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Gujarat Cotton Textile Trade
From the 14th century, India's Gujarat developed cotton production and export centered on Surat and Ahmedabad, renowned across the Indian Ocean world…
Timeline
- c. 1300–1500Port of Surat · GujaratGujarat's coastal ports traded cotton cloth, dyed fabrics, and fine-yarn textiles in the Indian Ocean, with Arab and Persian merchants transshipping goods to Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and East African markets.
- c. 1570–1750Ahmedabad · GujaratUnder Mughal patronage, weavers in Ahmedabad and Surat developed fine woodblock printing (chintz) and dyeing techniques, and cotton cloth became an important commodity of imperial finances and foreign trade.
- c. 1600–1850Surat and Bombay · West CoastThe British and Dutch East India Companies purchased large quantities of Gujarat cotton cloth for Europe and Southeast Asia, sparking competition with local textile industries; in the nineteenth century, machine-woven British cotton cloth sold back into India caused the decline of Indian handicrafts.
- c. 1850Gujarat · GujaratAfter independence, Gujarat developed into an important Indian base for cotton textiles and garment exports, where traditional hand-printing and dyeing techniques coexist with modern factories, continuing a centuries-old cotton trade legacy.
Sources
- Cotton: The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber — Stephen Yafa (2005)
- The World That Trade Created: Society, Culture, and the World Economy, 1400 to the Present — Kenneth Pomeranz; Steven Topik (2006)