Flows of Bullion and the Perception of Maritime Space: Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century

The historiography of the Mughal empire offers a study in contrasts. At one level, there is forceful articulation of the Mughals as preeminent political force with vast dominions, high culture, sophisticated administrative apparatus, and powerful military. However, it is somewhat ironical that when the focus veers to the maritime space, the consensus seems to hold that the Mughals were largely indifferent to maritime developments. But it is important to point out that the foundation of Mughal empire rested on the maintenance of strong army and robust economy which, in their context, entailed regular supplies of superior breeds of horses and bullion, respectively, from abroad because of their lack of local availability. So, the present article, by focusing on the supplies of bullion and its strategic utilities, argues that the Mughal reliance on the maritime routes to secure these supplies worked to transform their perception of the maritime space from indifference to proactive engagement.