Indian cotton export trade

Timeline

1. 1600–1650Gujarat cotton region · GujaratUnder Mughal rule cotton was widely grown in Gujarat and the Malwa plateau; rural handicrafts produced fine cloth in household spinning and dyeing workshops, shipped from ports like Surat to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.
2. 1661–1670Port of Surat · GujaratIn 1661 the English East India Company established a factory at Surat, competing with the Dutch East India Company for orders of Bengal and Gujarat cloth; Indian cotton cloth sold well in European and Southeast Asian markets for its variety of patterns and low price.
3. 1665–1680Hooghly River mouth · BengalCotton and silk blend cloth from the Bengal delta was exported via the Hooghly River, while Madras on the Coromandel Coast became another purchasing center, forming a multi-port global supply chain of Indian cotton cloth.
4. 1670–1700Amsterdam · NetherlandsLarge volumes of Indian cotton cloth were transshipped to Europe via the Dutch and English, undermining local wool and linen industries, sparking protectionist debates and indirectly driving Europe's mechanization revolution in textiles.