Battle of Raichur
Battle of Raichur
Fought by Sri Krishnadevaraya, King of Vijayanagar empire and Ahmed Shah, the king of Bijapur-Was a turning point in the history of south India. Raichur-Indian state of Karnataka. Many battles between the kings of Vijayanagar empire and the muslim kings ruling from Bijapur and Gulbarga. City is located besite the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, which provides fertile soil, and water First recorded use of canon, the fort, and matchlock firearms in India-Canons were mounted on ramparts of Raichur, but had not replaced stone throwing catapults. The fort was captured by Bahmanis in 1323 Isma‘il ‘Adil Khanhad retreated- his army was forced to abandon 400 heavy cannon and 900 gun carriages. Krishnadevaraya concentrated his attack on the Eastern walls. Governor was killed- shot by a Portugese sniper with a matchbox rifle. – This surpressed the morale or the troops, and they abandoned the wall. When Raichur surrendered, Krishnadevaraya treated the garrison with kindness and consideration. Krishnadevaraya then returned to Vijayanagar and held a great celebration. The Firishta account is less trustworthy- he wrote about it 90 years after the battle had occurred.
The textile industry has always been present in India but with the arrival of the Dutch and English, this part time indistry became a full time industry, with full time textile workers. The Dutch and the English were great trade rivals. The Dutch East India company hold many extensive records regating to textile production, and shipping- as well as commercial agriculture records. The textile industry was present in medieval times, and it’s trade, and importance have always been underestimated by historians.
Rice quickly became the most commercially traded crop. It was necessary in the feeind of Indias urban population- which was growing. In the early 1600s, cotton began to gain importance. With the importance of cotton, came the importance of indigo- a plant used as a dye. In the 1630’s, bad weather, and years with bad storms severely depleted indigo crops. The prices sky-rocketed. These goods, and their trade created extensive trade markets. In 1802, the Dutch created a weaver village. In some cases, parts of India had more that 2 looms per house. Demographic downturns may have led to shift from textiles to commercial agriculture. ur
