The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750–1947: Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama

by Claude Markovits

• ISBN13: 9780521089401
• ISBN10: 0521089409
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-11-06
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Claude Markovits tells the story of two groups of Hindu merchants from the towns of Shikarpur and Hyderabad in the province of Sind. Basing his account on previously neglected archival sources, the author charts the development of these communities, from the pre-colonial period through colonial conquest and up to independence, describing how they came to control trading networks throughout the world. While the book focuses on the trade of goods, money and information from Sind to the widely dispersed locations of Kobe, Panama, Bukhara and Cairo, it also throws light on the nature of trading diasporas from South Asia in their interaction with the global economy. This is a sophisticated and accessible book, written by one of the most distinguished economic historians in the field. It will appeal to scholars of South Asia, as well as to colonial historians and to students of religion.

Table of Contents

Introduction

South Asian merchant networks

The regional context: Sind economy and society, c. 1750-1950

The Gate of Khorrassan: the Shikarpuri network, c. 1750-1947

From Kobe to Panama: the Sindworkies of Hyderabad

Patterns of circulation and business organization in two merchant networks

The business of the Sind merchants

The politics of merchant networks

Community and gender in two merchant networks

Epilogue: the Sindhi diaspora after 1947

Conclusion

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