The Economy of the Mughal Empire

During the Mughal Empire, India's economy was huge and rich. During the Mughal era, India's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to be at 22% of the global economy in 1600, making it the world's second-largest economy after Ming China but greater than Europe. By 1700, Mughal India's GDP had climbed to 24% of global GDP, making it the world's largest economy, surpassing Qing China and Western Europe. Until the 18th century, the Mughal Empire produced nearly 25% of the world's industrial output. India's Rate grew during the Mughal Empire, with a greater rate of development than in the 1,500 years preceding the Mughal Empire. The economy of Mughal India was regarded as a sort of proto-industrialization, similar to that of Western Europe before the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. The Mughals were in charge of constructing a vast road network, establishing a constant currency, and uniting the country. The Mughals established a public works department that designed, built, and maintained roadways interconnecting towns and cities throughout the empire, making trade easier to transact. Agricultural levies, introduced by the third Mughal emperor, Akbar, were the principal source of the empire's communal wealth. These taxes, which amounted to more than half of a peasant cultivator's output, were paid in the well-regulated silver coinage, which prompted peasants and artisans to seek larger markets.

During Sur Emperor Sher Shah Suri's brief reign, the Mughals adopted and standardized the rupee (rupiya, or silver) and dam (copper) currencies. In the early eons of Akbar's reign, the currency was 48 dams to a rupee, then 38 dams to an Indian rupee in the 1580s, with the dam's worth rising even more in the 17th era as a result of new industrial uses for copper, such as bronze cannons and brass kitchenware. The dam was the most prevalent coin during Akbar's reign, but the rupee eventually superseded it as the most prevalent coin in subsequent reigns. Toward the conclusion of Jahangir's reign, the dam was valued at 30 to a rupee, and by the 1660s, it was valued at 16 to a rupee. Until the 1720s, the Mughals manufactured coins with exceptional purity, never falling below 96 percent, and without debasement. Even though India had its gold and silver reserves, the Mughals coined coins from imported bullion due to the empire's strong export-driven economy, with global demand for Indian agricultural and industrial products bringing a continual stream of precious metals into the country. Around 80% of Mughal India's imports were precious metal, predominantly silver, with the New World and Japan serving as key sources of imported bullion. The latter imported enormous quantities of textiles and silk from the Bengal Subah region.

The primary sector contributed 52 percent to the Mughal economy in the late 16th century, the secondary sector 18 percent, and the tertiary sector 29 percent; the secondary sector subsidized a higher proportion than in early 20th-century British India, where the secondary sector only contributed 11 percent. Urban workers made up 18% of Mughal India's workforce in terms of the urban-rural divide, while rural workers made up 82 percent, contributing 52 percent and 48 percent to the economy, respectively. Grain wages in India were comparable to those in England in the 16th and 17th centuries, according to Stephen Broadberry and Bishnupriya Gupta, but diverged in the 18th century, when they fell to 20-40% of England's wages. Parthasarathi and Sivramkrishna, on the other hand, disagree. Parthasarathi claims that grain salaries for weaving and spinning in Bengal and South India were equivalent to those in Britain in the mid-eighteenth century.

Similarly, Sivramkrishna examined agricultural surveys made in Mysore by Francis Buchanan between 1800 and 1801, arriving with estimations using a "subsistence basket" that aggregated millet income might be nearly five times that, while rice income was three times that. In terms of wheat, Mughal India had a 1.24 percent larger per-capita income in the late 16th century than British India fixed in the early 20th century. If manufactured products, such as clothing, are taken into account, this revenue must be lowered. Clothing expenditures were substantially lower than food expenditures per capita. Therefore relative income between 1595 and 1596 should be equivalent to 1901–1910.

On the other hand, wages for physical labour were lowered in a society where wealth was hoarded by elites. There was a largely forgiving attitude toward manual labourers in Mughal India, with some religious cults in northern India proudly proclaiming manual labour's high rank. Slavery did exist, although it was mostly limited to home servants.

The Mughal Empire improved agricultural production in India. Crops cultivated included food crops like wheat, rice, barley, and non-food cash crops like cotton, indigo, and opium. By the mid-seventeenth century, Indian farmers had begun to plant maise and tobacco, two new American crops. The Mughal government emphasised agrarian reform, which began under the non-Mughal ruler Sher Shah Suri and was continued by Akbar. The civil administration was structured in a hierarchical structure based on merit, with performance-based promotions. Irrigation systems were built across the empire by the Mughal government, which resulted in substantially higher crop yields and a larger net revenue base, resulting in enhanced agricultural production. Akbar instituted a new land taxation system known as zabt, which was an important Mughal innovation. He replaced the tribute system, which was popular in India and was also utilised by Tokugawa Japan, with a monetary tax system based on a single currency. In addition to increased market demand, the revenue system favoured higher-value cash commodities such as cotton, indigo, sugar cane, tree crops, and opium, offering state incentives to develop cash crops. The Mughals also conducted comprehensive cadastral surveys under the zabt system to estimate the area of land under plough cultivation, with the Mughal state encouraging further land cultivation by providing tax-free periods to individuals who brought new land under cultivation. Mughal agriculture was advanced in several aspects compared to European agriculture, as evidenced by the extensive use of the seed drill between Indian peasants before it became popular in Europe. While the average peasant in the rest of the globe could only cultivate a few crops, the average Indian peasant could cultivate a wide range of food and non-food crops, improving their production. Between 1600 and 1650, Indian peasants were quick to adapt to valuable new products from the New World, such as maise and tobacco, which were quickly accepted and widely cultivated across Mughal India. Bengali farmers quickly picked up mulberry and sericulture techniques, establishing Bengal Subah as a significant silk-producing region globally. Sugar mills first appeared in India around the time of the Mughals. The use of a drawbar for sugar milling was first documented in Delhi in 1540, but it may have been used earlier, and it was mostly employed in the northern Indian subcontinent. By the 17th century, Mughal India had developed geared sugar rolling mills that used rollers and caterpillar gearing.

India contributed nearly 25% of the world's industrial output until 1750. The Mughal Empire exported manufactured goods and cash crops all over the world. Textiles, shipbuilding, and steel were all important industries. Cotton cloths, yarns, thread, silk, jute products, metalware, and foods like sugar, oils, and butter were among the processed goods. The expansion of manufacturing industries in the Indian subcontinent during the Mughal Empire in the 17th–18th centuries has been referred to as proto-industrialisation, comparable to what happened in 18th-century Western Europe before the Industrial Revolution. Products from Mughal India, particularly cotton textiles and spices, peppers, dye, silks, and saltpetre, were in high demand in early modern Europe (for use in munitions). Mughal Indian fabrics and silks, for example, became increasingly important in European fashion. Mughal India contributed for 95% of British imports from Asia from the late 17th century to the early 18th century, and the Bengal Subah province alone accounted for 40% of Dutch imports from Asia.

On the other hand, Mughal India had a limited need for European commodities because it was generally self-sufficient. Therefore Europeans had little to sell except woollens, raw metals, and a few luxury products. Because of the trade deficit, Europeans had to export enormous amounts of gold and silver to Mughal India to pay for imports from South Asia. Other Asian marketplaces, such as Indonesia and Japan, received considerable quantities of Indian commodities, particularly Bengal.

Textile Manufacturing

Textile manufacturing, particularly cotton textile manufacturing, was the greatest industrial business in the Mughal Empire, with portion goods, calicos, and muslins available unbleached and in various colours. Cotton textiles accounted for a significant portion of the empire's overseas trade. In the early 18th century, India controlled 25% of the world textile trade. In the 18th century, Indian cotton textiles were the most important manufactured items in world trade, being consumed from the Americas to Japan. Mughal Indian textiles were used to clothe people throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East by the early 18th century. The Bengal region, notably around its capital city of Dhaka, was the most important centre of cotton production. Bengal supplied more than half of the textiles and nearly all of the silks purchased by the Dutch from Asia; Bengali silk and cotton textiles were exported in enormous quantities to Europe, Indonesia, and Japan; and Bengali muslin textiles from Dhaka were sold in Central Asia as "daka" textiles. In the early 18th century, Indian textiles dominated the Indian Ocean trade, were sold in the Atlantic Ocean trade and had a 38 percent share of the West African trade. In contrast, Indian calicos were a major force in Europe, and Indian textiles accounted for 20% of the total English trade with Southern Europe. The caterpillar gear roller cotton gin was invented in India during the early Delhi Sultanate era of the 13th–14th centuries, and the Mughal Empire adopted it during the 16th century. It is still in use in India today. Another innovation, the use of a crank handle in the cotton gin, was first seen in India during the late Delhi Sultanate or early Mughal Empire. Cotton production, which may have been largely spun in villages and then transported to towns in the method of yarn to be woven into cloth textiles, was aided by the spread of the rotating wheel across India shortly before the Mughal era, which helped to lower yarn costs and increase demand for cotton. During the Mughal era, the invention of the spinning wheel and the combination of the caterpillar equipment and crank handle into the roller cotton gin resulted in a massive increase in Indian cotton textile production.

Shipbuilding Trade

Mughal India had a thriving shipbuilding industry, which was based mostly in Bengal. Indrajit Ray, an economic historian, estimates Bengal's shipbuilding productivity in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries at 223,250 tons per year, compared to 23,061 tons produced in nineteen North American colonies from 1769 to 1771. In Bengal, he also considers ship repair to be quite sophisticated. In comparison to European shipbuilding, Indian shipbuilding, notably in Bengal, was advanced, with Indians selling ships to European enterprises. The advent of a flushing deck design in Bengal rice ships was a significant advancement in shipbuilding, resulting in stronger and less prone to leakage than the structurally weak hulls of classic European ships manufactured with a stepped deck design. The flushing deck and hull designs of Bengal rice ships were later imitated by the British East India Company in the 1760s, yielding considerable advancements in seaworthiness and navigation for European ships throughout the Industrial Revolution.

From the time it was engaged over by the Mughals in 1590 until the British East India Company regained control in 1757, the Bengal Subah region was extremely rich. It was the richest province of the Mughal Empire. In India, rice, silks, and cotton textiles were heavily reliant on Bengali products. Europeans relied on Bengali items such as cotton textiles, silks, and opium from afar; Bengal, for example, accounted for 40% of Dutch imports from Asia, including more than 50% of textiles and over 80% of silks. Saltpetre was also exported from Bengal to Europe, opium was sold in Indonesia, raw silk was delivered to Japan and the Netherlands, and cotton and silk fabrics were supplied to Europe, Indonesia, and Japan. As he began converting many of Bengal's forests into farmland, Akbar played a vital role in establishing Bengal as a premier economic centre. He brought equipment and soldiers to clear jungles to develop cultivation and Sufis to open the rainforests to farming as soon as he invaded the region. Mughal kings later referred to Bengal as the Paradise of Nations. Agrarian changes, such as the contemporary Bengali calendar, were introduced by the Mughals. Harvests, tax collection, and Bengali culture in general, including the New Year and Autumn celebrations, were all influenced by the calendar. Grain, salt, fruits, liquors and wines, precious metals, and ornaments were all major exports from the region. The region's handloom industry thrived under royal warrants, making it a global muslin trade hub during the 17th and 18th centuries. Dhaka, the provincial capital, became the empire's commercial capital. Under the tutelage of Sufis, the Mughals increased cultivated land in the Bengal delta, solidifying the foundation of Bengali Muslim civilisation. Bengal obtained semi-independence as a dominion under the Nawab of Bengal in 1717, after 150 years of Mughal viceroy control. The Nawabs allowed European companies, especially those from the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, and Austria, to open commercial stations. In major cities and towns, an Armenian community dominated banking and shipping. Europeans recognised Bengal as the most prosperous trading centre. The British had supplanted the Mughal ruling elite in Bengal by the late 18th century.