ARMENIAN MERCHANTS IN INDIA TRADE FROM FRENCH SOURCES

Author(s): Ruquia Hussain

Source: Proceedings of the Indian History Congress , 2013, Vol. 74 (2013), pp. 269-276
Published by: Indian History Congress

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44158825

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 ARMENIAN MERCHANTS IN INDIA
TRADE FROM FRENCH SOURCES
Ruquia Hussain

In Armenian accounts we find only stray references to the Armenians.

European records namely factory records and traveler's accounts fill
the gap, but the credit goes to French sources like the accounts of Jean
Baptiste Tavernier1 and John Chardin,2 and the memoirs of George
Roques,' for dealing with them at length. Tavernier during his voyages
in Turkey, Persia and India followed the Armenian caravan routes very
closely, and he also associated with Armenians in their commercial
ventures and his account is considered quite reliable. Chardin also was
well acquainted with the Armenians. He was a very keen observer and
like Tavernier, his account is also very reliable. Tavernier and Chardin
are well known but Roques is a less heard of figure. He was a factor
of the French East India Company during the latter half of the
seventeenth century. His memoirs "Le maniere de negoier dans les
Indes Orientalles dediec a mes chers amis et confreres les engages de
la Royalle Compagne de France", is a very interesting source for trade
and trading conditions of Gujarat.
It is preserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris. It is divided
into three parts. Indrāni Ray has translated the first part and about
twenty pages of the second part.4 The first part is basically about the
banians and the second about the textile production and trading centre
of Gujarat. Paul Schwartz has translated pp 155-171 of the second
part of the memoirs and has written an excellent monograph based on
it.5 The rest of the monograph has escaped the notice of historians. In
the third part we come across a section dealing with Armenian
merchants in India especially Gujarat. Though Roques has given a
brief account of the Armenian merchants in his memoirs it is
nevertheless very rich. It throws light on innumerable facets of the
Armenians.

Armenian trade was at its zenith in the seventeenth century. They

carried out both overland and overseas trade. Its vast commercial
network was spread not only over the Levant, but over Europe, India
and the far East. Armenia was no longer a political unit after 1 375 but
this worldwide group had its centre at New Julfa at Isfahan, where
Shah Abbas I had transplanted them in 1604, from Julfa on the river
Araxis, near Tabrez, following a scorched earth policy against the
invading Turks.6 Roques and Tavernier have made it very clear that
they are talking about the New Julfan Armenians

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270 IHC : Proceedings, 74th Session, 2013
"They are the descendants of the people from Armenia Shah Abbas
let them live in his kingdom, and gave them a suburb closs to his
capital, named Julia so that they could establish themselves there".7

New Julfa was a quasi autonomous republic governed by merchants.

The entire administration was in the hands of Armenian merchants.
An organized group of merchant families ran the entire network.
Tavernier, Chardin and Roques have all dealt with this aspect. Most
of the Armenian merchants who came to India for trade or settled here
were from New Julfa. These merchants were not just birds of passage
but in the seventeenth century we find that a large number of Armenian
merchants were settled in India. Roques also states that they were found
in large numbers in the Mughal empire, especially at Surat. They were
found not only at the ports and trading marts but also in the interior
production centres, for example buying indigo at Sarkhej, textiles at
Sironj and so on.
It is very clear from their accounts that the Armenians did not
operate alone but operated as a part of a well knit network. They
followed the traditional practice of rich Armenian merchants sending
out factors to trade on their behalf in distant trading centers. The capital
belonged to the merchant and the factor or agent had a quarter part of
the share in the profits. They did not get a fixed salary. It was akin to
the commenda type of partnership. According to this form of
partnership, the Armenian barons or khojas used to give cash or
merchandise or a combination of both to their factors for trading
purposes.

Tavernier states that the merchant, "barons or master made the

choice of whom he thinks most proper, and most intelligent, he gives
each of them, bales of silk according to his capacity. The accounts are
settled when the factors return . . . ., they return in a short time as experts,
and there is no trading point today, which their activities do not
embrace. ..not only in Europe, but all of Asia, India, Tinquin, Java
Philippines, and all the orient with the exception of China and Japan".8
Roques also has given a lucid description of the Armenian merchants
and their organization,
"They have procured five or six powerful houses from where they
disperse agents all over the world. These houses have become wealthy
due to the hard work of the agent. These are as subtle in the affairs
of the foreign nation as the local people themselves/'
He adds that since the factors are completely dependent upon their
masters and as each master has a large number of factors, the Armenians
always found fellow factor to help them out whenever needed even in
distant lands. There was complete cohesion between them

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 Medieval India 27 1

"in the same town, there are so many factor

speak the same language, or in other words
the master has made because they are compl
big merchants of Julfa, sonie have 80 factor
more, some less. They have the members of
servants or peasants whom they have groome
their trade very well and are able to raise a
make profit upto 2000-3000 linres and it is
marvelous. They go to the far corners of the
money as much as they can. They came bac
proper account of their profit and these 2000
at the second time 40,000-50,000 linres owin
shrewdness. They know they are going the t
by going to the farthest point and for their
goods as far as they can.',,>

It is interesting to observe how merchant

by the Armenians.
It also shows that the Armenians family
of Armenian mercantile operations. Patriar
the entire trading circuit of the Julfa Arme
the number of factors in these companies
has noted that some Armenian households h
members. He has stressed the importance
families which allowed them to survive
centuries. Large extended families wer
Armenians.10

While dealing with the Armenian merchant

Roques has given a list of commodities wh
from India to Persia. In this list, textiles
else. Food grains and indigo are the other imp
Their purchases in the Mughal Kingdom
consisted of

"cloth from Ahmadabad, caps belts, allegias, cottons, Dariabadi and

Khairabadi cloth, mamoodis of Agra, fine baftas, betilles, bibipites,
Algaris, amam ies, hollow patacas which are in great demand amongst
these people, fine rice, which the governor permits to be embarked,
gives a good profit, chittes of Sironj, qalmis, pancherungies and
francanis (Jafar Khan's) in great numbers, indigo of Agra and Sarkhej
and drugs (medicines), which come from China with the pepper and
sugar from Bassein. They also buy the red sheets, fine as well as
coarse, for transporting in the Mughal territory, and also for sending
to Persia.... All sorts of cloth from the Coromandel coast and Bengal
and especially the sugar and the fine rice."11
Cloth from all over Punjab reached Lahore from where it was
transported overland to West Asia and Central Asia.

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272 ¡HC: Proceedings, 74th Session, 2013
The Armenian merchants bought these commodities from all over
India. For example chintzes from Delhi, Sirhind and Masulipatnam
silks from Bengal, Golconda and Bañaras and Calicoes from Samana.
It is held that there was not a single weaving village or production
centre of which the Armenians were not aware.

While giving a description of the trade of Sironj, Roques has

specifically mentioned that the Armenians are the principal merchants
"who purchase 2000 corges (of cloth) in a year, and make a great profit"
by taking the Jafarkhani chittes to Persia, Bantam and Manilla.12
Regarding the import into India, as is well known, the balance of
trade was largely in favour of India. It hardly over received much in
goods from West Asia. The commodities which it did receive were
generally luxury goods, regardless of whether they were carried by
Armenian, Persian or Turkish merchants to India. These merchants
dealt in all the traditional items which came out of Persia to India
basically these were the silks and brocades of Persia, dyes (especially
runes) rosewater, saffron, dry fruits, wine and jewels. Pearls and
diamonds were especially dealt with by the Armenians. Horses,
undoubtedly was a very important commodity taken to India from
Persia. Broadcloth also deserves special mention as it held an important
position in the list of imports of the Armenian and Persian merchants
especially from the third to the sixth decade of the seventeenth century.
Roques clearly states that "apart from horses which constitute a
large part of the cargo, they export a quantity of rosewater, wine
almonds, raisins, nuts pistachios, and an assortment of liquid jams,
dates, cuttlefish and roans. One can manage without these things, but
this is all you can get from Persia, A the soil does not produce anything
else".

An almost identical list has been given by Tavernier."

Pearls were considered to be the best item to be carried to India.
All those who had knowledge or a thorough understanding of pearl
dealt in its trade, like the Armenians and the Persians. According to
Roques, the Armenians bought the "most perfect, most round and those
which are the most beautiful, which thy send to their agents in Europe,
and sell the rejected or discarded ones in India at a profit of 35% to
40%. Other buyers usually took what was available.'4 Tavernier also
was of the opinion that Indians were not as particular as the Europeans.
All types of pearls sold easily in India, the irregular as well as the
round. Each had its own price.15
The Armenian were in the trade of diamonds as they were in that
of pearls. The Armenians bought diamonds, only when other items of
trade were not readily available. The reason was because they preferred

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 Medieval India 273

to recover their money at the earliest, a

profit at Surat, they would be obliged to
in Europe which meant that a higher ris
and the period would be longer, at times
could be recovered.16

As we have seen the balance of trade was in favor of India as the

country needed few imports. Gold and silver coins and bullion were
predominantly entering India from West Asia, Central Asia and Europe
throughout the period of our study, in return for the large number of
commodities it exported. A number of French travelers have elaborated
on this aspect.
Thevenot has observed that major part of American silver "after
running through several kingdoms of Europe, goes partly into Turkey,
for several sorts of commodities and partly into Smyrna for silks"*'7
from where vast quantities of it go to Mokha, Basra and Gombroon
and then eventually to India.
Bernier also has expressed a similar opinion "Gold and Silver after
circulating in every part of the globe, come at length to be swallowed
up, lost in some measure, in Hindustan", coins that he gives which
come for reminding include such coins as the lari, shahi and the reales
ofTurkey and Portugal.18
According to Tavernier the major part of Spanish rials were brought
into India by none other than the Armenian merchants.19 Du Mans states
that the Armenians traffic into silk in Smyrna and Aleppo, and also in
the Mediterranean, in Venice and Livorno and from there bring back
what he calls 'argent net', which is silver. He says that they bring the
silver in piastres, and also bring gold in ecus Venetian sequins. All the
silver went further eastwards to India.20 George Roques has elaborated
how only the big merchants could afford to freight Ships to go to Persia
because in return they could only bring runas , wine, dry-fruits etc.,
and that the rupees (coins) of gold and silver, Venetians and patacas
takes care of the surplus.21
Du Mans has vividly described how
"Persia is like a big caravanserai which has only two doors, the one
on the side of Turkey, by which silver enters from the West
(Armenians). The other door of exit is Bandar abbas or Gombroon
in the Persian Gulf for going to the Indies, to Surat where all the
silver of the world unloads and from there as (if) fallen in an 'a'byss.
it does not re-emerge".22

He further states that you gain over Persia 45 or 6 per hundred' which
shows the profit that could made on the sale of coins in India. Indians
silver imports are inextricably linked with Iran.

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274 IHC: Proceedings , 74th Session, 2013
Iran followed a bullionist policy which attempted to keep the gold
and silver in the country instead of allowing it to circulate outside. It
prohibited the export of coins and became extra strict about it in the
last quarters of the seventeenth century when Iran was in the throes of
a fiscal crisis. The crisis was so bad that it resulted in a considerable
debasement Iranian coin. Thus merchants became wary of bringing
their silver to Persia as it was compulsory to re-mint the coins in Iranian
currency, which would have resulted in a considerable loss to them.
Interestingly, the financial crisis is at times attributed to the reluctance
of the Armenian merchants to bring silver to Iran because the Armenians
started trading elsewhere or avoided Iranian mints.
They tried to take the silver directly to India so as to avoid the
high mintage taxes and the loss occurring from the debasement of the
currency. As silver acted like a commodity and its price varied from
market to market. Even in normal times, a higher profit could be got if
coins entered India directly bypassing Persia. Du Mans has stated that
five or six per hundred could be obtained in India.23
The merchants increasingly tried to evade the Persian authorities
and carry their silver undetected out of the country. Tavernier has shown
clearly how it was done. The Armenian were very good at it. According
to him the Armenians concealed money, particularly gold coins, in vests
and shirts, and avoided check-point which were very strict. If the
merchants were discovered, the money was confiscated and double
the amount of customs had to be paid.24
Another means to evade the customs which they resorted to was
the evasion of Iranian ports especially that of the tightly controlled
Bandar Abbas. They increasingly frequented the Ottoman held port of
Basra. The cargo of one such ship that was confiscated, amounted to
twenty four metric tons of silver in Spanish reales, which belonged to
three Armenian merchants.25

Roques was one of the few French factors to have operated at the
production centers. As the Armenians were also involved in buying
directly from the primary producer, Roques had the chance to observe
them more closely and could give a better picture of their trading
practices, Among other things he observed, was the stiff competition
the Armenian offered to other merchants, how they manipulated the
prices and at times monopolized the markets.
"Where there is competition with other merchants, no matter how
agile the other person is, the Armenian gets the better of him....
They try so hard that ships arc obliged to return without selling
anything or else at what prices they quote". 26

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 Medieval India 275

Roques was also shrewd enough to un

information in the medieval trading wo
excellent trading network of the Armenian
and demand in other parts of the tradi
not get cheated in their purchases and d
"receive rapid information on current pr
Income or profits from trade was supplem
operations. In a way, it must have serve
in trading ventures. There was no avenu
left untapped by the Armenians.
'it is to their credit that they become ver
their better evaluation of commerce, eithe
precious stones, pearls, jewels, insurance,
all that they come across, because they ne
The Armenians as we see were taking
operations. Bottomry, respondentia, mor
They specifically dealt with a type of lo
high interest maritime loan. It was not
also to transit money to a foreign count
avak taken for sea ventures was called co
types, yakgusha and dugusha.™ Chardin
According to him Yakgusha was a loan ta
to be repaid at another part. Dugusha wa
departure to be repaid at the same port a
voyage.31 There are references to avak
Armenians. In 1669, Khwaja Minas, a rep
Gujarat took money on avak on his ship
Philippines.12
In Mughal India, not only money but credit circulated with great
vigour. Bills of exchange were widely used by the Armenians both as
an instrument of credit as well as a means of remittance. The bills
were not only on fellow Armenians but on the local sarrafs as well.
The bills of exchange linked up the entire world trade. To quote
Tavernieri

"These are Turkish and Armenian merchants who borrow money at

Surat to return it at Gombroon, and take it likewise (from there) for
Isfahan, and they do likewise at Isfahan, for Erzerum and Babylon,
paying the old by the new that they borrow at each place. Money
taken at Erzerum was paid at Bursa, or at Constantinople or Smyrna,
that taken at Baghdad was paid at Aleppo, and as there are many
Armenian and even some Turkish merchants, who being at
Constantinople and Smyrna, wanted to go to Leghorn or Venice,
take money first at these two towns to pay the earlier loans

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 276 IHC : Proceedings , 74th Session , 20/3
money at Golconda for up to Leghorn or Venice, change by change
comes back at the lowest to 95%. but more often it goes to 100%'V3

To conclude, we can state with conviction that French sources provide

us with a comprehensive picture of the Armenians merchants' trade in
India.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1 . Jean-Baptistc Tvernier. 'Us Six l oyages de Jean Baptiste Tavernier , Paris, Mic
the Indian Council of Historical Research Library, New Delhi; V. Bali and W. Cr
and ed.), Jean Baptist Tavernieri Travels in India , London, 1925.)
?.. J. Chardin, Sir John Chardin s Travels in Persia, London 1912.
3. George Roques ' Memoir, MS Bibliothèque Nationale Paris, Fond Francais 146
4 Indrāni Ray. "Of T rade and T raders in Seventeenth Century India", Indian Historic
1982-83, Vol. 9.
5 Paul Schwartz, "Printing on Cotton at Ahmadabad in 1673", Ahmadabad 1969
6. W. Crooke (ed.), John Fryer. A New Account of East India and Persia Being Nin
Travels 1672-81 , 3 volumes, London, 1909, Vol. 2, pp.249-258.
7 Roques, op. cit., pp.250-254.
8. Tavernier, V.2, p. 1 50.
9. Roques, p.252.
10. Chardin.

11. Roques, p.274.

12. Ibid., pp 184-203.
1 3. Ibid. (in the section dealing with the trade of Sironj).
14. Ibid , p.269.
15. Tavernier, p.85.
1 6. Roques, p.269.
17. S.N. Sen ( tr. and ed), Indian Travels o/Thevenot And Carer i , Jean de Thevenot 's Accounts
of India, National Archives Of India, New Delhi, p. 240
18. A. Constable (tr.) and V.A. Smith (revised). Francois Bernier's Travels In The Mughal
Empire J 656 - 8 . London, 191 6, p.202.
19. Tavernier. 1, p. 19.
20. Du Mans, cited in Ina Mc. Cabe, /'The Shahs Silk For Europe's Silver",
Pennsylvania. 1 999.p. 1 58.
2 1 . Roques, p.274.
22. Du Mans, p. 192, in Ina Mc Cabe, pp. 1 57-8.
23. Ibid.

24. Tavernier. les six voyages , p.4 1 8.

25. Sanson, pp. 169-71.
26. Roques, p.254.
27. Ibid., p.253.
28. Ibid.. p.253.
29. Khatchikian, Lvon, "The Ledger Of Hovhannes Joughayetsi" Journal of Asiatic society of
Bengal, Calcutta 1966
30. Ina Mc Cabe, p.229.
31. Chardin, p.281.
32. Foster, W. (ed.) "The English Factories In India", 1668-69, p. 195.
33. Tavernier, Les six voyages, p.624 (my translation).

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