Question

What were the key components of the economy during the Mughal Empire? Address the strengths and weaknesses of its economic structures and identify continued trends or similarities with contemporary cultures.

Answer 1

The Mughal Empire dominated almost all of northern India from the 16th to the 18th century. Mogul rulers practiced the Muslim religion, but the majority of the population they governed practiced Hinduism. Even so, the Mughals were successful in their domain. They worked to bring Muslims closer to Hindus in a united India.

The founder of the Mogol Empire in India was called Babur and was descended from Genghis Khan, who more than three hundred years earlier had founded the mighty Mongol Empire in Mongolia. In 1526, Babur conquered an Indian sultanate (kingdom) called Delhi. When he died in 1530, he dominated much of northern India.

The first sovereign to stand out after Babur was his grandson, Akbar, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. He undertook conquests that greatly expanded the empire. He married a Hindu princess and let non-Muslims practice their beliefs. In addition, it encouraged the arts and scholarship. His deeds made him known as Akbar the Great.

Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, was another notable Mughal leader. He reigned from 1628 to 1658 and was best known for building the beautiful Taj Mahal in the city of Agra.

Shah Jahan's son ruled from 1658 to 1707, and it was during this period that the empire reached its greatest extent. But he persecuted Hindus and all non-Islamists, which deprived him of the people's support. Some groups revolted against him and the empire was gradually weakening.

In the mid-eighteenth century, Moghuls dominated only a small area around the city of Delhi. The English took control of the territory in 1803. The last Mughal emperor was Bahadur Shah II. The British allowed him to reign until 1857, when they forced him to leave India.

Answer 2

Answer:

Key components of Mughal Empire economy:

i) Agriculture

ii) Trade

iii) Cottage Industry

Mughal Empire economy Strengths:

i) Buoyant Military Technology

ii) Highly organized Administration

iii) Availability of arable land

iv) Substantially developed irrigation system

v) Strategically located for foreign trade

vi) Effective Taxation system

Mughal Empire economy weaknesses:

i) Crude Methods of cultivation

ii) Inefficient means of transport from poor road and linkage networks

iii) Poorly regulated barter and currency system

iv) Incessant piracy in the open seas

v) Economic disruptions due to Mughal Empire separations into kingdoms.

vi) Steeply social inequality

Trends/Similarities with contemporary cultures

i) Tendencies towards agrarian economy due to availability of arable land

ii) The major food crops were the same as they are today in any agriculture based economy this include wheat, rice, maize, millet, et.c.

iii) Prices were generally low as will be the case for any economy consuming a significant portion of its production.

iv) Great disparity in wealth distribution owing to fewer people owning the means to production.

v) Eventual decline in economic importance due to emergence of technology and social disruptions.

Explanation:

The Mughal period highlights the reign of the Islamic Mughal Emperors, who ruled portions of india from the 15th through 18th centuries.

The empire was a predominantly rural one and as a result, agricultural production was at the center of its economy. Internal and foreign trade in the agricultural produce and its derivatives is the natural offshoot of such agrarian economy and this also made the Mughal empire an important trade center.

The impressive military technology of the Mughal empire enabled it to maintain this important status producing and trading highly valued agricultural commodities like cotton, tobacco, pepper, sugarcane, ginger, indigo, opium, and even silk until the empire came under the control of the British by the end of the 18th century.