why was there a rise in ports and trading towns in the 17th century?
Answers
Answer:
There were different towns with different functions in the medieval times such as temple towns, administrative centres, commercial towns famous for arts and crafts or port towns.
These towns represented the process of urbanisation.
After the 8th century, many small towns emerged out of large villages in the whole subcontinent and tax and the zamindari system developed.
Extensive trade was carried out with the ports of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, East Africa, Southeast Asia, China. The products in turn reached different European markets and thus due to it, the European traders were drawn to India. Their arrival changed the scenario of the trading and towns of India.In the 16th and the 17th centuries, the English, the Dutch and the French formed East India Companies in order to expand their commercial activities in the east and emerged as the commercial and political superpower of the subcontinent.
New arts,crafts and new towns were developed.
The 18th century saw the rise of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras which are major metropolitan cities today.