Towns, Traders and Craftspersons

Q21. What were the textiles of Surat famous for?

Ans. The textiles of Surat were famous for their gold lace borders (zari) and had a market in West Asia, Africa and Europe.

Q22. What was the significance of Surat hundis?

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

Q23. Where is Hampi located?

Ans. Hampi is located in the Krishna-Tungabhadra basin, which formed the nucleus of the Vijayanagara Empire, founded in 1336.

Q24. Name the spices which became part of European cooking.

Ans. Spices grown in tropical climates (pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried ginger, etc.) became an important part of European cooking.

Q25. Why did the rulers endow temples with grants of land and money?

Ans. They endowed temples with grants of land and money to carry out elaborate rituals, feed pilgrims and priests and celebrate festivals.

Q26. From where did the Gujarati Traders imported spices, tin, Chinese blue pottery and silver?

Ans. Gujarati Traders imported spices, tin, Chinese blue pottery and silver from Southeast Asia and China.

Q27. Why both the Dutch and English East India Companies attempted to control Masulipatnam?

Ans. Both the Dutch and English East India Companies attempted to control Masulipatnam as it became the most important port on the Andhra coast.

Q28. Write some important temple towns.

Ans. Thanjavur,  Bhillasvamin (Bhilsa or Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh), and Somnath in Gujarat, Kanchipuram, Madurai in Tamil Nadu, and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.

Q29. What is hundi?

Ans.  Hundi is a note recording a deposit made by a person. The amount deposited can be claimed in another place by presenting the record of the deposit.

Q30. What do temple town represent?

Ans. Temple towns represent a very important pattern of urbanisation, the process by which cities develop. Rulers built temples to demonstrate their devotion to various deities.

Q31. Who tried to play off Dutch and English against each other and why?

Ans. As the Mughals began to extend their power to Golconda their representative, the governor Mir Jumla who was also a merchant, began to play off the Dutch and the English against each other.

Q32. What attracted European traders to India?

Ans. Spices grown in tropical climates (pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried ginger, etc.) became an important part of European cooking, and cotton cloth was very attractive. This eventually drew European traders to India.

Q33. Write a brief note about Murshidabad.

Ans. Murshidabad (West Bengal) on the banks of the Bhagirathi, which rose to prominence as a centre for silks and became the capital of Bengal in 1704, declined in the course of the century as the weavers faced competition from cheap mill-made cloth from England.

Q34. What kind of market did the small towns have?

Ans. They usually had a mandapika (or mandi of later times) to which nearby villagers brought their produce to sell. They also had market streets called hatta (haat of later times) lined with shops. Besides, there were streets for different kinds of artisans such as potters, oil pressers, sugar makers, toddy makers, smiths, stonemasons, etc.

Q35. What was the system of advances? How did it affect the life of Weavers?

Ans. Crafts persons began to work on a system of advances which meant that they had to weave cloth which was already promised to European agents. Weavers no longer had the liberty of selling their own cloth or weaving their own patterns. They had to reproduce the designs supplied to them by the Company agents.