Cotton Cultivation in India

Timeline

1. c. 1501–1505Coastal Gujarat · GujaratGujarat farmers grew upland cotton under monsoon irrigation; the lint was ginned and spun by hand, then woven by weavers into fine cotton cloth and dyed fabrics. Ports such as Kutch and Surat shipped the cloth to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, making it an important commodity in the Indian Ocean trade network.
2. c. 1505–1510Malabar Coast · KeralaCotton cultivation in the Malabar region rivaled pepper and spice trade, and Cochin became the Portuguese stronghold for penetrating India's west coast. Local cotton cloth supplied Southeast Asian markets and was also purchased by European merchants, showing the intersection of India's cotton spinning system with emerging colonial trade.