Chapter - Review:

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• The sources of history are travellers’ accounts.
• Monserrate, Flitch, Thomas Roe, Domingo Paes, Nicolo Conti and Abdul Razzaq Samarqandi wrote about the life of this period.
• Some of the important court towns were Lahore, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Delhi.
• Fatehpur Sikri was the new capital founded by Akbar.
• Delhi was known as Shahjahanabad and was built by Shah Jahan in 1639.
• Some towns developed as ports due to their proximity to the seashore.
• Some major ports were Cambay, Surat, Broach, Masulipatanam, Nagapattinam, etc.
• Some towns were capital cities. They were centres of administration.
• Thanjavur and Uraiyur were important centres.
• Temples towns were important centres of urbanization and led to the development of cities, economy and society.
• Pilgrims gave huge donations to temples. This wealth was used by temple authorities to finance their trade and banking.
• Important temple towns were Bhillasvamin in Madhya Pradesh, Somnath in Gujarat, Kanchipuram and Madurai.
• Bronze is an alloy compound of copper and tin.
• Chola rulers used this metal to make statues through the Tost wax’ technique.
• From the 8th century onwards, small towns emerged in India. They emerged from large villages. They had a ‘mandapika’ where villagers sold their produce.
• Likewise, there were market streets, called ‘hatta’, full of shops.
• Many villagers came to buy local articles and sell products like horses, camphor, saffron, betel nut, spices, salt, etc.
• Normally a Samanta was appointed who fortified the palaces and gave the right to collect taxes from traders, artisans, etc.
• Many kinds of traders existed.
• Trader travelled in caravans by forming guilds.
• Trade was done on a regular basis within the peninsula and with South-east Asia and China.
• Some other important traders were the Chettiars, Marwari, Banjaras, Baniyas, Muslim Bohras, etc.
• Craftwork was famous by the name of Bidri in the region.
• The goldsmith, bronzesmith, blacksmith, masons and carpenters were together called as the ‘Panchalas’ or ‘Vishwakarma’.
• Some other crafts were cotton cleaning, spinning and dying.
• Surat in Gujarat was a cosmopolitan city. The textiles of Surat were famous for their gold lace borders known as zari and had a market in West Asia, Africa and Europe.

Exercise - Question:

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Que: Fill in the blanks:

(a) The Rajarajeshvara temple was built in ———.

(b) Ajmer is associated with the Sufi saint ————.

(c) Hampi was the capital of the ———— Empire.

(d) The Dutch established a settlement at ————in Andhra Pradesh.

Ans:

(a) Thanjavur

(b) Khwaja Muniddin Chisti

(c) Vijaynagara

(d) Masulipatnam. 

Que: State whether true or false:

(a) We know the name of the architect of theRajarajeshvara temple from an inscription.

(b) Merchants preferred to travel individuallyrather than in caravans.

(c) Kabul was a major centre for trade inelephants.

(d) Surat was an important trading port on theBay of Bengal.

Ans:

(a) True

(b) False

(c) False

(d) False.

Que: How was water supplied to the city of Thanjavur?

Ans: Thanjavur was situated near the perenial river Kaveri. It was from this river that water was supplied to the city. Also the water supply for the coty came from wells and tanks.

Que: Who lived in the “Black Towns” in cities suchas Madras?

Ans: The native traders, craftspersons, merchant and artisians used to live in the

"Black Tpwms" in the cities such as Madras.

Que: Why do you think towns grew around temples?

Ans:

(i) Temples often central to the economy and society.                             

(ii) Rulers, who built temples, donated land and money to carry out elaborate

rituals, feed pilgrams and priest and celebrate festivals.                           

(iii) Piligrims who flocked to the temples also made donations.                       

(iv) Temple authorities used their wealth to finance, trade and banking.             

In the ways, towns got developed around temples.        

Que: How important were craftspersons for the buildingand maintenance of temples?

Ans:

(i) The craftpersons of Bidar were so famous for their inlay work in copper and silver that it came to be called Bidri.                                               

(ii) The Panchalas or Vishwakarma community, consisting of goldsmith, mason and carpenters, were essential to the building of temples.                               

(iii) Weaves often donated money tp temples.

Que: Why did people from distant lands visit Surat?

Ans:

(i) Surat was the emporium of western trde during the Mughal period.               

(ii) Surat was the gateway for trade with west Asia via the gulf of Ormuz.         

(iii) Surat has alse been called gate of Meca.                                   

(iv) There were also several retail and wholesale shops selling cottpn textiles.     

(v) Surat was famous for the textiles with gold lace borders.    

Que: In what ways was craft production in cities likeCalcutta different from that in cities like Thanjavur?

Ans: 

Craft production in Thanjavur was different from that of Kolkata in the following manner:

1. Craft production in Thanjavur was in the form of inlays work in copper and silver.
2. In Kolkata, it was in the form of cotton textiles, jute textiles, and silk textiles.
3. Thanjavur was a temple town and all lived in town.
4. Calcutta was a trading town and craftsmen lived in “Blacktown” areas.

Que: Compare any one of the cities described in this chapter with a town or a village with which you are familiar. Do you notice any similarities or differences?

Ans: 

Comparison between Surat and Delhi

Surat	Delhi
Emporium during the Mughal period due to the production of various goods. Gateway to West Asia due to the trade centre. Cosmopolitan city. Factories and warehouses. Known for cotton textiles.	It was also an emporium during the Mughal period. Basically administrative town. Cosmopolitan city. Factories and warehouses. Known for business, trade, and commercial pursuits

 

Additional - Question:

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Que: What do temple towns represent?

Ans: Temple towns represent a very important pattern of urbanization.

Que: Why did the rulers endow temples with grants of land and money?

Ans: They did so in order to carry out elaborate rituals, feed pilgrims and priests, and celebrate festivals.

Que: How did pilgrims contribute to the temples?

Ans: They made donations.

Que: What is bronze?

Ans: Bronze is an alloy that contains copper and tin.

Que: What is bell metal?

Ans: Bell metal contains a greater proportion of tin than other kinds of bronze. This produces a bell-like sound,

Que: How did temple authorities use their wealth?

Ans: They used their wealth to finance trade and banking,

Que: What did the Indian traders bring from Africa?

Ans: They brought gold and ivory from Africa.

Que: Name a few Indian spices which became an important part of European cooking. Ans. Pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried ginger, g. 9. What were craftspersons of Bidar famous for?

Ans: They were famous for their inlay work in copper and silver.

Que: What do the ruins of Hampi reveal?

Ans: The ruins at the Hampi reveal a well-fortified city.

Que: Why has Surat been called the gate to Mecca?

Ans: Surat has been called the gate to Mecca because many pilgrim ships set sail from here.

Que: What were the textiles of Surat famous for?

Ans: The textiles of Surat were famous for their gold lace borders Le. zarL

Que: What was special with the Surat hundis?   

Ans: The Surat hundis were honoured in the far-off markets of Cairo in Egypt, Basra in Iraq, and Antwerp in Belgium.

Que: Why did the Dutch and English East India Companies attempt to control Masulipatnam?

Ans: Because Masulipatnam became the most important port on the Andhra coast,

Que: How did the European Companies gain control of the sea trade?

Ans: They gained control of the sea trade by using their naval power,

Que: What was the system of advances?

Ans: Under the system of advances the weavers had to weave cloth which was already promised to European agents.

Que: Name the residence meant for the white rulers in Madras.

Ans: Fort St. George.

Que: Name the residence meant for the white rulers in Calcutta

Ans: Fort St. William.

Que: Mention some articles of trade on which temple authorities collected taxes.

Ans: Sugar and jaggery, dyes, thread, and cotton, coconut, salt, areca nuts, butter, sesame oil and cloth.

Que: What is the ‘lost wax’ technique? 

Ans: ‘Lost wax’ technique was used to make Chola bronze statues. This technique involved several stages :

• First of all, an image was made of wax. This was covered with clay and left in sun to dry.
• It was then heated and a small hole was made in the clay cover. The molten wax was drained out through this hole.
• Then molten wax was poured into the clay mould through the hole. Once the metal cooled and solidified, the clay cover was carefully removed and the image was cleaned and polished.

Que: What purpose did small towns serve? 
                               Or
Describe various Junctions of small towns.

Ans: Several small towns came to be seen in the sub-continent from the 8th century onward. These towns usually had a mandapika or mandi where nearby villagers came to sell their produce. These towns also had market streets called halta or hoot lined with shops.

There were also streets for different kinds of artisans such as potters, oil pressers, sugar market, toddy makers etc.
Many traders came from far and near to these towns to buy local articles and sell products of distant places such as salt, camphor, horse, etc.

Que: Find out about the present-day taxes on markets. Who collects these taxes? How are they collected and are they used for?

Ans:

• The present-day taxes on markets are collected as license fees of shops.
• MCD must collect these taxes.
• MCD does this work with the help of its various departments.
• The taxes collected by MCD are used in the welfare of the public, roads, sewage, electricity, water, etc.

Que: Give an account of the architecture of Hampt

Ans: The architecture of Hampi was distinctive in several ways :

• Hampi was a well-fortified city. No mortar or cementing agent was used in the construction of these walls. The technique followed was to wedge them together by inter-locking.
• The buildings in the royal complex had splendid arches, domes and pillared halls with niches for holding sculptures.
• They also had well-planned orchards and pleasure gardens with sculptural motifs such as the lotus and corbels.

Que: How was Hampi in its heyday in the 15-16th centuries? When did it fall into ruin?

Ans: In its heyday in the 15-16th centuries Hampi was an important centre of commercial and cultural activities. Moors, which was a name used collectively for Muslim merchants, Chettis and agents of European traders such as the Portuguese, visited the markets of Hampi.

Temples were the hub of cultural activities. Temple dancers known as devadasis performed before the deities, royalty and masses in the many-pillared halls inthe Virupaksha, a form of Shiva, temple. The Mahanavami festival was one of the most important festivals celebrated at Hampi.

Hampi fell into ruin following the defeat of Vijayanagara in 1565 by the Deccani Sultans.

Que: What were the reasons for the decline of Swat? 

Ans: Surat, which was an important trade centre during the Mughal period, began to decline towards the end of the seventeenth century. This was because of the following factors:

• Because of the decline of the Mughal Empire, Surat faced a huge loss of markets and productivity
• The control of the sea routes went into the hands of the Portuguese
• Surat could not complete with Bombay were the English East India Company shifted its headquarters in 1668.

Que: What made the city of Masulipatnam populous and prosperous?

Ans: The city of Masulipatnam was a centre of intense activity during the 17th century. Both the Dutch and English East India Companies attempted to control this city as it became the most important part of the Andhra coast. Qutb Shah rulers of Golconda imposed royal monopolies on the sale of textiles, spices, and other items to prevent the trade from passing completely into the hands of the various East India Companies. This led to fierce competition among various trading groups such as the Golconda nobles, Persian merchants, Telugu Komati Chettis, and European traders. As a result, the city became populous and prosperous.

Que: How did the system of advances snatch the freedom of the weavers?
                                                          OR
How did the Indian Crafts persons lose their independence?

Ans: The Indian textiles were in great demand in the European markets. As a result, the English began to make attempts to control the Indian craftspersons by appointing Indian traders as their agents. They introduced the system of advances under which the weavers had to weave cloth which was already promised to European agents. Weavers no longer had the liberty of selling their cloth or weaving their patterns. Instead, they had to reproduce the designs supplied to them by the company agents. This system snatched the freedom of the Indian weavers. They began to be guided by someone else.

Que: Describe the trade activities of the big and small traders belonging to the medieval time.

Ans: There were many kinds of traders. These included the Banjaras and several traders especially horse traders.
The traders usually travelled in caravans and formed guilds to protect their interests. There were several such guilds in South India from the eighth century onwards—the most famous being the Manigramam and Nanadesi. These guilds traded extensively both within the peninsula and with Southeast Asia and China. There were also communities like the Chettiyars and the Marwari Oswal who went on to become the major trading groups of the country.

Gujarati traders, including the communities of Hindu Baniyas and Muslim Bohras, traded extensively with the ports of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and China. They sold textiles and spices in these ports and exchange, brought gold and ivory from Africa; and spices, tin, Chinese blue pottery, and silver from Southeast Asia and China.

The towns on the west coast were home to Arab, Persian, Chinese, Jewish, and Syrian Christian traders. Indian spices and cloth sold in the Red seaports were bought by Italian traders and eventually reached European markets, fetching high profits. This ultimately drew European traders to India.

Que: Describe Swat as a gateway to the West?

Ans: Surat in Gujarat was the emporium of western trade during the Mughal period along with Cambay (now Khambat) and somewhat later, Ahmedabad. Surat was the gateway for trade with West Asia via the Gulf of Ormuz. Surat has also been called the gate to Mecca because many pilgrim ships set sail from here.

Surat was a cosmopolitan city inhabited by people of all castes and creeds. In the 17th century the Portuguese, Dutch and English had their factories and warehouses at Surat. Several retail and wholesale shops could be found in Surat. These shops sold cotton textiles. Here, it is worth mentioning that the textiles of Surat were famous for their gold lace borders, le. zari and had a market in West Asia, African and Europe.

The state provided all the facilities to the people who came to the city from all over the world. The Kathiawad seths or mahqjaxvs had huge banking houses at Surat. The Surat hundis were honoured in far-off markets of Cairo in Egypt, Basra in Iraq and Antwerp in Belgium.