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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 June 2011
The history of Indian shipbuilding is a relatively well-studied topic. There are two strands of literature on Indian shipping. First there is the Indian: R.N. Mukherjee (1923) is, in spite of some minor criticism which could be levelled at it, still the basic work on the topic. Among the more recent contributions should be mentioned those of L. Gopal and J. Qaisar. The second strand is Portuguese. Much of the Portuguese work on ‘Portuguese’ shipbuilding in the sixteenth century deals with shipbuilding in Goa. Now, was this ‘Portuguese’ shipbuilding or ‘Indian’ shipbuilding? ‘European’ and ‘Indian’ technology were so closely interlinked on the west coast of India that it is impossible to make a clear distinction. The seminal contributions on this topic are the already very well-established works of Commodore Quirinho da Fonsequa and of Frazāo de Vasconselhos. Their articles, which have appeared in several Portuguese journals, very much deserve an English translation. More recently the important work by A. Marques Esparteiro on the ships used in the carreira da Índia has appeared.
1 Mookherji, R.K., Indian Shipping: A History of Seaborne Trade and Maritime Activities in India from the Earliest Times (Bombay 1967)Google Scholar; Qaisar, A.J., The Indian Response to European Science and Technology (New Delhi 1982)Google Scholar; ibid., ‘Shipbuilding in the Mughal Empire during the Seventeenth Century’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review 5/2Google Scholar; Gopal, L., ‘Indian Shipbuilding in Early Medieval Period’, Vivekanand Commemoration Volume (Madras 1970) 108–116Google Scholar.
2 Fonsequa, A. Quirinho da, ‘C problema das caracterícas dos galeöes Portuguêses’, Memorias da academia das ciências de Lisbon I, 151–167Google Scholar; Vierbo, F. de Sousa, Trabalhos náuticos dos Portugueses nos séculos XVI e XVII (repr.; Lisbon 1989)Google Scholar; Vasconselhos, Frazäo de, ‘Uma nova achega para a historia da fabrica das naus da carreira da India no século XVII’ and A marinha da coroa de Portugal nos tempos dos Filipes’ in: Trabalhos nauticos dos Portugueses (Lisbon 1960)Google Scholar; Esparteiro, A. Marquês, Tres séculos no mar. Ementa historica das naos Portugueses. I: Caravelas e galiöes (Lisbon 1974)Google Scholar; Ibid. II: Naus e Navetas (Lisbon 1975)Google Scholar.
3 Thus, e.g., Domingues, F.C., ‘Experiência e conhecimento na construçäo naval Portuguese no século XVI’, Revista da Universidade de Coimbra 33 (1985) 339–364Google Scholar.
4 Mauro, F., Portugal, o Brasil e o Atldntico (Lisbon 1989) 62Google Scholar.
5 Such as, for the Arabian peninsula, that of Bowen, R.L., Arab Dhows of Eastern Arabia (Rehoboth 1948)Google Scholar.
6 And these have been far from exhausted, thus, I suppose the ‘Bombay General journals and ledgers’ in the Commonwealth Relations Office must contain a wealth of material on shipbuilding in Bombay, as do the Cowan papers in the Public Records Office at Belfast, which I only had occasion to examine briefly.
7 This essay is based mainly upon two sources: ‘Vertoog hoedanig de Inlandse Schepen hier, tot Suratte, Gemeenelijk Werden Gebouwd door Gelmer Vosburg’ 1689, General State Archive - The Hague (ARA), Archief Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (VOC), 1450; and ‘Livro náutico ou medida prática da construçäo das naos e galés’ 1580, Bibliotheca National - Lisbon (BNL), Fundo Geral, 2257.
8 Parefer of Dom Francisco da Costa 14 November 1691, Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino - Lisbon (AHU), [Papeis vultos da] Índia, Caixa (ex.) 35, no. 98.
9 Consulta Conselho Ultramarino 5 February 1697, AHU, India, Cx. 39, 10.
10 [Political council at factory in] Persia to [Governor-General and Council at] Batavia 6 February 1664, ARA, VOC 1325, f. 778.
11 ‘Specificatie van ‘t Gegasteerde aen den Nieuwen Siamesen Bodem Genoemt ‘t Kasteel van Batavia door den Nachoda Majlis Chan en den Benjaensen Kooplieden Wermali Das en Sonder Das’ (‘specificatie’), ARA, VOC 1439.
12 Gentlemen XVII to Batavia 6 October 1688, ARA, VOC 322, f. 496 vo.
13 Consulta Conselho da fazen-U 9 January 1640, AHU, Codice 210, f. 76 vo.
14 ‘Instructie voor de Heer Antonio Caen’, ARA, VOC, Uitgaand Briefboek Batavia 862, f. 323 vo.
15 King to Viceroy 24January 1617, Arquivo National Torre do Tombo - Lisbon (ANTT), Colleccao de Sao Vicente, Mss. 18, f. 107; ‘Arematacoes das rendas’. Historical Archives of Goa (HAG), Panaji, India, Mss.656.
16 Consulta Conselho da Fazenda (Lisbon) 23 January 1640, AHU, Códice 210, f. 100–102. Compare Boxer, C.R., ‘Admiral Joao Corte Real and the Construction of Portuguese EastIndiamen’ in: From Lisbon to Goa 1500–1800 (London 1984) chapter 8Google Scholar; and Vasconselhos, A. Frazao de, Subsidies para a historia da carreira da India no tempo dos Felipes (Lisbon 1960)Google Scholar.
17 Alfonso Goncalves Perreira to Crown 10 February 1643, AHU, Índia, Cx. 11, 38; António Telles da Silva to conselho da fazenda 19 December 1698, AHU, Índia 41, 84.
18 Viceroy to King 10 January 1637, AHU, Índia, cx. 12, 85.
19 ‘Livro das receitas e depezas deste cidade de Goa’, AHU, Codice 218, fo. 7, 15; ‘Peticoes despachadas para o conselho da fazenda’ sub 13 November 1685, HAG, 1128, f. 96.
20 Barcelos, C.J. de Senna, ‘Construçöes de naus em Lisboa e Goa para a carreira da Índioa no começo do seculo XVII’, Boletim da sodedade de geographia de Lisbon 17/1 (1898) 1–72Google Scholar.
21 Alvara 1613, ANTT, Manuscritos da Casa Forte no. 63, f. 24; Vengurla to Batavia 23 February 1664, ARA, VOC 1246, f. 1404; this galleon was leased to the Sahibi Begam, however, only after a competitive offer made by the English.
22 Carta Regia 15 November 1646, AHU, Códice 58,77–77 vo; Consulta Conselho da Fazenda (Lisbon), AHU, Códice 210, 9 January 1640.
23 ‘Memorie van de Vaartuigen alhier (Cochin)’, ARA, VOC 141.6.
24 Boxer, C.R., A Índia Portuguese em meados do século XVII (‘Portuguese India in the Mid-Seventeenth Century’), (Lisbon 1982) 47Google Scholar; Viceroy to King 20 March 1676 and enclosed pareceres, HAG, Uvros dos Moncoes 41, ff. 78–85; Pedro da Silva to King 16 February 1636, ANTT, DRI 33, f. 246.
25 King to Viceroy 25 March 1636, AHU, India, ex. 12,85; ‘Relacao breve sobre os rendimentos desta fortalezza de Bacaim’, Bibliotheca Publica da Ajuda - Lisbon, Mss. 51-VII–30, f. 1 vo.
26 Wadia, R.A., The Bombay Dockyard and the Wadia Masterbuilders (Bombay 1982)Google Scholar; ‘Accresamento para o regimento de Bacaim’, HAG, Livro da provincia do Norte 1376; Instructions for Luis Francisco Coutinho, HAG, Livro dos regimentos e instrucoes 1424, f. 33; Henry Gary to Francisco de Azevedo 25 December 1678, Bibliotheca da Academia das ciencias - Lisbon (BAC), Manuscritos Azul 499.
27 ‘As causas porque as naos da India chegaräo a demasiada grandezza säo as sequintes’, Bibliotheca publica Évora - Portugal, mss. CV/2–7, f. 72–79; Simäo de Falcäo to King 25 December 1664, AHU, Índia, ex. 26, 40.
28 Souza, G.B., A sobrevivência do imperio: Os Portugueses na China (Lisbon 1991) 207Google Scholar.
29 It was used in the construction of the knees of the vessels. On the Brazilian wood trade see Livro Primeiro do Govemo do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro 1958) 25–32; Consulta conselho da fazenda (Goa) 3 October 1696, AHU, Índia, ex. 38, 72; Consulta Conselho Ultramarino 18 September 1647, AHU, Codice 14.
30 Jeronimo Rovalesco de Almeida to Conselho Ultramarino 2 December 1650, AHU, India, ex. 22, 6.
31 Gupta, A. Das, ‘Indian Merchants in the Western Indian Ocean: The Early Seventeenth Century’, Modem Asian Studies 19 (1985) 481CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
32 Lockyer, J., An Account of the Trade of India (London 1711) 258Google Scholar.
33 Surat to Batavia 10 October 1651, ARA, VOC 1185, f. 628 vo; Santen, H.W. Van, ‘De Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie in Gujarat en Hindustan 1620–1660’ (PhD diesis; University of Leiden 1982) 76Google Scholar; Gopal, S.N., ‘Gujarati Shipping in the Seventeenth Century’, Indian Economic and Social History Review 8/1 (1971) 31–39CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
34 ‘Rapport ende Consideration van den Schipper Jan van den Berg Voerende ‘t Galioot’ “t Hoen”’, ARA, VOC 1625, f. 187–188; Parecer by joäo de Sousa Coutinho 1681, HAG, Livros dos monçöes 46a.
35 On those wharves see Bowrey, T., A Geographic Account of the Countries round the Bay of Bengal, Temple, R.W. ed. (Cambridge 1905) 102–104Google Scholar; Coates, W.H., The Old ‘Country Trade’ of the East Indies (London 1911) 75–77Google Scholar.
36 ‘Reeckeninge wegens ‘t Nieuw Gebouwde Galioot Palicatta’, ARA, VOC 1212; Ryckloff Volckertsz. van Goens to Gentlemen XVII 1663, ARA, VOC 1239, f. 1150.
37 ‘Samentreckinge van Kosten Gemaakt bij ‘t Bouwen van ‘t Jagt Standvastigheid", ARA, VOC 1431.
38 Cochin to Gentlemen XVII 13January 1691, ARA, VOC 1474, f. 545–552.
39 Diego de Mello e Castro to Crown 13 December 1650, ANTT, DRI 60, f. 21.
40 ‘Rapport wegens den Visitatie en Bevindinge van alle Huisen’, ARA, Verzameling Hoge Regering Batavia (HRB) 839, ‘Memoir byj. Schreuder’, Appendix L; Surat consultation HJune 1694, ARA, VOC 1549, f. 364.
41 ‘Rapport wegens de Bevindinge’, ARA, HRB 834.
42 ‘Relacao dos rendimentos’, BNL, FG 8538.
43 ‘Livro das receitas e depezas do Estado da India’, BNL, Fundo Geral 1783.
44 The major source for this paragraph is: ‘Notitie wegens de Arbeytslonen in Surat’. ARA, HRB 862.
45 Thus, e.g., Kooiman, D., Koppelbazen, Kammunisten en Economische Crisis (Amsterdam 1978)Google Scholar.
46 ‘Gedaene Oncosten ter Bescherming van ‘s Compagnies Loge Haer Werf by Geruchten van Ramragie's Aan-Nadering’, ARA, VOC 1578, f. 148 vo–149.
47 Antonio Manuel de Lobo to King 21 December 1691, AHU, Índia, ex. 36.
48 I suspect these were children although Company records contain no evidence for the existence of child-labour in manufacture before 1700.
49 Surat to Batavia 16 May 1687: invoices Huis ter Spyck and De Beurs, ARA, VOC 1454.
50 ‘Specificatie ‘t Kasteel van Batavia’, ARA, VOC 1439.
51 ‘Samentrecking Kosten’, ARA, VOC 1435; I infer that the ‘Moorish’ sailors were from the Konkan coast from their payment in pagoda tibeti (coins current in Vengurla).
52 ‘Relaçäo dos rendimentos de Sua Majestade’, BNL, Fundo Geral 8538; ‘Relacao de que rende em que anno a Sua Majestade as terras e pracas que tern na India’, ANTT, Manuscritos do Convento de Graça, Tomo III–5.
53 ‘Translaet Persiaens Verbandschrift door Diverse Ambachtlieden aen Mir Huseym gedaen’, ARA, VOC 1406, f. 1092; unfortunately it is not possible to infer anything about the caste composition of workers from the corrupted names used in the document
54 Bassein diaries 26 November 1676, Bibliotheca da Academia de ciencias - Lisbon, Manuscritos Azul, Lobo de Silveira papers 499; in the Portuguese documentation there is, by the way, a host of original petitions which prove that literacy was common amongst Indian merchants and shopkeepers.
55 Consulta Conselho Ultramarino 14 October 1696 and enclosures thereto, AHU, Índia, ex. 38, 79.
56 Qaisar, The Indian Response, 120–134. This paragraph is based largely upon ‘Vertoog’, ARA, VOC 1450, ff. 1359–1361.
57 ‘Reeckeninge wegens’, ARA, VOC 1212.
58 Surat to Batavia 16 May 1696, ARA, VOC 1549, f. 255 vo.
59 These are an appendix to BAC, Azul 513, Conde de Villa Verde papers.
60 At the beginning of the seventeenth century there were still ‘mayor quantidade de teca que, como se sabe, es incorruptible’ on the Ghats near Daman, which was exported to Bassein, Goa, and Cambay, but these forests appear to have been cut down by 1630 (Ajuda 51-vii–30, f. 120 vo).
61 ‘Notitie wegens de Houtwerken in Suratte’, ARA, HRB 826.
62 Cochin to Gendemen XVII 13 January 1691, ARA, VOC 1474, ff. 550–552.
63 ‘Treslado do registro das madeiras que para hoje foi embarcado na nao Nossa Senhora de Saude de Pena Longe’ 1636, AHU, India, ex. 12, 104; Cochin to Gendemen XVII lOJanuary 1690, ARA, VOC 1474, f. 17 vo.
64 Count of Aveiras to King 16 November 1640, ANTT, Documentos Remettidos da India 48, f. 16; ‘Livro das receitas e depezas’, AHU, Codice 182, f. 6 vo; Colombo to Batavia
13 June 1668, ARA, VOC 1268, ff. 1122–1122 vo.
65 ‘Schriftelijk Rapport omtrent de Ghelegenheyt van Candavar’, ARA, VOC 1313, ff. 474–476.
66 ‘Relaçäo de todos os rendimentos deste Estado da India’ 1610, Bibliotheca publica Évora CXVI/1–18.
67 ‘Notitie en Samentrecking van all ‘s Compagnies Dienaren’, ARA, VOC 1527.
68 Report to Cornells van Oudshoorn by Pieter Ketting, ARA, VOC 1611, f. 277 vo.
69 ‘Specificatie ‘t Kasteel van Batavia’, ARA, VOC 1439.
70 Surat to Batavia 21 April 1685, ARA, VOC 1416, f. 1552.
71 ‘Specificatie’, ARA, VOC 1431.
72 Report Pieter Ketting, ARA, VOC 1611, f. 276.
73 ‘Assento Conselho da fazenda’ March 1635, AHU, india, ex. 11, 47; ‘Certidao que passa o Senhor Manuel Alvarez de Figuereido’ 16 February 1637, AHU, India, ex. 12, 52.
74 K.N. Chaudhuri, Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean: An Economic History from the Rise of Islam to 1750 (Cambridge 1985) 150.
75 Captain of Bassein to Dom Lobo de Silveira 5 May 1677, BAC, Azul 58, f. 270.
76 Surat to Batavia 19 April 1678, ARA, VOC 1340, f. 1518.
77 Conde de Villaverde to King Pedro II 15 December 1696, BAC, Azul 513, ff. 53–53 vo.
78 Surat to Batavia 10 May 1682, ARA. VOC 1379, f. 2548 vo; Surat to Batavia 24 April 1656. ARA, VOC 1212, f. 547.
79 ‘Consulta Conselho da fazenda’ 7 December 1638, AHU, Codice 210, f. 57; Pedro da Silva to King 21 March 1637, ANTT, DRI, 45, f. 15.
80 Gentlemen XVII to Batavia 1686, ARA, VOC 322, f. 386.
81 Heeres, J.E. and Chijs, A. van der eds, Dagregisler Cehouden in ‘t Kasteel Batavia Rakende ‘t PrindpaelsU doer Gepasseerd ter Plaatse [1681] (Batavia and The Hague 1887-1931) 330Google Scholar.
82 Pareçer Duarte Mathias, HAG, Livros dos monçoes.
83 Gentlemen XVII to Batavia 4 November 1673, ARA, VOC 320; Mookherji, Indian Shipping, 13.
84 Çizakça, M., ‘Ottomans and the Mediterranean: An Analysis of the Ottoman Shipbuilding Industry as Reflected by the Arsenal Registers of Istanbul’ in: Ragosta, R. ed., Le Gente del Mar nuditerraneo (Naples 1981) 773–787Google Scholar.
85 Apte, K.N., A History of the Maratha Navy and Merchant Shipping (Bombay 1973)Google Scholar.
86 A point already indicated long ago by Parkinson, C. Northcote, Trade in Eastern Seas 1793–1813 (Cambridge 1937) 324–328Google Scholar, but oddly still an ignored position.