Social Sciences, asked by gyanvijuhi894, 1 year ago

arts in 18 century in ahmedabad

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Answered by NightFury
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AHMEDABAD: It was not just the English and Dutch who were lured by the opulence of Surat, one of the major ports of 17th and 18th century India. The Nordic nations also decided to join the race to trade with India and China by sea route once the traditional Silk Route broke down by the 16th century.


Dr Indubala Nahapkam, curator of Indian Legal History Museum at GNLU, Gandhinagar, has conducted a research on Swedish Oriental (East) India Company (SOIC) in Surat in which she focuses on accounts of Christopher Henric Braad, an explorer and scholar, who studied Surat up and close during his multiple visits.

ADVERTISEMENT SOIC was chartered in 1731 and wrapped up its business in 1813 acting primarily as a counterbalance to the Dutch and the English. SEIC made 131 voyages out of which 116 ships visited Surat during that period.

ADVERTISEMENTIn September 1751, Braad arrived in Surat with a mission to assess the business climate vis-à-vis European competition from English, Dutch, Portuguese, French and Germans. He reported to his company headquarters at Gothenburg and to the Academy of Stockholm.


“The accounts mention that Braad used to move around without security at the time when it was a norm for Europeans to hire one or more armed guards. His descriptions gives a peek into how the mint at the city used to work, inscriptions on the European burial grounds in Surat and overview of the fortress, gardens and other architecture. He also visited gardens and made elaborate maps and sketches,” said Nahapkam.


The 400-page journal was presented to the directors of SOIC when he returned in 1752. The following year, he again sailed to Surat. The Battle of Plassey in 1757 changed the political landscape of India with the rise of the British as the most dominant European group in south Asia. Braad left in 1758 and returned again in 1760 on his last visit to Surat.

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