Explain how did India lost its position as a major supplier (cotton/other products
Answers
Prior to the arrival of the British cotton production in India was a major source of wealth for the Mughal Empire but it was primarily a cottage industry with growing, cleaning, spinning, dying and weaving each done by different peasant groups. While a highly prized item the Muhuls had limited production and little capacity to actually transport the finished goods by sea. Trading by caravans was the main process for distribution.
India grew cotton on farms expanded by the British, creating paid jobs.
The raw cotton was shipped to Europe(UK) by British ships.
The raw cotton was processed, dyed and woven in British mills.
The finished material was sold by British merchants, world wide.
The British merchants invested their profits in expanding the farms in India,- more paid jobs.
The British subsequently invested in the factories to allow the processing, dying and weaving to take place in India, creating new paid jobs.
India did not supply finished cotton cloth globally until this last round of British investment, so India had no historical position as major supplier of cotton fabric until that time.
Fabric produced in India had to be transported to world markets on British ships because India did not have and could not build large, trans-global, merchant transports.