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SAI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL


                                                  SUB – HISTORY

                                                        STD VII


                                      Module: 20 (NOTES) (page 78 - 82)

                                                     CH- 6 Towns, Traders and Craftspersons


                        Sub-Topic: A Network of Small Towns (page 78- 79)

                                           Traders Big and Small (page 79 - 80)

                                          Crafts in Towns (page 81 – 82)


               A Network of Small Towns

               (i) From the eighth century onwards the subcontinent was dotted with several small
               towns.


               (ii) Large villages they usually had a mandapika (or mandi of later times) to which
               nearby villagers brought their produce to sell.


               (iii) While some traders lived in the town, others travelled from town to town.

               Traders Big and Small


               (i) There were many kinds of traders like the Banjaras. Several traders, especially
               horse traders, formed associations, with headmen who negotiated on their behalf
               with warriors who bought horses.

               (ii) There were also communities like the Chettiars and the Marwari Oswal who went
               on to become the principal trading groups of the country.


               (iii) The towns on the west coast were home to Arab, Persian, Chinese, Jewish and
               Syrian Christian traders.

               Crafts in Towns

               (i) The craftspersons of Bidar were famous for their inlay work in copper and silver; it
               came to be called Bidri.


               (ii) The Panchalas or Vishwakarma community, consisting of goldsmiths,
               bronzesmiths, blacksmiths, masons and carpenters, were essential to the building of
               temple.
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