ABSTRACT
In this paper I have tried to focus on the role of the Armenians in the commercial and economic life of Dhaka. It will be shown that, shrewd and foresighted traders and businessmen as they were, the Armenians in Dhaka shifted from textile trade, which was their main prop earlier, to landholding in the late eighteenth century in the wake of the decline in textile trade following the British conquest of Bengal in 1757. Again, I shall demonstrate that when they saw later on the prospects of new business opportunities, they did not hesitate to embark on these new ventures, and thus they became pioneers in jute trading in the late nineteenth century. At the same time it will be emphasized that it was not only in the economic activities of the city that the Armenians were involved but also in the philanthropic and other social activities. All this, I shall try to argue, underscores the fact that the Armenians of Dhaka were quite a bit different from other Armenian groups settled in different parts of India. But more importantly I shall try to explain, in the larger context, the reasons for the phenomenal success of the Armenians everywhere they settled and traded in the early modern period – which is a riddle to historians the world over.
