Question

what were the chief article imported by India during a medieval period

Answer 1

Answer:

Medieval Europe was a noted producer of many things desired in the world beyond its borders.  It primarily exported cloth and textiles and precious metals, though it also traded slaves with the Islamic world.

Venetian and Genoese merchants set up prosperous trading posts on the Black Sea that benefited from a flow of goods from central Asia.  These merchants traded for spices, silk and luxury goods with slaves, iron, wine, light wool, linen and metal wares.  European wines from Italy, France and Germany were highly prized, but it was European wool, linen and other textiles that were particularly valued.  England, the Netherlands and northern Italy produced high quality woolen cloth in various luxurious weaves using technology unknown outside of Europe.  Similarly, European linen was another sought after import.

European weaving became such a valued export that silk and cotton were bought from the east as raw materials and then the finished luxury fabrics woven from them in Europe were sold back to the east at a premium price.

The other major export was precious metals.  Central Europe held a large number of reserves of high quality silver ore and Medieval mining and smelting technology allowed Europeans to exploit these very effectively.  Large areas of the Hartz Mountains and in Bohemia and Moravia saw European silver bullion being one of the most valuable and extensive item being traded east from the Black Sea and trading posts in the Levant.  Gold was also exported from Europe though not in the same quantity as silver.

Iron and steel were also exported, especially after the invention of blast furnaces, water-powered trip hammers and mechanised bellows made a form of mass production possible.  And quantities of luxury items like amber and furs also moved east in exchange for Asian luxuries.

Explanation: