ABSTRACT
An attempt is made in this paper to analyse the trading activities of the Bengal merchants and examine the nature and character of their commercial organisation vis-à-vis the English East India Company trading in Bengal. The appearance of the European Companies gave rise to a new situation in the commercial life of Bengal in the second half of the seventeenth century. These Companies entered the market as buyers and sellers of goods, and created problems in their supply and delivery. There is evidence to show that the quantities of goods entering trade flows were now greater than before, and the increased demand put great pressure on supplies. Again, the Bengal merchants, who had a long experience of dealing with individual traders from various parts of Asia, had to deal for the first time with foreign Companies of monopolistic merchant capital during this period. It will be our aim to study the response of the traditional merchants in their methods and organisation of trade to this new situation.
