Maritime Trade, Society and European Influence in Southern Asia, 1600–1800

The particular focus of these articles is on the southern part of the Indian subcontinent and its relations with Southeast Asia. A number deal specifically with the Coromandel coast, its ports and merchant communities, while some are more concerned with the Indian Ocean region as a whole. In the 17th and 18th centuries the Indian Ocean littoral was an intense interaction between the European powers competing for Asian trade, and numerous Asian states and communities traditionally engaged in that trade. In his analysis Professor Arasaratnam argues that Asian trade peaked around the 1680’s, and that its subsequent decline should be linked to the consequences of the decline of the Mughal Empire. At the same time, the European trading companies, first the Dutch, then the English, with the French having some share, which had integrated themselves into the regional patterns of commerce, were then able to enhance their position: the Dutch had failed to establish a stranglehold, but by the end of this period the English had achieved domination, and not only over the coast, but the hinterland as well.