Fishing in troubled waters Masulipatnam


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Fishing in troubled waters Masulipatnam

Fishing in Troubled Waters: Masulipatnam

The town of Masulipatnam or Machlipatnam ( literally, fish port town) lay on the delta of the Krishna river. As Masulipatnam became the most important port on the Andhra coast so both the Dutch and English East India Companies attempted to control it. The fort at Masulipatnam was built by the Dutch.

 In the seventeenth century it was a centre of intense activity. Both the Dutch and English east India companies attempted to control Masulipatnam as it became the most important port on the Andhra coast.

 The Qutb Shahi rulers of Golconda imposed royal monopolies on the sale of textiles, spices and other items to prevent the trade passing completely into the hands of the various east India companies. Fierce competition among various groups – the Golconda nobles, person merchants, telugu Komati chettis, and European traders- made the city populous and prosperous. As the Mughals began to extend their power to Golconda their representative, the governor Mir Jumla who was also a merchant, began to play off the Dutch and the English against each other. In 1686- 1687 Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb annexed Golconda. This caused the European companies to look for alternatives. It was a part of the new policy of the English east India Company that it was not enough if a port had connections with the production centes of the hinterland. The new company trade centres, it was felt, should combine political, administrative and commercial roles. As the company traders moved to Bombay, Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) and Madras (present- day Chennai). Masulipatanam lost both its merchants and prosperity and declined in the course of the eighteenth century, being today nothing more than a dilapidated little town.

A Poor Fisher Town: This is a description of Masulipatnam by William Methwold,a factor of the English East India Company,in 1620:

This the chief port of Golcanda, where the right worshipfull East India Company have their Agent.It is a small town but populas ,unwalled ,ill built and worse situated; within all the springs are brackish.It was firsta poor fisher town ... afterwards, the convenience of the road (a place where ships can anchor) made it a residence for merchants and so continues since our and the Dutch nation frequented this coast.

 
 
 


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