Cotton Trade of India

Timeline

1. c. -3000–500Indus River Basin and Deccan Plateau · IndiaFragments of cotton textiles unearthed at sites such as Mohenjo-daro show that Indian ancestors domesticated Gossypium plants relatively early and developed spindle, loom, and indigo dyeing techniques, laying the industrial foundation for later cotton cloth exports.
2. c. 800–1000Calicut and Socotra · MalabarMalabar and Gujarat ports exported fine cotton cloth, yarn, and dyed fabrics to the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and East Africa; Arab and Persian merchants monopolized transshipment, and Indian cotton cloth became the most widely circulated everyday textile from Baghdad to Zanzibar.
3. 1031–1040Gujarat and Tamil Nadu · IndiaThe Chalukya dynasty controlled the western Deccan and the Chola Empire dominated the southeastern coast; cotton fields and handicraft workshops in both regions continuously supplied Arabian Sea ports; monsoon sailing ships carried cotton cloth to Aden and Basra, meeting the consumer demand of Fatimid Egypt and the remaining Abbasid domains.
4. c. 1200–1800Surat and Bengal · IndiaDuring the Mughal period, Surat became a hub of Eurasian cotton cloth trade; European East India Companies imported large quantities of Indian cotton cloth, driving a reorganization of the global cotton cultivation pattern; Indian cotton varieties and textile techniques had a profound impact on the modern world economy.