Answer:
Ancient times till 1707 AD
The history of India begins with the dawn of Indus Valley civilization which
flourished between 3500 BC to 1800 BC. The Indus civilization's economy appears to
have depended significantly on trade, which was facilitated by advances in transport. Its
citizens practiced agriculture, domesticated animals, made sharp tools and weapons
from copper, bronze and tin and traded in terracotta pots, beads, gold and silver,
coloured gem stones such as turquoise and lapis lazuli, metals, flints, seashells and
pearls. They used to ships to reach Mesopotamia where they sold gold, copper and
jewellery. Around 600 BC, the Mahajanapadas minted punch-marked silver coins. The
period was marked by intensive trade activity and urban development. By 300 B.C.,
when Middle East was under the Greek Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires the Maurya
Empire (c. 321 -185 BC) united most of the Indian subcontinent. The political unity and
military security allowed for a common economic system and enhanced trade and
commerce, with increased agricultural productivity. The empire spent considerable
resources building roads and maintaining them throughout India. The improved
infrastructure combined with increased security, greater uniformity in measurements, and
increasing usage of coins as currency enhanced trade. For the next 1500 years, India
produced its classical civilizations which generated wealth in huge amount. Between 1st
and 17th centuries AD, India is estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient
and medieval world, controlling between one third and one fourth of the world's wealth.
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