SALTPETRE TRADE AND INDUSTRY IN BENGAL SUBAH, 1650-1720

Author(s): Susil Chaudhuri

Source: Proceedings of the Indian History Congress , 1973, Vol. 34, VOLUME I (1973), pp.
263-270
Published by: Indian History Congress

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44138643

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

Indian History Congress is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Proceedings of the Indian History Congress

This content downloaded from

3.6.73.78 on Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:45:23 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 SALTPETRE TRADE AND INDUSTRY IN
BENGAL SUBAH, 1650-1720

Susil Chaudhuri ( Calcutta )

In the second half of the 17th century, saltpetre was an important

item in the export list of the European Companies trading in Bengal. As
an essential ingredient of gunpowder it was in great demand in the West.
Besides as it could be used as saleable ballast, its export was of additional
advantage to the Companies which otherwise had to take the uneconomic
method of using iron as ballast to make the deep-sea ships sailworthy. It
was only in the early twenties of the seventeenth century that the shortage
of saltpetre in England and the increasing difficulty in obtaining supplies
of gunpowder had turned the attention of the English Company to the
possibility of importing this chemical from India. The first supply however
reached England only in 1626.1 And once established the saltpetre trade
displayed a consistent growth, though the real expansion did not take place
till after the Civil War.
The chief sources of saltpetre supply till the beginning of the forties
were mainly Coromandel and Gujarat. Thevenot, the French merchant,
recorded in 1666 the process of its manufacture in Ajmer from whence it
Was carried to the seaports of Western India and purchased by the
Europeans cto ballast their ships and to sell elsewhere'.2 But Coromandel
seems to have supplied the main bulk of this commodity to the Europeans
before 1640s. In 1624 and 1625, 270,000 lbs. (Dutch) and 286,434 lbs.
(Dutch) respectively of saltpetre were exported to Batavia from Coromandel.
In the late thirties however Bengal saltpetre supplemented those from the
Coast.3 From the fifties Bengal definitely replaced Coromandel as the chief
source of supply.
Saltpetre was produced in Bihar mainly in the neighbourhood of
Patna where it was available in abundance. The discovery of this source
revolutionized the Company's saltpetre trade and led to its tremendous
expansion in the second half of the 17th and first half of the 18th centuries.
A Dutch report of 1 688 gives interesting details regarding the annual out-
put, the names of the parganas producing saltpetre, and the officials who
owned or administered these tracts. According to this, the total output a

263

This content downloaded from

3.6.73.78 on Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:45:23 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 264

year amounted to 226,200mds. (raw) and when refined {dobara-cabessa) the

figure stood at 127,238 mds. Of this amount, as the report runs, 1,200 mds.
were sent to Hugli, 3000 mds. to Dacca, and 7,000 mds. were retained for
Patna guupowder factory. The rest amounting to 105,238 mds. were left
for export.4
The saltpetre procured at Patna was considered the best in quality for
the manufacture of gunpowder. Moreover the price of Bengal saltpetre
was cheaper than that of other places.5 It was reported in 1650 that salt-
petre cost only Re. 1 per maund at Patna, though the customs and freight
for bringing it to Hugli would raise the price to Re. 1.12 annas per
maund.® Again from the point of transportation, Bengal saltpetre enjoyed
another advantage. The cheaper and more convenient transport down
the Gangas enabled the Company to despatch cargoes of saltpetre from
Patna to Hugli for lading Europe-bound ships and also for supplying Madras
with ballast for its vessels. All these considerations coupled with the enhanc-
ed demand from England and Europe encouraged the Company to drive an
extensive trade in Bengal saltpetre.
There were generally three varieties of saltpetre - the refined one
called dobara-cabessa or culmy , the twice boiled or dobara and the crude
variety termed cutckha or raw.7 The European Companies generally expor-
ted refined saltpetre as otherwise it could not be used for making gun-
powder. Moreover the export of raw or crude variety was uneconomic as
it increased freight charges while custom duties remained the same on both
refined and crude varieties.8 The Companies often undertook the refining
in their own factories. The Dutch Company procured large quantities of
saltpetre from Patna and shipped it direct to Batavia after refining it at
Hugli or Pipli. As a matter of fact, as early as 1640-41, the Dutch set up
a refinery at Pipli with copper kettles imported from Holland.8 Tavernier
stated in the sixties of the 17th century that the Dutch refined saltpetre at a
'large village called Chapra, situated on the right bank of the Ganges',
about twenty miles above Patna.10
The English Company too, it seems, refined its saltpetre at Singhee
or Patna.11 The refining, in order to remove impurities, was usually done
by the Indian methods of evaporation in which earthen vessels were used. In
1652 the English factors reported that the great difficulty in refining was for
want of convenient copper pans. Refining in great earthen pots was tedious
and troublesome because those pots very often broke in the middle of pro-
cessing. As suitable copper pans were not locally available, the Company
decided to divert to this purpose appliances which had been sent out for
making sugar at Assada in Madagascar.12 The cost of refining, however,
yyas very small being only 1/4 Qf ąn anrça per maund,13 The English

This content downloaded from

3.6.73.78 on Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:45:23 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 265

Company once attempted to refine saltpetre at Calcutta but abandoned

the experiment as it was found to be too expensive.14
An examination of the orders for saltpetre sent from England reveals
that the quantities ordered depended on two main factors. First, in times of
war the quantities required to be sent from Bengal naturally went up while
in peace time they were greatly reduced. Secondly, the quantities ordered
depended on the requirement of the ships for their ballast or 'kinteledge'.
Saltperťe was used as ballast not only for Bengal ships but also for ships
sailing from Madras, Masulipatam, Bantam or Bencoolen. The order for
Bengal saltpetre increased steadily from the foundation of the English factory
in Hugli in 1651 till 1681 when for the first time there was a sudden decline
in the quantities ordered. There were two obvious reasons for this reduc-
tion in the order. There was then little demand for saltpetre in Europe
which by then was temporarily relieved of war. Secondly, it was from
1681 that there was a sudden boom in the demand for Bengal silk and
piece-goods which shifted the emphasis in the Company's export trade in
favour of the latter commodities.
In the early years of the Company's trade in Bengal, saltpetre defini-
tely ranked as the primary object of commerce, and not merely a make-
weight. In 1651, the factors in Bengal were instructed to invest half of
their capital in saltpetre alone and in case the factors ran up debts the Court
gave special instruction that 'let it be for this commodity'.15 In the early
years of its trade, the order was generally for 200 to 600 tons, while in the
eighties it went upto 800 to 1000 tons a year, the highest order being for
1500 tons in 1682. The Dutch East India Company's order for saltpetre
from Bengal for Holland itself far surpassed that of the English Company
throughout the period, and the former also supplied its other Asiatic fac-
tories, specially Bantam and Ceylon from Bengal. In the first two decades
of the eighteenth century the demand for Bengal saltpetre for Holland only
stood consistently between 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 Dutch lbs.16
The supply condition in saltpetre trade was more or less smooth
enough for securing an extensive trade in that commodity. The only inhi-
biting factor was the occasional attempts by local officials to monopolize the
trade. Mir Jumla made such an attempt but with little success.17 The
next Subadar Shaista Khan tried to monopolize the trade and sent his gents
to Patna who 'obstructed and hindered' the procurement of saltpetre by the
Europeans. When the English appealed to him, he demanded 20,000 mds.
of saltpetre from them on the pretext of his Arakan war.18 Prince Azim-us-
Shan made a similar attempt in 1699. He sent an agent to Patna to buy
between 40,000 and 50,000 mds. of saltpetre on the plea of making gun-
powder for his intended attack oņ Arakan. But ultimately his initial plan of

This content downloaded from

3.6.73.78 on Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:45:23 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 266

making cent per cent profit on an investment of rupees one lakh failed
miserably.19
The saltpetre was generally procured through assomies or petremen
to whom money was advanced in the right season.20 Often murchant-
middlemen were also employed for procuring saltpetre. In May 1683, the
Company contracted for 4120 mds. of saltpetre (at Re. 1| p.md.) with three
able 'petremen; 'Bucktmall,' 'Muluckchanď and 'Siabray' who had pro-
vided all the Company's saltpetre in the previous year, and now gave good
security against fulfilment of the contract.21 But official rapacity occassional-
ly made the petremen hide out in which case the Company had to deal
with the merchant -middlemen who demanded a greater price than the
ordinary petremen or assomies. Thus in 1681, the Patna factors reported
that they dealt with one merchant, namely Probhat (Terévotť) who would
not deal at the same price as the assomies on the ground of the trouble
given by the nawab and his officers.52 In general, the competition in the
saltpetre market was confined mostly among the European Companies,
specially the English and the Dutch. Both these Companies were appre-
hensive - not without much reason - that the others try fo engross the trade.
As a consequence the English Compony asked their factors to carry on with
the investment in saltpetre even in the time of war when they could hardly
send the commodity for want of shipping.23
This competition amongst the Europeans had often its impact on the
prices. The English factors once claimed that the price of saltpetre was much
reduced when the Dutch had left Patna.24 The interlopers too were compe-
titors in the market specially in the eighties of the seventeenth century. In
1684 the Patna factors reported that Purusuttom Das and Jadu Das - who
were formerly Dutch gomasta , and provided the interlopers with saltpetre in
the various years - again procured for the interlopers great quantities <?f refin-
ed saltpetre which made the coarse variety scarce and raised their price. But
when the interlopers failed to come, the two merchants, hard pressed by
the creditors for money, tried to sell the commodity for whatever price
they could get. But the English and the Dutch Companies 'plagued them
sufficiently5 and agreed not to buy an ounce of them so that fthey might be
sufficient losers and be made examples to prevent others' from following
their steps in future.25
An analysis of the price of saltpetre shows a general upward trend
throughout the period, though with exceptions during certain years.26 Of
course, it is difficult to find out precisely the cost price of saltpetre as it
depended on certain factors, e.g., the place and time of purchase as also on
the variety bought. As noted earlier, the price of saltpetre at Patna in
Dec. 1650 was Re. 1 per md. while with charges for freight, it amounted to

This content downloaded from

3.6.73.78 on Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:45:23 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 267

Re. 1-1/4 at Hugli. But the English bought the same variety for the ships
despatched that year at Re. 1-5/8 per md.27 In other words, the English had
to pay 5% more for the commodity during the shipping season. The price
at Patna was about 40 to 50% cheaper than that in Hugli.28 In 1659-60 the
English factors procured saltpetre at Re. 1-1/8 per md. at Patna which indi-
cates a 12-1/2% rise in price than that in 1650-51. 29 At the end of our
period, i.e., in 1719-20 the average price of saltpetre was about Rs. 5 per md.
This was generally the price in Hugli and definitely it shows a rise of about
300% from that in the beginning of our period. This tremendous rise in
the price over the period can only be explained by the competition among
the European Companies and their heavy demand on the supply. When
the English first began trade in saltpetre in 1650-51, there was only the
Dutch Company who used to export the commodity from Patna. So the
former found saltpetre very cheap. But with the growth of the English
trade and the heavy demand by the Europeans on the market, the price
soared accordingly. The other contributory factors for fluctuations in prices
appear to be the occasional attempts at monopoly by local rulers as also
the uncertain weather conditions. It was reported that more saltpetre was
procurable in dry seasons than during the rains.30
During 1663-64 and 1664-65 the price of saltpetre was Rs. 3 per md.
while the treble refined variety cost Rs. 3.3/4. It ranged between Rs. 2 to
Rs. 3.2 from 1668-69 to 1675-76 with a sudden rise to over Rs. 4 during
the years 1676-77 and 1678-79. In the eighties however the average price
was about Rs. 2 with the lowest figure of Rs. 1.6 in 1682-83. But in the
nineties the average price was over Rs. 3 per md. During the first decade of
the 18th century it went up high and stood at Rs. 4 per md. which was the
trend in the second decade too, only with the exception of 1712-13 when
the price went up to Rs. 6 per md. However it must be pointed out that
fluctuations in cost price of saltpetre did not have any determining influence
on the amount procured by the European Companies. The main considera-
tions were the ballast requirements for the returning ships and the market
conditions in Europe.
The quantities of saltpetre actually exported by the English Company
from Bengal over the period under review show fluctuations though the
general trend was one of expansion, reaching the peak in the eighties and
then sloping downwards in the nineties, only to rise gradually again in the
subsequent years. These fluctuations depended on various factors which
can be generalised as the demand from England, the available supply and
the requirements for the Company's shipping from Bengal, In 1663-64 the
Company exported 913,650 lbs. of saltpetre which rose to 990,450 lbs. in
1664-65. There was a phenomenal rise in 1668-69 when 1,977,300 lbs.

This content downloaded from

3.6.73.78 on Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:45:23 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 268

were exported from Bengal though the figure fell to as low a level as
712, 950 lbs. The boom in the export of saltpetre began in 1681 82 and
continued upto 1685-86. The following table will indicate the fluctuations
in the export of saltpetre from the eighties till the end of the period under
review.31
Saltpetre Export : Quinquennial Total
Years Quantities Average
1681-82- 1685-86 6,298,208 lbs. 1,259,641 lbs.
1690-91-1695-96 2,652,964 „ 530,592 „
(Excluding 1691-92)
1696.97-1706-01 2,226,132 „ 445,226 „
1701-02-1706.07 3,785,486 „ 757,097 „
(Excluding 1703-04)
1710-11-1714-15 4,202,514 „ 840,502 „
1715-16-1719-20 5,352,689 „ 1,070,537 „
The Dutch East India Company exported a far
saltpetre from Bengal than its English counterpa
export to Holland and the Asiatic factories amoun
lbs.32 Even in the first two decades of lhe 18th ce
to Holland far surpassed that of the English. Durin
1702-3, 1704-5 the Dutch exported to Holland 8,4
average of 2,381,918 lbs. yearly. The average an
during the quinquennial periods 1705-6, 1710-1 1
was 2,999,7891bs. (Dutch) and 3,884,405 lbs. (Du
indicates that the Dutch trade in Bengal saltpetre w
of the English.33
Though the quantities of saltpetre exported ann
Company seem to be impressive, the total value o
trade in proportion to the value of total exports of th
In the sixties the total value of saltpetre exporte
constituted about 20 to 25 p.c. of the total value o
in 1668-69. But its share during the slump which
only 4% of the total value of the Company's expor
that year witnessed a boom in the absolute quantit
by the Company. This decline in value continu
formed only 1*5 % of the total value of the expo
rise in 1704-5 when it stood at 22*7% but grad
Then onward it varied between 3 to 4 p.c. of t
Company's exports.

This content downloaded from

3.6.73.78 on Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:45:23 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 269

REFERENCES

1. Court Book, ix, p. 320, 5 Jan. 1627.

2. S.N. Sen (ed.), Indian Travels of Thevenot and Car eri, New Delhi,
P . 74.
3. T. Raychaudhuri, Jan Company in Coromandel , The Hauge, 1962, pp.l68-(59#
4. K.A . 1343, ff. 748vo-749vo; for pargana-wise breakdown, see Table 1,
5. Price of Patna Saltpetre was just half of that of Ahmedabad saltpetre, c.f.,
Moreland, From Akbar to Aurangzeb, London, 1923, p. 121; Price of saltpetre at Hugli
was £6 per ton while at the Coast it was £8 to £9 in 1659-1660, D.B.; Vol. 84, if. 411-12;
Vol. 85, if. 334.
6. O.C., 15 Dec. 1651, no. 2188, Vol. 22.
7. Fact . Records', Hugli, Vol. 10, f. 235.
8. D.B., Vol. 95, f. 232.
9. T. Raychaudhuri, op . cit., pp. 169-70.
10. Tavernier, Travels in India , trans V. Ball, London, 1889, Vol. 1, p. 122.
11. Fact. Records, Misc., Vol. 3, f. 63; Vol. XIV, if. 331-32.
12. O.C., Jan 14, 1652, no, 2246, Vol. 22. E.F.Ī., 1651-54 p. 95.
13. Bengal Public Consultations , Range 1. Vol. 6, f. 488a.
14. D.B., 3 Feb. 1 720, Vol. 100, f. 224.
15. O.C., 10 Feb. 1651, no. 2208, Vol. 22; Ibid. 25 Feb. 1651, no. 2210, Vol. 22.
E.F.I. , 1651-54, pp. 45, 47.
16. For the list of Dutch Company's orders for Bengal goods, see K.A. Vols.
1556, 1581, 1584, 1622, 1636, 1653, 1669, 1688, 1720, 1734, 1746, 1776, 1804.
17. E.F.I., 1661-1764, pp. 69-71.
18. Fact. Records, Hugli, Consult. U July 1674; E.F.I. , 1661-64, pp. 395-96
19. Fact. Records , Calcutta , Vol. 3, Pt. II, f. 87.
20. Fact. Records , Hngli , Vol. 10, f. 194.
21. Fact. Records, Patna , Vol. 1. pt. IV, f. 18.
22. Fact. Records , Hugli , Vol. 10, f. 194.
23. D.B., Vol. 86, ff. 504-5; Vol. 86, if. 522-23, Vol. 87, f. 39.
24. Fact. Records , Calcutta , Vol. 11, pt. II, if. 2-3.
25. Fact. Records, Hugli, Vol. 10, f. 235.
26. See Table 11.
27. O.C., 15 Dec. 1650, no. 2188, Vol. 22; E.F.I., 1651-54, pp. 337-38.
28. D.B. , 28 Jan. 1659, Vol. 84, f. 414.
29. O.C., 15 Dec. 1659, no. 2833, Vol. 26; E.F.I., 1655-60, p. 29.
30. O.C., 1 Sept. 1665, no. 3069, Vol.29.
31. See, relevant volumes of A.G.D.
32. K.A , 1164, if. 380- 382voģ, The Dutch lb. is equivalent to £1.09 English lb.
approx. cf. T. Ray Chaudhuri, op. cit , p. 223.
33. For the list of Dutch export from Bengal, see K.A. Vols. 15 56, 1581, 1584,
1622, 1653, 1669, 1688, 1720, 1734, 1746, 1776, 1804.

This content downloaded from

3.6.73.78 on Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:45:23 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 270

Manuscript Sources & Abbreviations

A.G.D Accountant General's Dept., India Office Library, London.

Beng. Public Consult. Bengal Public Consultations, India Office, London.
D.B. Despatch Book, India Office Library, London.
K.A. Kolonical Archief, Rijksarchief, The Hague.
E.F.I. English Factories in India, ed. W. Foster.
Fact. Records Factory Records, Hugli, Calcutta, Patna, Mise, I.O.L.,
London.

This content downloaded from

3.6.73.78 on Sat, 28 Nov 2020 06:45:23 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms