Question

Why surat was known as emporium of west trade

Answer 1

• Surat in Gujarat was the emporium of western trade during the Mughal period along with Cambay, Ahmedabad.
• Surat was the gateway for trade with West Asia via the Gulf of Ormuz.
• Surat has also been called the gate to Mecca because many pilgrim ships set sail from here.
• The city was cosmopolitan and people of all castes and creeds lived there.
• In the seventeenth century the Portuguese, Dutch and English had their factories and warehouses at Surat. According to the English , chronicler Ovington who wrote an account of the port in 1689, on average a hundred ships of different countries could be found anchored at the port at any given time.
• There were also several retail and wholesale shops selling cotton textiles.
• The textiles of Surat were famous for their gold lace borders (zari) and had a market in West Asia, Africa and Europe.
• The state built numerous rest-houses to take care of the needs of people from all over the world who came to the city.
• There were magnificent buildings and innumerable pleasure parks.
• The Kathiawad seths or mahajans (moneychangers) had huge banking houses at Surat.
• It is noteworthy that the Surat hundis were honoured in the far-off markets of Cairo in Egypt, Basra in Iraq and Antwerp in Belgium.