Indian Cotton Textile

Timeline

1. c. -2500–1300Indus River Valley and Deccan Plateau · Indus River ValleyIndia's cotton textile history traces back to the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500 BCE), with cotton fabric fragments excavated at sites such as Mohenjo-daro. By the medieval period, India had developed a sophisticated hand-weaving system; Gujarati merchants (bania) and Coromandel Coast artisans created many world-renowned cotton varieties: fine Bengali muslin, richly printed chintz, plain white calico, and more. These fabrics circulated widely through trade networks of Arab and Indian merchants across the Swahili Coast of East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Southeast Asia.
2. 1300–1511Malacca and Gujarati trade routes · Southeast AsiaBetween the 14th and early 16th centuries, Indian Ocean trade developed a sophisticated 'cotton for spices' system: Gujarati merchants carried Indian cotton textiles to Malacca, where they exchanged them for cloves, nutmeg, and pepper from the Moluccas; Swahili cities of East Africa traded cotton for gold and ivory; Arab merchants used cotton as currency to arbitrage between East Africa and India. Cotton effectively served as a regional currency, with quality and specifications directly affecting exchange rates, and Gujarati textile merchants' credit and firms spanned all major ports along the Indian Ocean.
3. 1511–1520Goa and Gujarati ports · IndiaAfter the Portuguese captured Goa in 1510, they quickly recognized the strategic value of controlling the cotton trade and moved to incorporate Gujarati cotton into their trading empire. Portuguese ships carried Indian cotton to Malacca (captured in 1511) to exchange for Southeast Asian spices, while also exporting cotton to the East African coast as currency for purchasing slaves and goods. However, Gujarati merchants (mostly Muslim), relying on their vast commercial networks, capital advantages, and flexible trading strategies, successfully bypassed the Portuguese cartaz pass system and continued operating; control of the Indian cotton trade in fact did not pass from Asian merchants between 1511 and 1520.