Question

What were the reasons for the decline of Surat?

Answer 1

Hint: Surat is known as Gateway to the West. The main attractions of Surat were the textile industries, majorly dealing with Zari. The market of Surat was popular for traders coming from West Asia and Europe.

Step by step answer:
The Portuguese, English, and Dutch had their factories and warehouses based in Surat, around the 17th century. Its geographical location was one of the major factors of its flourish. Since it was a coastal city, it was convenient for the traders to handle the exports and imports. Another important component of the city’s history is the banking houses of the Kathiawad seths and the Mahajans. Besides trades in textile, Surat also specialized in precious stones and gems such as Topaz along with precious metals.

However, towards the end of the 17th century, the importance of Surat started to decline. During that period, the East India Company started trading in India. As a result, they started territorial expansion in other coastal cities and port towns to have direct control. Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras were declared presidencies and hence was a place of importance in terms of trade and administration. As these presidencies developed, the formerly famous cities like Surat started to lose its popularity and the edge in the competition. As a result, the merchants, traders, and shipbuilders shifted their activities from Surat to Bombay.


Note: It is important to understand that Surat did not decline due to the growth of Bombay. As a matter of fact, Bombay grew only because Surat was in decline.