Musulipatan

<p><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masulipatam_mg_8557.jpg#/media/File:Masulipatam_mg_8557.jpg"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Masulipatam_mg_8557.jpg" alt="Masulipatam mg 8557.jpg" height="703" width="976"></a><br>By Rama - From Philip Baldaeus, 'A True and Exact Description of the most Celebrated East-India Coasts of Malabar and Coromandel;<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1700_1799/coromandel/masulipatam/masulipatam.html">[1]</a>, Public Domain, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7428526">Link</a></p>

Sources from old books

1638. The merchants mappe of commerce wherein by Lewes Roberts.

Of MESULIPATAN and the Trade thereof, with the coast of CHORMANDEL.

THE Coast of Chormandel beginneth from the cape Negapatan to the Towne of Musulipatan, between which said places is found a place called St. Thomas, where the Apostle Thomas is said to have preached salvation to these Nations and whose Tombe is had still in great reverence to this day amongst the native Christians of this Countrey: besides which is found the Townes of Pettipoly and Armagow, where the English of late have setled factories that have dependencie on the factory of Mesulipatan; under which therefore I will include the trade of this coast.

Musulipatan by reason of the commodious scituation, is the most eminent place of trade of this coast, where the English have to that purpose planted a factorie, both for providing and lading hence the commodities of this Countrey; this place is seated on the same coast, or rather Istmus, as Goa is with the Cities beforemen•…ioned, which are seated to the eastward, as the coast of Mallabar is to the westward: the pleasantnesse of the adjoyning River running downe from Bisnagar the Metropolis of this Countrey, and the goodnesse of the Haven, with the wholesomenesse of the soile and the temperancie of the ayre, addes much to the excel•…encie of it in matter of trade and concurrencie of Merchants; to which if we adde the industry of the inhabitants, and the fruit•…ullnesse of the Countrey bearing many commodities naturally, it •…s not to be reckned as the least or the worst part of trading in India.

From this place and coast then is found a great trade, to be driven into Bengala, Pegu, Siam, Mallaca and to India, and the principall commodities that this City is noted to be famous for, is those excellent fine cotton linen, made here in great aboundance, and of all colours, and interwoven with divers sorts of loome workes and flowers, very fine and cunningly wrought, and therefore much worne in India, and better esteemed there then silke, as indeed being both found finer and richer, and used by the greatest women in those parts for their clothing, wherein is found interlaced oftentimes threds of silver and gold, and divers other rare fabriques of cotton, &c.

The currant usuall coines in Mesulipatan, Armagon, Petipoli, St. Thomas, and all alongst the coast is the Pagode of gold, and the Mahomody and fanan of silver, and are thus valued.

A Pogode is worth 15 fanams, or in English 8 sh. starling.

A fanan is 9 cashee, or as some call them cupans about 6¾ d. star.

A Mamody is 32 pices, or as in some places they are called docres.

A riall of 8/8 Spanish is here 5 mamodies or 9 fanans, or 5 sh.

And 10 rialls 8/8 is here currant for 6 and sometimes for 6½ pagods.

And 10 R 8/8 are called in these parts a Seare incirca 50 sh. star. But in Armagon it is observed they have this difference.

Rialls of 8/8 11 are accounted for 8 pagods.

One pagode is accounted worth 20 fanams.

And 5 pagodes here are accounted but 4 in Mesulipatan.

The pagode by this account may be said to be in value about 8sh. starling equivalent with the chequin of Uenice, or the sheriffe of Aegypt, or sultany of Turkey, and the mamody accounted for 12 d. starling, and the fanans about 6 d. ¾ or 7 d. per piece.

Their common weight used along this coast is the candil, which in grosse goods is most usuall, accounted for 20 Maunds.

A Maund is 40 Seare or 22½ Masses, or 26 li. 14½ oun. English.

A Seare is 17 Kashee, which thus answers with England.

The seare is twofold, as the small seare is of 16 Mass, and found to be about 10 li. English, or as some observe it 10 〈◊〉 li. and the great seare is accounted as above.

And the candil of 20 mands of 26 li. 14½ ounc. haberdepois, brings it to be English pound sotile 538 li. incirca.

But this finds some disagreement with the weight of Petipoli, for their candil is 20 mands found to be but 26 li. English in all 520 li.

A mand is here counted for 5 Uisko 5 li. 3 ounc. English.

One Uisco (or as the Portugalls call it fisco) is accounted 8 seares, which is found to be 10 ounc. ¼ haberdepois incirca.

Further observations I find not of the trade of Mesulapatan, saveing that the governour of this City, having setled a trade with the English, and that they should pay for custome 4 per cent. he afterwards raised the same to 12 per cent. till Anno 1614. one Floris, and other English surprised the chiefe customer being the governours sonne, and brought him aboord their Ship then in port, who thereupon came to a new composition restored the overplus taken, and setled it for the future at the first agreed rate of 4 per cent. as now it standeth.