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==[[Economy of British India]]==
Hi. Please see [[Talk:Economy of India under the British Raj]]. Fowler's unproposed and undiscussed move of this article from [[Economy of British India]] to [[Economy of India under the British Raj]], and the unlinking of [[British India]] in the lead, follows my referring to the page at [[Talk:British India]]. But what is the article to be about? Clearly, British India had an economy, but did the whole of India, including the [[Princely state]]s, have a single economy? It doesn't seem to me that it did. You may wish to comment on the Talk page. [[User:Xn4|<span style="color:#9911DD">Xn4</span>]] ([[User talk:Xn4|<span style="color:#9911DD">talk</span>]]) 00:48, 25 February 2009 (UTC)
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I, KnowledgeHegemony am extremely happy to award Ravichandar The Editor's Barnstar for his immense contribution to Wikipedia's coverage of Indian history. Regards, --KnowledgeHegemonytalk07:24, 15 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for sharing the cake. It took some tricky investigation to dig your birthday out. I had to make use of my friends in CIA and MI5 to plunder into your personal info. Well.. all this would be quite good to brag about, but the honest truth is you had that info on your page a while ago :D Wiki San Roze†αLҝ16:17, 18 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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The Kannada transliteration for Madras Presidency is ಮದ್ರಾಸ್ ಪ್ರೆಸಿದೆನ್ಚ್ಯ್. I hope it meets your requirement.--Nvvchar (talk) 01:21, 17 February 2009 (UTC)
Oriya Langauge transilteration for [[Madras Presidency is ମଦ୍ରାସ୍ ପ୍ରେସୋଦେନ୍ଚ୍ଯ୍ . I am trying to get Tulu version. --Nvvchar (talk) 05:18, 17 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Dear Ravi: I have just clipped some more notes out of my new book (still to be published) which I thought might be of interest to you. If you have any questions or want the full bibliographic details of any of the quotes, or whatever, please do let me know. Cheers, John Hill (talk) 00:39, 19 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
12.20. As the text makes explicit, this [166 CE] was the first time direct contacts between the Roman and Chinese empires were recorded by the Chinese. It occurred at a time of increasing maritime connections between Roman Egypt and India and between China and India.
Transoceanic voyages, between Egypt and India taking advantage of the monsoon winds had been occurring for some time, and are much older than usually acknowledged:
“For a long time it has been the custom to date the origins of significant trade between India and the West to the discovery of the monsoon by Hippalus a little before the middle of the 1st century of our era. A famous passage of Pliny (Hist. Nat., VI, 26; 5-11) in fact gives a precious account of the discoveries of the maritime routes to India. After recalling the itinerary of Alexander’s fleet conducted by Nearcus, he adds that, “later on (postea), it appears that Patala [North Western India – Patala or Xylinepolis] could be reached”, that is, the mouths of the Indus, “with all confidence, leaving from Cape Syagrum [= Ras Fartak 15o 39’N, 52o 16’ E, – Casson (1989), p. 166] of Arabia, thanks to the favonius (westerly) wind called the Hippalus.”
He then says that during the following age (secuta aetas) a shorter and more certain route from this same cape to an Indian port was pointed out, that had similarly been navigated for a long time (diu), until shortcuts were found. He adds it was a whole year’s voyage and he gives the itinerary from Egypt in detail observing that in relation to it there is “at present for the first time a definite knowledge” (nuc primum cera notita patescente). It is usually concluded from the information in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (57), that the Hippalus wind of Pliny, that is, the southwest monsoon blowing from June to October, had this name because it had been recently discovered by a certain Hippalus.
In fact, referring to the information in Pliny, the discovery attributed to Hippalus can be moved back somewhat – if it developed on a route from Arabia to India and was replaced successively at fairly long intervals by two other more advantageous ones. But, whatever the case may be regarding Hippalus himself, the evidence of Pliny leads to [the fact that] even if the exact route to India followed at his time (he died in 79) had only recently been taken over by Italy, this route itself, and other routes before it, had been regularly travelled for a long time.
Strabo offers us at the same time decisive confirmation and important details. His evidence [Geog. II, v, 12.] takes us back to the end of the 1st century BCE, and it is straightforward. It was at the time when his friend Aelius Gallus was Prefect of Egypt (24 BCE), and travelled up the course of the Nile to Cyrene and to the frontiers of Ethiopia, that is, on the commercial route from Alexandria to the Red Sea, and learnt that 120 vessels annually left the port of Myos Hormus for India. He specifies that it was merchants from Alexandria who had lately begun to send similar fleets; although in the time of the Ptolemies, there were only a small number able to undertake the crossing.
It is, therefore, from the founding, or a little before the founding of the Roman Empire, that maritime trade between Egypt and India expanded greatly and which had continued until the time of Pliny. The research from which Pliny summarized the shortest, most direct, or most certain stages, in all probability goes back to this period.
The traffic from Egypt to India must, therefore, go back well before the middle of the 1st century CE, to the preceding century. It should also be considered if it was not even more ancient.
To begin with, by Strabo testifying that the voyage of the Alexandrine merchants was rare at the time of the Ptolemies, proves that it took place. Moreover, the indications in Strabo and Pliny date the origins of the knowledge of the Mediterranean peoples about the maritime routes to India, but they do not imply that these routes were not previously known by anyone.” Translated and adapted from: Filliozat (1956), pp. 5-6. For details of earlier maritime trade between India and the West, see ibid. pp. 6-13.
“Conquered for the first time in the 3rd century before our era in the time of Qin Shi Huangdi, Tonkin and northern Annam formed, under the Former Han (206 BCE-24 CE) and the Later [Han] (25-220), the three commanderies of 交阯 Jiaozhi (region of Hanoi), 九眞 [Jiuzhen] (region of Quang-hoa?) and 日南Rinan (region of Quang-binh?)6. When, at the beginning of our era, regular commercial and political relations were established between China and the countries of the southern seas, Jiaozhi, that is Tonkin, was the terminal point of this shipping. It was to Jiaozhi that the envoys of Marcus Aurelius landed in 166 of our era. During the troubles of the Yellow Turbans which dominated China proper at the end of the 2nd and the first part of the 3rd century, Tonkin was relatively calm. The Memoirs of Annam2 has preserved for us the names of some Chinese who went there for refuge. In the division of the empire into three kingdoms, Tonkin fell to the Wu, residing in Nanking. When in 226 a merchant from the borders of the Mediterranean east, Qin Luan, arrived in Tonkin, it was to the Wu court that the Prefect of Jiaozhi directed him.3 Soon after, the Chinese Governor, Lu Dai, sent officials “to spread the civilization of the kingdom to the south”, and, as a result, Linyi and Funan came to bring tribute.4 As the Jiu Tangshu says, all the kingdoms of the southern seas which, since the time of the Han, have come to render homage, “inevitably took the route of Jiaozhi”5.”
p. 132, n. 6. These identifications are traditional, but, for the Commandery of Rinan at least, it is very difficult to determine exactly which regions were under its jurisdiction. The solution doubtless varied in different periods. . . .
p. 133, n. 2. 安南忎畧 Annan zhilüe. Japanese reissue of 1884, ch. 10, p. 4 ; trans. Sainson, pp. 389-390.
n. 3. Cf. Hirth, China and the Roman Orient, pp. 47-48.
n. 4. Cf. Mémoires sur l’Annam, ch. 7, p. 5b, trans Sainson, p. 330 ; B. E. F. E.-O., III, 252, 303.
n. 5. This is not to say that people were not already going to Canton. But, the example of Faxian, who left from the Straits for Canton, and was swept away by a storm as far as the shores of Shandong, explains why for a long time the coastal trade along the Annamite coastline was preferred.”
Translated and adapted from: Pelliot (1904b), pp. 132 and n. 6; 133 and nn. 2-5.
A later surge in maritime communication was prompted by the interruption of the overland trade routes – between about 107 and 127 CE – and from c. 170 well into the third century CE – due to the series of insurrections beginning in north-western China and the disintegration of the Han Empire into three separate kingdoms in the early 220s.
Aside from the mention of envoys from Da Qin arriving by sea in 166 CE, there are several more references to visitors from Da Qin. I have translated the following passage from the Xinanyi juan (chapter 86) of the Hou Hanshu:
“During the first year of Yongning (120 CE) the king of the kingdom of Shan 撢, Yongyoudiao 雍由調 again sent an embassy [he had sent a previous one in 97 CE], who proceeded to the Imperial palace to offer gifts and felicitations, and presented musicians and conjurors. They could transform themselves, spew fire, detach their limbs [from their bodies], and exchange cows’ and horses’ heads [for their own?]; moreover, they all excelled at leaping [? 跳] as much as a thousand times.
They themselves said they were from Haixi [Egypt]; now [part of] Da Qin [the Roman Empire]. Furthermore, [they said that] to the southwest of Tan was a route to Da Qin.
On the first day [of the second Yongning year = 5 February, 121], An Di [Emperor 107-126] assembled the musicians at the court to ratify Yongyoudiao as Great Commander-in-Chief and, to pacify them, bestowed ribbons of multicoloured silk coated with gold and silver indicating each of their ranks.”
For different renditions of this passage, see Hirth (1875), pp. 36-37; Leslie and Gardiner (1996), pp. 150-151, and Shiratori (1956), p. 97. The translation into French by Saint-Denys (1876), pp. 268-270, of the 8th century account of these events by Ma Duanlin is also of interest.
The character 撢 is frequently given as dan or chan, but should be read Shan when used as the name of a country or ethnic group. See GR Vol. V, p. 782, No. 10343. The kingdom of Shan (or Tan) is usually placed in Burma. See Chavannes (1907), p. 185, n. 1.
In the section on Tianzhu (Northwest India – i.e. Kushan territory) the Hou Hanshu says: “. . . in [159 and 161 CE] in the reign of Emperor Huan, and frequently since, (these) foreigners have arrived [by sea] at the frontiers of Rinan (Commandery south of Jiaozhi) to present offerings.” See Section 15 and note 15.9.
“The merchants of this country [i.e. Da Qin] frequently visit Funan [in the Mekong delta], Rinan [Annam] and Jiaozhi [in the Red River delta near modern Hanoi]; but few of the inhabitants of these southern frontier states have come to Da Qin.
During the 5th year of the Huangwu period of the reign of Sun Quan [= CE 226] a merchant of Da Qin, whose name was Qin Lun came to Jiaozhi [Tonkin]; the prefect [taishou] of Jiaozhi, Wu Miao, sent him to Sun Quan [the Wu emperor], who asked him for a report on his native country and its people. Qinlun prepared a statement and replied.
At the time, Zhuke [nephew of Zhuke Liang; alias Kun Ming] punished Dan Yang [= Jiang Nan or the area south of the Yangtze River] and captured some dark-skinned pygmies [from one of the several “Negrito” tribes of SE Asia]. When Qin Lun saw them he said that in Da Qin such people were rarely seen. Sun Quan then sent ten male and ten female pygmies, in charge of an officer, Liu Xian of Huiji [a district in Zhejiang], to accompany Qin Lun. Liu Xian died on the road, whereupon Qin Lun returned directly to his native country.” Adapted from the translation of a passage from the Liangshu [which was, apparently, written about 629 CE], by Hirth (1875), pp. 47-48.
Roman artefacts discovered by French archaeologists at Go Oc Eo, (the main port of Funan, at the mouth of the Mekong) and other nearby sites, add to this early Chinese record. Some finds have been associated with Antoninus Pius (including a gold medallion dated to 152 CE), and others to Marcus Aurelius [r. 161-180]. See Christie (1979), pp. 284-285.
The Jinshu (written before the middle of the 7th century CE), the Zhufanzhi by Zhao Rugua (1225) of the Song dynasty, and the Wenxiantongkao by Ma Duanlin, all mention that tribute was brought from Da Qin during the Taikang period of the Jin dynasty (280-289 CE). See Hirth (1875), pp. 45, 95 and 82 respectively.
Some scholars have inferred that the Hou Hanshu passage indicates that the envoy from Da Qin in 166 CE was regarded with some suspicion by the Chinese that the envoy may have been a merchant claiming to be an official envoy. For example:
“One would like to see in this famous embassy proof that Marcus Aurelius had attempted to open communications by sea with China as the overland silk trade had been interrupted because of the campaigns of Avidius Cassius against the Parthians, and the plague which followed. But, on one hand, it indeed seems that the person who presented himself as an ambassador of Marcus Aurelius was a simple merchant without official status; on the other hand, one will see further on, that, from the year 120 CE, musicians and jugglers originating from Da Qin had arrived in Burma, which proves that maritime relations between the eastern Roman empire and the Far East did not wait for the reign of Marcus Aurelius to be established. – Rinan was the southernmost of the three commanderies corresponding to modern Tonkin.” Translated and adapted from Chavannes (1907), p. 185, n. 1.
My understanding of the passage in the Hou Hanshu differs from Chavannes. There is no evidence that the Chinese suspected the envoy was simply a merchant. Rather, the text insinuates that the Chinese were not impressed with the goods offered to the Throne (items they were already importing from nearby countries), and they suspected the wondrous accounts they had heard of Da Qin had been exaggerated.
Although I have identified the Andun of the text with Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, who ruled from 161 to 180, it is possible that the envoys were referring to his predecessor, Antoninus Pius, who ruled from 138-161 CE: “. . . there is no particular reason to believe that the putative ambassadors from Rome were fully up to date. . . .” de Crespigny (1965), p. 20, n. 14.
Rinan 日南 Commandery, where the envoys landed, extended along the Vietnamese coast from about modern Porte d’Annam to south of Huê. It was “based upon Xiquan, near present-day Quang Tri.” See de Crespigny (1989).
Rinan literally means, ‘South of the Sun,’ reflecting Chinese knowledge that Rinan was south of the Tropic of Cancer so that during summer the sun was to the north. See the excellent map in Holmgren (1980), p. 3.
The ‘Dihou ji’ section of the Hou Hanshu (ch. 7, p. 4) records the arrival of the envoys at the Chinese capital, Luoyang, during the 9th month (between 12th Oct. and 11th Nov. 166 CE). They probably arrived in Rinan with the assistance of the south-west monsoon during the 5th or 6th month (mid-June to mid-August); the usual time of year for ships to arrive from the west. See Hirth (1875), p. 42, n. 1; Duyvendak (1949), p. 18 and n. 3.
“It was physically possible to make a round trip entirely by sea from Egypt to China, but it took three years. People who undertook such long journeys usually had specific reasons to do so or a desire to travel far abroad. Arab and/or Persian merchants had colonies in China, but they were permanent emigrants and did not constantly travel back and forth.
Because of the circumstances outlined above, the maritime route was principally composed of three interconnected stages, rather than one long voyage . . . The Arabian Sea linked the West with India, the Bay of Bengal linked India with the Malay world, and the South China Sea linked the Malay lands with China. In the tenth century, Muslim traders learned to make a crossing in one season by leaving on just the right day, avoiding Sri Lanka, and refreshing at the Maldives. This southern route took them from Malaysia or Sumatra to the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, or East Africa. However, this bypassed the riches of India.” Francis (2002), pp. 5-6.
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea says:
“Beyond this region [i.e. Chrysê = Burma, the Malaysian Peninsula and possibly Sumatra], by now at the northernmost point, where the sea ends somewhere on the outer fringe, there is a very great inland city called Thina from which silk floss, yarn, and cloth are shipped by land via Bactria to Barygaza and via the Ganges River back to Limrikê [the Malabar coast]. It is not easy to get to this Thina; for rarely do people come from it, and only a few.” Casson (1989), p. 91.
Hi - I was interested to read this article, as I am trying to find out about a Dr E. M. Marjoribanks, who I know was from India but who I know of from his time in Sarawak before and during World War II. Do you by any chance know if they were related? I'm afraid I don't have any more details about him, other than he was a native of Madras, had been a govt. officer in Sarawak from 1922 until his retirement to private practice in 1938 and that he had a Chinese wife. Do you have any ideas where I might find out more about him? Many thanks Jasper33 (talk) 08:57, 24 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]