Book Review - Merchants of Tamilakam

Book on Business History and Trade
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A very underrated subject caught my attention and hence decided to pick up and read this book, after reading this book
about the merchants from Tamilakam I can confidently say the seeds of globalization started way back during this era ie about 1500 years back.

The book draws data and facts from multiple sources to trace and undertand the political,business and trade ennvironment
that was prevalent in Tamilakam. Tamilakam refers to the area in the Deccan plateau predominantly consisting of people
bound by the Tamil language.

Trade with the outside world was something that came naturally to the merchants of Tamilakam, there are many pieces of historical
evidences which show trade happening with Rome in the 2nd and 3rd century, merchants from Tamil country exporting spices in exchange for metals, horses, brocade etc etc from the Roman mechants.

The Sangam Era was also a important phase where trade with the external world only increased with Tamil merchants taking big risks and travelling to China and south East Asia to sell their goods.

There are numerous instances in the tamil epics like Silappatikaram and Manimekalai which talks about the role and the various aspects of trade by the merchants of Tamilakam. Tamil Country had a big advantage of a long coastline and the merchants used it to their advantage to travel by ship across the high seas and establish trade links, the ports of Mamallapuram, Tondi, Nagapattinam were major trading ports built during the 5th-10th century.

The various dynasties that ruled Tamilakam like the Pallavas, Pandyas and the Cholas and their support to the merchant community have been well highlighted. Of all the dynasties the Cholas deserve a special mention as they used military conquest to not just capture new territory but also to grow trade and business.The phenomenon of why urbanization which lead to formation of cities like Kanchi, Madurai, Tanjavur which became major trading hubs and market places has been explained well.

The role of the temples, how they were funded, what standing they had in the socio,political and economic aspects of society during this era is detailed out well in the book. How merchant guilds across different trades were formed to protect their interest and negotiate better is something which we see today also in industry trade associations is also explained in detail. Capital formation, tax structure and collection , city administration , monetisation of state and temple assets are all concepts which were well used in this period itself.

A quick read to get a glimpse of our rich business and trade history.