ABSTRACT

Concentrates on the period 1790-1833, especially the early nineteenth century when the Bombay merchant fleet was at its zenith, studying the ships, their trade and the men who owned or sailed in them. The picture is built up from a mass of details and references unearthed in the English East India Company's records and elsewhere, and includes contemporary experiences of sailing in these ships.

chapter |8 pages

Introduction

part One|40 pages

Shipping

chapter One|27 pages

Shipbuilding

chapter Two|11 pages

Asian vessels on the west coast of India

part Two|38 pages

East India Company control

chapter Three|9 pages

Licences for ships

chapter Four|9 pages

Arming and protecting the Country Ships

chapter Five|18 pages

Country Ships used as troop transports

part Three|88 pages

The Bombay maritime Country trade

chapter Six|12 pages

The Malabar Coast: timber, coir, hemp

chapter Seven|28 pages

The China trade: cotton

chapter Eight|13 pages

The Persian Gulf and the Red Sea

chapter Nine|9 pages

A changing world

chapter Ten|24 pages

The China trade: Malwa opium

part Four|30 pages

The Country Ship owners

chapter Eleven|28 pages

The Country Ship owners

part Five|35 pages

The mariners

chapter Twelve|21 pages

Free mariners

chapter Thirteen|12 pages

Nacodas and lascars

chapter Fourteen|9 pages

Conclusion: The decline in European commitment