ECONOMY OF GOLCONDA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY DISSERTATION SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN HISTORY BY Anwar-ul-Haque 80HS M.Phil.-05 Under the supervision of Dr. S. M. Raza Naqvi READER CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH 1983 bs^j^^ :CC\^»^ *j*q.'^ DS625 C8RTIPIC»3Pg Thia la to C«ftify that Kc^ Annfarul Iteque has ecnpletcd hia diMert«feS«i •ati&ad * «Hi BCONOMY CF Gousomik IN THS s^mrtmrnn CENTOmr'^aer the award of H.Phil, dogroe • Tha work is bnsad on contaragporary aoorees and has been ccinpytad umler my superviaion • ^t may be forwarded to the Idamiiuut for afvaluation • Dated 7/7/1983 ( S. KCmt^S^lRDl tlKZJi NAOVXl CONTENTS £S9AJS2< ACXNOffLSDOOlENT Introduction 1-v Akdbreviation vl Chapter Zt Agrlcultoral Products And Land ReTenue Adnlnistration ••. 1*24 Chapter IX i Mia^arals 2S->44 Chapter IlltCraits And Industries 47*79 Chapter IVt Trade And Commerce 80'->127 J^pendlxi A Note On Pagodas 129-139 Bibliography 131-135 Mapst 1. Outbshahl Dcmlnlons about 1670# Indicating roads and highways between pp.l&2 2, Bay of Bengal and the surrounding kingdoms between pages 97&98 ' ******* ***** *** * ACmONZiEOOBtBiT It is my ao«t pX««««it duty to mspxmmm my d«ip •«ks« of gr«titudo to my oatocmod Supondsor* Or S«M« R«S« Maqid.* His eonstwt guidsneo «nd austainsd intorost ha^vo mado it possiblo to prossnt this work« His sffoetion and 9uid«AC« wsro always availabla to ma and no laaount of tima and attantion waa avar too moeh for him* Z «B grataful to Profaasor K.A, Hiaami* tha Chairman* Cantra of Advanoad study* Oapartmant of Hiatory* for hia aneouraoaaanta to puraua raaaaroh at thia eantra* X aa alao grataful to Profaaaor Zrfan Habib aa hia monumantal raaaaroh ifork *An Atlas of tha ttaghal fi^pira* haa halpad ma in many a ways to aolva nuaaroua problama of raaaaroh* Z am Tary much thankful to Doctors Z^al tfuaain* Z*A* zilli and Afaal Husain for thair eonatant aneouragaRMMata and aolving aoma of tha intriguing preblama of raaaareh* My thanks ara alao dua to tha ataff of tha Raaaar<^ ULbrary* Dapartmant of Hiatory* and Maolana Asad Library* AMU** for making all tha raaaareh matarial availabla to ma* Z am alao thankful to my friands* Q*s* Usmani* Abdur Aidiman* Arshad Zalam* Zafrul Zalam and Zahaar Jafri for thair oooparations in eomplating this work* Z am axtramaly thankful to tha u*G*C« for providing ma Taashar-Falloirahip for this raaaaroh work* Z am also grataful to Mr M*A, Afridi for his kind consant to gat thia dissartation typad on a vary short notioa* ••ccontd**• Last but not thtt l«ast# Z ara thankful to mf wife who has willingly tak«a ovar to harsalf all tha raaponsibilities of tha household to panait ma to da^ota and eonc«itrata all my tima and anargy to tha eomplation of this rasaarch work with tha laast possible distrac­ tion. ^ ^' - I ^J^u^ Mwarul Haqo^ w (1) IMTOOOOCnOW Golconda has b««n attracting tha attantlon of many scholars in tha raeant past. Thraa notabla %iorks on tha history o£ Golconda hara so far qppaarad. Of thasa two in English wtittan by Profassors H.K. Sharwani and J.F. Richards ara vary wall known. ^ And tha othar work writtan by Profassor Abdul Majaad Siddiqoi in Urdu is also of considarabla importanca. So far as Profassor Sharwani*s work is concamad* it daals with mainly tha political history of Golconda and thus has providad a datailad history of tha kingdom which foundad in tha first quartar of l6th cantury aftar tha disintagration of Batmanl kingdom. Profassor Richard's work is indaad a walcoma adition to tha madiaval Indian history but it daals with tha Mughal Golconda. Thus a vary important aspact of tha pra-Mughal Golconda remains untouched* i.a. the economy of the kingdom of Golconda. Profassor Abdul Majaad*s work is precisely a political analy­ sis of the evw&ts on the traditional lines without maswaring some of the pertinent questions about the kingdom of Golconda. For axmaple %^at ware the reasons of prosperity* flourishing 1, H.K, Sherwanit History Of The Qutbshahi Dynasty. New Delhi* 1974. J.F, Richards I Muohal Adaninistration In Golconda. Oxford, 1975, 2, Abdul Majeed Siddiquit Tarikh-E-Golcoada. Hyderabad, 1964. ...ii (ii> trade« comm«rG« and agricultura of the kingdom of Golconda. Nona of the abova wrltara has attempted to answer these questions* In this dissertation an attempt has been made to probe into some of the economic activities of the people of Golconda %^ich are considered as main reasons for the prosperity of the kingdom•' The kingdom of Golconda was founded by Quli Qutb Shah« the 'tarafdar' of Tilangana under Shihabuddin Mahmud Bahman Shah in the year 1512 A.D, Quli Qutb's successors expanded and ••••• consolidated the kingdom considerably, 3y 1646 A.D. the %^ole o£ Eastern Kamataka was included into its territory. Its coastal belt stretched from Sikakul to St. Thome. During the 17th century the danger of Mughal invasion loomed large and ultimately the fateful year came vihen in 1687# Golconda could not resist the Mughal thrust. It was annexed to the Mughal Qnpire the sane year. The Qutbshahi Sultans were highly prosperous and were considered as the richest princes in India, second only to the Mughal Bnnperor. In fact« the reasons for their prosperity and fabulous wealth were the numerous economic activities i^ich they generously promoted in their kingdom. 1. The boundary and geographical conditions of Golconda is discussed in the 1st Chapter. 2. There is a controversy over his coronation/ for details see# Sherwani# History Of Qutbshahi Dynasty# pp. 13-16. ...iii (lii) From the very beginning^ the Xingdotn was highly productive of agricultural goods. It was an agricultural soils country with fertile^rrigated by various tanks and rivers. Its coastal regions as well as the deltaic area of Godavarl river were highly fertile and provided triple cropping of paddy rice« sufficient to support a d«ise population. It produced various Idnds of grains and fruits such as wheats* rice# millet« different varieties of pulses« mangoes* bananas* oranges grapes* etc. Though the klngdc»n was governed by the rapacious fanning system* it did not have ruinous effects or agricultural production. Thus the kingdon produced enough grains to sustain its population and to export elsewhere. The kingdom was rich in mineral resources as well. Its diamond industry was feunous the world over. It gave employ­ ment to lacs of people and brought considerable sums to the state treasury. It attracted large number of merchants and traders* native as well as foreign to come to the mining sites and to the big cities to deal in the diamond trade. The country also produced iron in abundance. After meeting the home requirement* it was exported to many countries and thus it was a source of incone to the kingdom. The crafts and Industries also were in a highly flourishing state specially Golconda's textile industry had a great name world over. The spice trade of South-East Asia solely depoided upon the barter of the Golconda's textiles. ..iv <iv) The fine varieties of cloths such as 'kalamando* chintz and fine ^ite muslin were in great d«nand in the Mughal Empire, Persia and Arab. The Dutch and English trading Companies carried Golconda's 'piece goods' to European countries where they were preferred over those produced at Surat and else­ where. The textile industry also provided jobs to lacs of people and brought large revenues to the state coffers. Other big industry was the ship-building industry. Narsapur ship-yard at the mouth of Godavari river was an ideal place for ship-building. Native merchants as well as foreign, Portuguese, Dutch and English used to build their ships there. Necessary implements for ship-building such as timber and iron were available locally. Among the crafts, fine wood-work, ivory and shell-inlay work were done with great skill. These works were in great demand in European countries. The kingdom of Golconda also earned rich dividends from custom duties imposed on export and import. The kingdom had flourishing trade connections with South-East Asian countries, Iran and Arab. The Dutch and English trading Canpanies established its connection with European and other Asian nations. The kings of Golconda took keen interest in the promotion of trade and commerce. They extended liberal terms to the traders. Specially the Dutch and English trading Ccxnpanies received very generous treatments at their hands. ...V (v) It is admitted that the available materials showing these activities In the klngdcxn of Golconda Is plenty. However^ some of the basic questions have been answered In the present work, A detailed study based upon the Portuguese sources* preserved in the Goa archives Is bound to bring some more interesting details about the economic relations of the kingdom of Golconda %idth European countries. ABBREVIATION USED FOR REFERENCES A'lni for A' in~i-Akbarl Hadlqiat for HadilJM's Salatin Khafi Khan I for Mxintakhab'-ul-Lubab Ruq'at I for Rug* at-i-Alaraqlrl Shaflquttt for Khulasat-ul Hind Letters Recelvedi for Letters Received By The East India Company From Its Servants Relations t for Relations Of Golconda In The Early Seventeenth Cwitury Bemleri for Travels In the Mocful Btnpjre Thevenoti for Indian Travels Of Thevenot And Careri Tavemleri for Travels In India E,F,R,t for The English Factories In India Marshall I for John Marshall In India Abbe CarreI for The Travels Of The Abbe Carre In India And The Near East Bowery I for A Geographical Account Of Countries Roxxnd The Bay Of Bengal Streynsham Masters for The Diaries Of Streynsham Master Fryers for A New Accoxint Of East India And Persia Manucci s for Storia do Mogor Hamiltons for New Account Of The East Indies *************** ***** * ********-•• ******** * ********* ******* ***** *** * 9fr^ptfy ; ASiaCULTURAL PROPUCTS AMD THE LAND REVEfflJK APMIMI STRATI QM Th« traet th«t formed th« klngdon of Qoleond* was on« of tho most fartilo region in India.