India has made cloth of cotton and silk and even gold and silver lining has been used. Thus Indian Textiles captured the world market and ancient Greek, Arab and Egypt world became our buyers over the ages.

This Industry has shown unparallel workmanship and artistry and they were maintained supreme quality of standards. Nagapattinam, mylapore, pulicat and masulipattinam were the principal textile ports of coromantal.3 The importance of Coromandel Coast noted for manufacturing cotton products which were either plain or patterned on the loom.

Its printing or painting in floral and other motifs. Northern Coromandel specialized in productions of plain textiles, the specialization of the south meant for producing famous painted textiles the pintadoes. In Nagapattinam for manufacturing cloth, they used verities of techniques. It can be gleaned from literary and epigraphic sources.4

Muslin known as sello and chintz known as vichitro were much in demand. Vegetables dyes

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ISSN: 2005-4289 IJDRBC Copyright ⓒ2020 SERSC International Journal of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Vol.11, No. 3, (2020), pp. 2609–2616 such as red sunflower, indigo and madder were used. In the southern India, the twelfth century onwards block printing have been vogue. Artisans have been used both vertical and horizontal looms begun in the 11th century. The industry was well organized and textiles were important commodities both in domestic and foreign trade.

Weavers sold their goods at local fairs but at the high level the textile business under powerful merchant’s guilds. There is also evidence of weaver’s guilds known variously as saliya, samayangal samaya pattagora and seniya pattagora. Ramasamy refers to the mobility of few weavers’ caste in south India.

The migration may have taken place in the vijayanagara period (15th -16th centuries) which saw a high peak of flourishment at weaving industry. In tamilnadu the Cholas paid interest for weaving industry and collected income in it. Various Inscriptions mention that the taxes such as the tari kodamai (loom tax) ,achcho tari (a tax on the patterned loom) tari padovai (a tax on a cloth) panjupeeli ( a tax on cotton yarn), nulayam ( a tax on cotton thread) parutti kadamai ( a tax on cotton) bannige ( a tax on dyers) Were collected by the people.5

A tax called pattadai nulayam was levied on silk thread. There is evidences to show that the state announcing tax concession and tax remissions for a specified period to weavers. In Thanjavur district the Portuguese were the first among the European trading settlers to arrive and they called it the city of the Coromandel.

During the years 1612 to 1620 the largest station on the east coast was at Nagapattinam. The Portuguese had a trading settlement in Nagapattinam for many years, till it was annexed and fortified in AD 1642. In keeping with Portuguese commercial policies in the Indian Ocean, they permitted uninterested flow of the traditional trade from there. Thus the Nagapattinam coastal trade prolonged under Portuguese. Among the native merchants, the Muslims had to migrate to Nagore because of large percentage to Portuguese in Nagapattinam. The Portuguese captain Artur Gallejo de castelo branco made some serious efforts to collect textiles from the weaving villages in the hinder land of Nagapattinam to boost up the trade with Aceh.6 He made contact with the textile suppliers with great success.

He was able to purchase several varieties of textiles such as morins, (blue cloth) pintados (painted) and pachveloes (gold brocaded cloth) from the hinterland of Nagapattinam port. The cloth that was meant to be taken from here to Srilanka had to be officially cleared and for which Renda da chapa that is stamp duty was charged bringing some income to the Portuguese.7

Since the 16th century starts growth of south Indian textile industries major expansion where in its productions would reach markets in East Asia, Africa, and Europe and even in the Americas. To lift textile production owing to demand from the European trading companies and the big margin of profit in cloth trade attracted the Portuguese merchants to involve in it. A rich and famous casado of Nagapattinam who was jodo Alvares, textiles trading with Aceh in 1620.

He was the one who informed Portugal ruler in 1621 about the sultan of Aceh who attempted to capture Melaka and tried to seek uphold of sultan of Johore to support him in the proposed siege of the Portuguese port settlement. Goncalves Perreria was a hidalgo who conducted private trade in textile in 1624 from Nagapattinam with Tennaserium and Mergui.

Domingos de Seixas was a leading merchant trading in textiles in 1632 and imported sugar to Nagapattinam. Matrym Costa Falcao, the son of Estevao Rebello was a private trader based in Nagapattinam and in 1637; he treated in textiles with Trang. Anttonio de Mendonca de Britto a resident of Nagapattinam purchased a ship in 1639 and send the ship for carrying mostly textiles in Melaka. 2610

Pedro Vaz was a casado of Nagapattinam who was trading in textiles with Macao and permanently started living in Macao. His name is witnessed on register of the resident of Macao under the date line of October third 1640. In 1550 Portuguese were purchased blue cloth from Nagapattinam with the amount of 1.20 pardaus and sold in Malakka to 8 pardaus.8

Several ships of the Portuguese merchants of Nagapattinam carried large quantities of textiles. Because of that, Dutch attacked them. Moreover, the Portuguese Estado da India could not provide protection to their ships. Bartholomeu was a textile merchant who sailed to Melaka in 1641. His ships which carried textiles and yarn valued at 3808 florins were captured by the Dutch.9 Ships of Thomas Paulo, another resident of Nagapattinam trading with Banten in textiles were taken away by the Dutch in July 1644. The Dutch declared that his ship and crew would be released only if a ransom of 1687 real’s was paid immediately to them. Further they also demanded that a bill of exchange be issued for 5500 reals .

Further the ships of Amaral Castel Branco and Jamcome Cardoso Barreto which sailed from Nagapattinam to Melaka carrying rich cargo in 1645 were also captured by the Dutch. The merchandise seized by the Dutch consisted of 214 bales of cloth amounting in a value to 3000 real’s.10 Pinto was a rich famous Portuguese textile trader who helped the English in Madras. Francisco Vieira de Figureido was a rich and prominent casado of Nagapattinam.

He was trading in textiles in 1650 with Makassar and Sunda. Green Hill the English agent in madras approached Francisco Vieira de Figureido, the famous Makassar merchant to help them in trade. Thus the Portuguese merchants were invited by the English and the Dutch companies to help them promote their trade.

Portuguese sources mention that various types of cloth produced through different methods such as larvado (figured), desperdicios (waste), estampado (stamped design), tecido (water proff) on the coromendel coast. Sources also indicate the names of various textiles such as tapis, sarassas and morins.11 Out of these types, morins were produced in many places like santhome of mylapore Kunnimedu and Nagapattinam. Muslin was largely manufactured at Nagapattinam.12

Nagapattinam was as a centre of cloth manufactured. By the statement of a Portuguese merchant in 1527 the Nagapattinam marakayars helped the Gujarat Muslim merchant to trade with Ache. Coromendal Muslim traders engaged in permanenant trade with Ache. They were introduced cartozos system.

That means the arriving at the port had to obtain permission with Portuguese to export and import. They were levied taxes in the form of a tanga per Cartoz. Also king of Portugal granted various concessions to encourage trade. The cost of going from Nagapattinam to Kedah has been reduced to 1000 cazados.13 Portuguese merchants traded cloth from Nagapattinam to Thailand, Loas, Malaya and combodia.

Then the Portuguese settlement at Nagapattinam was spontaneously shaped and nurture by the casado element in Portuguese Asia Despite its non-official character, Nagapattinam became successful centers of Portuguese private trade in late sixteenth and early half of seventeenth century. In 1630s, when Conde de Linhares was the Viceroy at Goa, he repeatedly persuades the settlers at Nagapattinam to fortify their settlement.

His intension was largely to protect against the Dutch and from the Nayak of Thanjavur. The settlers refused as once Goa acquired a foothold it would not be long before a customs house would be set up in the name of the Iberian Crown. Nevertheless, the Viceroy’s warning came true when Dutch under Van Diemen appear on the horizon. His intention was to hold the Portuguese settlement of Coromandel to ransom. To carry out his plan, Dutch armadas of five ships under the command of 2611

Cornelis Leendertszoon Blauw, arrived at Nagapattinam on 12 April 1642. This sudden advance by the Dutch made.

Nagapattinam port served not only as a prominent production of printed and plain cotton textiles but also produced a major assembly point of production intended for the export trade.14

There are some evidences to show that some of the chettis also continued to send their ships to Melaka as late as 1630 from Nagapattinam. We find two leading merchants ships of chettis that came with letters written from Melaka. Melaya chetti alias Astrappa chetti was one of the leading textile traders who owned vessels trading with Moluccas and had entered into contract with the Dutch in the year 1634 to procure textiles for them from the coromandel for export to south East Asia and Europe.

For which purpose Malaya chetti had invested huge capital in the hinterland weaving villages. This deprived the Portuguese of textiles in the Coromandel Coast. The brother of Malayya chetty known as Chinnana and his cousin Kesava chetti were partner in this textile trade. Malayya chetti had such contacts that he even procured textiles made in the Nayakdom of Gingee. Understandably the Portuguese in Nagapattinam could not procure textiles.15

The death of the Nayak of Gingee at this time came as a further setback for the Portuguese as they could not enter into any treaty with the ruler for the monopoly supply of textiles from his territory. In 1690 Nagapattinam was assumed that the status of regional headquarters. With gradual shift in the commercial operations from north to south many weavers and their families moved down south.

With respect to the number of ships that sailed between VOC’s factories in Coromandel and Batavia, Nagapattinam sent the highest number of ships. The two ports of Nagapattinam and Nagore were ports of embarkation for the textile trade to Southeast Asia. Other factories included Porto Novo, Teganapatnam and Devanapatnam.16

The part of Coromandel textiles in commercial operations of the VOC was primarily manifest in the supply of two different markets. Firstly, the VOC was involved in supplying the markets in Southeast and West Asia amidst intense rivalries with private Portuguese traders, indigenous Asian traders and East India Company. Secondly, Coromandel textiles were also needed to serve the markets in Europe. In the early decades of the VOC’s trading ventures, the exports of textiles to Southeast Asian markets were more important and surpassed shipments to Europe.

In the closing decades of 17th century demand for Indian textiles soared enormously chiefly because of changing notions of fashion in the Republic. Indian cotton piece-goods were now exported to Europe to clothe European upper- and middle-class women and men Also; Indian coarse fabrics were needed to clothe the slave populations of the Americas.

The European competition for compete the demands of what has been referred to as the ‘Calico Craze’ had tremendous. During this time the Dutch East India Company slowly evicted the Portuguese away from the lucrative Indra- Asian textile trade.17 In 1658, the Dutch tried to evict the Portuguese town Nagapattinam for creating trade emporium there under the agreement reached between King Vijaya Nayakkar of Thanjavur and the Dutch on 5th January 1662.

Nagappattinam Port, Puthur,Muttam, Poruvalancheri, Anthonippettai, Karureppankadu, Azhingi Mangalam, Sangamangalam, Thiruthinamangalam, Manjakollai and Nariyankudi come under Dutch transferred from the Portuguese. Weavers were free from any exception or oppression and very happy with their business activities the Thanjavur district records further states that the weavers were in a perfect state of comfort and liberty and harmony reigned everywhere. There were about 100 2612

The company’s investment was extended to one lakh of pagodas on blue cloth. Petty disputes between traders and the commuters were settled very quickly and complaints were seldom preferred. The transfer of commodities both imports and complaints were seldom preferred. The transfer of commodities both imports and exports done by different modes. Thanjavur district records quote that there were about 230 vessels available for freight in Thanjavur sea coast. In 1760s, the Dutch east India Company procured textiles at Nagapattinam through six joint stock companies.18 The innovations in this arrangement consisted basically in the fact that the money wanted for outlay in textiles were raised mutually by the agent merchants themselves rather than being provided by in the form of advances to the customary extent of 50 to 70 per cent value of the contract. Om prakash explained this mode of procurement as cash advance system.19

Nagapattinam one of the partnership companies consisted of Palikonda Kistna chettiar and venkatasala mudaliar, while other had kondapilly vEnkata Kistna rama chetty and kondapilly venkatasalam chetty as members. The four individual merchants constituting a company each were Tirumani chetty, Rrmalinga pillay, Muthu venkatanga mudaliar and Godavari Sadasiva chetty.

After the entry of Dutch company (VOC) in Indian Ocean, the trade in textiles reached peak to traders of Europe. The VOC was the only major European corporate enterprise to engage in a large scale intra-Asian trade as an integral part of its overall trading strategy and Indian textiles played a crystallizing role in this endeavor.

In17th April 1665 between the governor of Dutch company cornels Speelman, and 17 painters of Nagapattinam and Nagore signed first contract. The native artisans professed to make a contract out of their free will with Governor Cornelis Spleemen, so that they may print all kind of cloths, which were contracted out to them by the merchants of the company and refrain from printing any cloths for anybody without his orders.

Further all the cloths which they might print others should be confiscated but this was to be on the understanding that they also should get all the works of the company on contract. In return they promised to supply good quality cloths gold chay (clour and decently painted, printed cloth). In case some bad quality cloths were supplied in return for the advance it was too brought and shown to the Dutch captain of Nagapattinam.

He would first select based on the quality of cloths, would be sold everywhere outside. It was laid down that it 3 or 4 small holes or darns were found in one pocket, it would be taken back by the printers and it would be captured by the company. They would along with their entire group contract collectively for cloths of merchants of the company and would remain each other’s security for the money which was advanced to them the company.

The number of ships of Indian ownership that reportedly called at Penang between 1788 and 1793 varied from a minimum of 6 in 1791 to a maximum of 22 in 1792. Cornelis Spleemen wrote his memoir that these contracts with separate groups of artisans led to a regular flow of cloth to the company. He refers to the supply of ramboetins, tapesarasse with flower work, baby cloths of tape sarasse, tape chindos, ballatios (smooth cooton cloths was especially produced Nagapattinam) , black and white tafiachelas , blue belongs ( hei scarfs), brandams, tapetturias, sarassa gobar, salabous, drai gobar, dragon tapy and chergien of Nagapattinam.20 These cloths were not produced at Nagapattinam earlier The principal consuming markets served by the Dutch were in south-east Asia and included the Spice Islands (the Moluccas, Banda and Celebes), Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Siam and Burma. A limited quantum of Coromandel textiles exported to Taiwan and Japan.

Other Asian markets supplied with these textiles were Sri Lanka and Persia. During 1761- 2613

1762, a total of 1116 pieces of salempores were sold in Makassar out of which 476 pieces were procured from Nagapattinam and, sold for 1915. Dutch guilders and 640 pieces were procured from Palicol that effected in sales profit of 1616 Dutch guilders.

The plain and undecorated parcel was obtained from Sadraspatnam while the blue/brown variety was procured from both Nagapattinam and Sadraspatnam. A total of 402 pieces of coarse and plain betilles were obtained from Nagapattinam that were sold for 957 Dutch guilders. The decline in the biennial average sales of Coromandel textiles continued into the1770’s during which the VOC sold 1501 pieces for 9263.00 Dutch guilders.

The Company’s policy in the 1770’s continued to focus on trading in the plain textile varieties the mos timportant of which was the guinee cloth imported from Bimilipatnam. In this period, the VOC sold an average of 1291 pieces for 12645 Dutch guilders. Bimilipatnam and Nagapattinam remained the two most important sources of procurement of this variety.

In the year 1775-1776, the VOC sold 262 pieces of guinee cloth that included both the ordinary bleached and the English sorts, for a profit margin of 51% and 800 pieces of guinea cloth from Nagapattinam for a profit margin of 55%. In the period 1780-1782, the decline continued further still. Tapan Raychaudhuri examines textile trade in some detail within his analysis of the Dutch company in coromantal.21

He lauds the vitality of textile production and trade in 17th century. However he notes a clear sense of decline dating from the late 17th century, when political disruptions in the northern coromantal convinced the Dutch to shift their procurement from pulicat in the north to Nagapattinam in the south. J.J brenning express more limited sense of decline in the same period.22

His analysis of 17th century textile production and trade in northern coromantal clearly identifies important dynamism in textile manufacturing in the course of the century and well in to the 18th century .Nevertheless he views the conquest of southern India by the Mughals as marking a major decline in the history of textile production and trade in the Krishna Godavari delta.

Prasannan Parthasaraythi’s works makes a compelling argument that the textile industry was the first portion of south Indian society to endure the real power of colonialism during the 18th century and that it was the harbinger of things to come in the 19th century. Prior to 1760 weavers enjoyed a powerful bargaining position in negotiations with merchants and brokers.23

Similarly laborers in artisan and agrarian production enjoyed prosperity and protection in pre colonial states, which enriched the entire society. But with the English company’s conquest of significant and growing portions of south India, the company states exerted increasing colonial powers on textile weavers and merchants.

It drastically weakened the bargaining power of weavers, cut out merchant brokers, mitigated any benefits from the labor mobility and defeated all weaver protest. In southern coromantal the arrangement was much looser. An ordinary partnership between two merchants, or even a single merchant unit, qualified to be designated as a joint stock company there.

Conclusion

Thus in 1760 the voc procured textiles both at Nagapattinam and at port nova through six joint stock companies each. At each of the two places two of the companies consisted of two merchants each, while the remaining four contained only one merchant each. Each of the units received an advance from the company and was expected to settle its accounts at the end of the year.

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Bad debts nevertheless arose on regular basis and the best that the company could do was oblige each unit to clear each year, in addition to meeting its obligations for that year a part of its outstanding obligations from earlier year. It was again the desire to minimize bad debts that promoted the company allow a deceased merchant’s heirs almost automatically to succeed him.

The relatively less well off among the merchant were also obliged to produce a guarantor acceptable to the company. The counter the problem of the poor quality of the chintz supplied, the Nagapattinam factors also deceived in 1767 to depute a supervisor to oversee the work of the artisans engaged by the joint stock units to produce this variety.

The innovation was reported to have produced positive results and was extended to other varieties such as murins. The decline of the textile industry after 1760 brought about negative social and economic effects. The weavers in the coromantal were thus affected by a multitude of factors, thereby demonstrating the way in which they were locked into a wider world which in fact shaped their destinies. AS far as growth of the handloom industry is concerned there is a historical inevitability to the change of the period.

Under the company, weavers had virtually becomes wage workers on term and conditions over which they had no control. Emergence of English rule in South India meant the demise of a way of life for laborers. The right which they possessed- in contract in property, in community- were eroded and eliminated as the company state had no respect for them. The company states fixing laborers in particular had devastating consequences.

Endnotes:

1. Herman Kulke, K. Kesavapany,Vijay sakhuja, Nagapattinam to surnadwipa,Insitute of south Asian studies, 2009... K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, “Two Negapatam Grants from the Batavia Museum", in South India and South East Asia: Studies in their History and Culture, Mysore, 1978.

2. Jeffrey G. Williamson, David clingingsith, Indian industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries, Harvest University Achieved, 2005.

3. Pius edited Malekandathil, The Indian Ocean in the making of early modern India, Rutledge publication, 2019.

4. S. Jeyaseela Stephen, Economic Change, Institutional Development and Urbanization of Santhome, 1507-1676, in Yogesh Sharma & Jose Leal Ferreira, Portuguese Presence in India in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Viva Books, New Delhi, 2008.

5. K.A.Nilakantha Sastry, The Cholas, Madras, Vol.11, 1935

6. S. Jayaseela Stephen, Expanding Portuguese Empire and the Tamil Economy ( Sixteenth and Eighteenth Centuries) new Delhi, Monohar Publication ,2009

7. Pieris PE, the Kingdom of the Jaffinapattnam, Colombo, 1944.

8. S. Jayaseela Stephen, Portuguese in the Tamil coast, Historical Exploration in commerce and culture (1507- 1749), Navajothi publication, 1998.

9. Ibid.,

10. Coolhas, W. ph,(ed) Generale Missiven van de governeurs- General en Raden der, VOC(henceforth GM),1960, Vol.II,1643.

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11. Jos Gommansand Harriet Zuundorfer, Roots and routes of Development in china and India: Highlights fifty years of the journal of the economic and social history of orient, 1957-2007.

12. Rajkumar, Encyclopadia of Untouchables Ancient Medieval , Modern,Gyn publishing house ,2008

13. S. Jayaseela Stephen, Oceans capes; Tamil textiles in the Early Modern World, Delhi, Primus, 2014

14. Amelia peck , Interwoven Globe: The world wide textile trade 1500-1800, Metropolitan Musuem of art, 2013

15. Anthony Reid ed., South East Asia in the early Modern Era: Trade Power and belief, Network Cornell University press, 1993.

16. Om Prakash, the Indian merchant, 1500- 1800. Journal of the economic and social history, Vol. 49.

17. Jonathan Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its rise Greatness and fall, 1477- 1806 Oxford university press, 1995.

18. Sinnappah Arasaratnam, Weavers, Merchants and company: The handloom Industry in Southeastern India, 1750-90, in cloth and commerce: Textiles in Colonial India. Ed. Tirthankar Roy New Delhi, 1996.

19. Prakash, O., The Dutch East India Company and the Economy of Bengal, 1630-1720, Princeton, 1985

20. Tappan Raychaudhuri, Jan Company in coromandel 1605-1690: A study in the Interrelations of European commerce and traditional Economics, 1962.

21. Joseph J. Brennie, The textile trade of of seventeenth century Northern Coromandel: A study of a Pre- Modern Asian Export industry, PhD., Dissertation University of Wisconsin, 1975.

22. Opcit., Jos Gommansand Harriet Zuundorfer, Roots and routes of Development in china and India.

23. Prasannan Parthasarathi, The Transition to a Colonial Economy: Weavers, Merchants and kings in South India 1720-1800, Cambridge university press, 2001.

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