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The Daily Star, Bangladesh
June 21 2013
The trading diaspora
The East India Company's observation in 1699 about the Armenians that
`most certainly they are the most ancient merchants of the world' was
perhaps no exaggeration.
From the beginning to the end of the pre-modern era, Armenian
merchants ventured out of their homeland to different parts of Asia
and Europe. They settled in important cities and ports far away from
home.
And thus they created an efficient long-distance trade network with a
strong link with their main centre at New Julfa, a large settlement
established by Armenian refugees in Isfahan, Iran.
This `trading diaspora' of the Armenians was a unique feature of the
business world of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Armenian traders took the overland route to travel to India through
Afghanistan and Tibet in the 12th century. They became the first
merchants to carry back from India spices, muslin and precious stones
to Europe and the Middle East.
Aware of the Armenian merchants' integrity and shrewd nose for
business, Mughal Emperor Akbar invited them to settle in Agra, the
imperial capital. In 1562, he married an Armenian, referred to as
Mariam Zamani Begum in Abul Fazal's Ain-I-Akbari.
Some records show Armenian traders came to Dhaka around 1613, soon
after it became the capital of Mughal Bengal. In the beginning,
textile trade was their main prop of the city.
The Armenians were the first, not the Europeans or other Asians to
foresee the bright prospects of jute in Dhaka. They are reputed to be
the pioneers of jute trade here in the second half of the 19th
century.
Some Armenians in Dhaka shifted to landholding in the late 18th
century in the wake of the decline in textile trade following the
British conquest of Bengal in 1757.
The Armenian community contributed a lot to the civic life of Dhaka.
It was Nicholas Pogose, an Armenian Zaminder, who founded the first
private school, Dhaka Pogose School, in 1848. The school is still
running.
Armenian merchant Shircore, the founder of GM Shircore & Sons,
pioneered transport `revolution' by introducing hackney carriage. The
business house was probably responsible for popularising tea in Dhaka.
The Armenians were also pioneers in introducing European and British
goods in Dhaka and in setting up western-style departmental stores. CJ
Manook, GM Shircore, JA Minas, and Anania were some of the prominent
Armenians to open big stores in the city.
Sources: armeniancollege.in, indiaprofile.com and works of Sushil Chaudhury
Compiled by Wide Angle Desk
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/the-trading-diaspora/
June 21 2013
The trading diaspora
The East India Company's observation in 1699 about the Armenians that
`most certainly they are the most ancient merchants of the world' was
perhaps no exaggeration.
From the beginning to the end of the pre-modern era, Armenian
merchants ventured out of their homeland to different parts of Asia
and Europe. They settled in important cities and ports far away from
home.
And thus they created an efficient long-distance trade network with a
strong link with their main centre at New Julfa, a large settlement
established by Armenian refugees in Isfahan, Iran.
This `trading diaspora' of the Armenians was a unique feature of the
business world of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Armenian traders took the overland route to travel to India through
Afghanistan and Tibet in the 12th century. They became the first
merchants to carry back from India spices, muslin and precious stones
to Europe and the Middle East.
Aware of the Armenian merchants' integrity and shrewd nose for
business, Mughal Emperor Akbar invited them to settle in Agra, the
imperial capital. In 1562, he married an Armenian, referred to as
Mariam Zamani Begum in Abul Fazal's Ain-I-Akbari.
Some records show Armenian traders came to Dhaka around 1613, soon
after it became the capital of Mughal Bengal. In the beginning,
textile trade was their main prop of the city.
The Armenians were the first, not the Europeans or other Asians to
foresee the bright prospects of jute in Dhaka. They are reputed to be
the pioneers of jute trade here in the second half of the 19th
century.
Some Armenians in Dhaka shifted to landholding in the late 18th
century in the wake of the decline in textile trade following the
British conquest of Bengal in 1757.
The Armenian community contributed a lot to the civic life of Dhaka.
It was Nicholas Pogose, an Armenian Zaminder, who founded the first
private school, Dhaka Pogose School, in 1848. The school is still
running.
Armenian merchant Shircore, the founder of GM Shircore & Sons,
pioneered transport `revolution' by introducing hackney carriage. The
business house was probably responsible for popularising tea in Dhaka.
The Armenians were also pioneers in introducing European and British
goods in Dhaka and in setting up western-style departmental stores. CJ
Manook, GM Shircore, JA Minas, and Anania were some of the prominent
Armenians to open big stores in the city.
Sources: armeniancollege.in, indiaprofile.com and works of Sushil Chaudhury
Compiled by Wide Angle Desk
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/the-trading-diaspora/