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{{Use Indian English|date=November 2022}}

The economy of the [[Maratha Empire]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Upton |first1=Clive |title=The Routledge dictionary of pronunciation for current English |last2=Kretzschmar |first2=William A. |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-138-12566-7 |edition=2nd |location=London; New York |pages=803}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Pronouncing dictionary of proper names: pronunciations for more than 28,000 proper names, selected for currency, frequency, or difficulty of pronunciation |date=1998 |publisher=Omnigraphics |isbn=978-0-7808-0098-4 |editor-last=Bollard |editor-first=John K. |edition=2nd |location=Detroit, Mich |pages=633}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Upton |first1=Clive |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm46433686 |title=The Oxford dictionary of pronunciation for current English |last2=Kretzschmar |first2=William A. |last3=Konopka |first3=Rafal |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-863156-9 |location=Oxford |pages=622 |oclc=ocm46433686}}</ref> was predominantly agriculture based and was sustained through a combination of land revenue, military tribute, extraction and a decentralized fiscal administration. It drew inspirations from earlier [[Deccan Sultanates|Deccan]] and [[Mughal empire|Mughal Empires]]. Marathas developed distinctive mechanisms such as [[Chauth]] and sardeshmukhi, which became central to their political expansion.<ref name="Gordon1993">{{cite book |last=Gordon |first=Stewart |title=The Marathas 1600–1818 |series=The New Cambridge History of India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1993 |pages=90–115 |isbn=9780521268837 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521268837}}
</ref>
[[File:MWI3371-Sivaji-CNG73.1186-2.81g-7h.jpg|thumb|right|Gold coins minted during Shivaji's era, 17th century.]]
[[File:Madhav Rao Narayan, the Maratha Peshwa with Nana Fadnavis and Attendants.jpg|thumb|right|The Maratha [[Peshwa]] [[Madhav Rao Narayan]] with [[Nana Fadnavis]].]]

The Marathas largely derived their taxation system from the Mughal tax administration system which was left largely intact with somewhat change with [[Tapan Raychaudhuri]] estimating revenue assessment actually increased to 50 percent or more, in contrast to China's 5 to 6 percent, to cover the cost of the wars.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Raychaudhuri|first1=Tapan|title=The Cambridge Economic History of India, II: The mid-eighteenth-century background|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeeconomi02kuma|url-access=limited|date=1983|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgeeconomi02kuma/page/n34 17]}}</ref>

==Agriculture==
Agriculture formed the major basis of the Maratha economy. The economic revenue income was largely derived from land revenue collected from cultivators and zamindars.<ref name="Habib1999">{{cite book |last=Habib |first=Irfan |title=The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556–1707 |edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |pages=360–365 |isbn=9780195623291 |url=https://archive.org/details/agrariansystemof00habi}}
</ref>
[[File:The Coronation Durbar with over 100 characters depicted in attendance.jpg|thumb|Coronation of [[Shivaji]] by [[M. V. Dhurandhar]]]]

[[Shivaji]], the first ruler of the [[Maratha Empire]] aimed to standardise revenue demand and reduce unfair exactions and form a centralised system of taxation.<ref name="Sarkar1919">{{cite book |last=Sarkar |first=Jadunath |title=Shivaji and His Times |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |year=1919 |pages=247–255 |url=https://archive.org/details/shivajihistimes00sark}}
</ref>

[[File:Shivaji's seal, enlarged.jpg |thumb| Seal of [[Shivaji| Chatrapati Shivaji]]]]
Out of the [[Ashta Pradhan]], ''Amatya'' or ''Mujumdar'' - [[Finance Minister]], managed the accounts of the Empire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kkhsou.in/main/history/marathas.html|title = KKHSOU}}</ref> In 1662 Nilo Sondeo was appointed as Mujumdar. In 1674, at the Coronation ceremony, the post Mujumdar was renamed as Amatya and the title was solely bestowed [[Ramchandra Pant Amatya]].

==Textile production==
Textiles constituted the most important manufacturing activity within the Maratha economy. Cotton weaving, in particular, was widespread across the Deccan region and formed an essential component of both local consumption and inter-regional trade.

Production was typically carried out by artisan households, using traditional techniques and tools. Unlike the highly commercialised textile centres of Bengal or Gujarat, production in Maratha territories tended to be more regionally oriented and less export driven, however it still participated in wider Indian trade networks.<ref>{{cite book |last=Prakash |first=Om |title=European Commercial Enterprise in Pre-Colonial India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1998 |pages=210–215}}</ref>

==Revenue/Taxation system==
{{See also|Chauth}}
'''Chauth''' (from {{Langx|sa|चतुर्थ|lit=one fourth|translit=caturtha}}) was a regular tax or tribute imposed from the early 18th century by the [[Maratha Empire]] in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It was an annual tax nominally levied at 25% on revenue or produce, hence the name, on lands that were under nominal Mughal rule. The '''sardeshmukhi''' was an additional 10% levy on top of the ''chauth''. A tribute paid to the king, it was started by [[Koli people|Koli]] [[Som Shah of Ramnagar|Maharaja Som Shah of Ramnagar]].<ref>S. A. A. Rizvi, p. 263 of ''A Cultural History of India'' (1975), edited by A. L. Basham</ref><ref name="Gordon1993" /><ref name="Sarkar1919" />

These taxes constituted a significant portion of Maratha income and were extracted primarily from vasaal Mughal states and neighbouring regions.<ref name="Guha1985">{{cite book |last=Guha |first=Sumit |title=The Agrarian Economy of the Bombay Deccan 1818–1941 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1985 |pages=12–15 |isbn=9780195613278}}</ref>

[[File:Maratha darbar.jpg|thumb|right|Maratha darbar or [[Court (royal)|court]].]]
In 1719, the [[Mughal emperors|Mughal emperor]] [[Rafi ud-Darajat]] granted [[Shahuji|Chhatrapati Shahu Raje Bhonsale]] the chauth and sardeshmukhi rights over the six Deccan provinces. The revenues from chauth were divided into four parts that went to various functionaries of the Maratha empire.<ref name="Mehta 492-494">{{cite book|last=Mehta|first=Jaswant Lal|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India: 1707 - 1813|year=2005|publisher=New Dawn Press|location=New Delhi|pages=492–494|isbn=9781932705546|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&q=chauth+and+sardeshmukhi&pg=PA492}}</ref>

==Finance==

The functioning of the Maratha state was heavily dependent on access to credit on Merchant-bankers and moneylenders known as [[Zamindar]]s. They financed politic campaigns and administrative expenses, linking the Maratha political control to wider commercial and financial networks. This was essential for the functioning of the Maratha economy.<ref name="Washbrook1988">{{cite journal |last=Washbrook |first=David |title=Progress and Problems: South Asian Economic and Social History |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=22 |issue=1 |year=1988 |pages=57–96 |jstor=312580}}</ref>

Each district ([[Pargana]]) had a chief called [[Deshmukh]] and the record keepers were called [[Deshpande]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gordon|first1=Stewart|title=The Marathas 1600-1818|date=1993|publisher=Cambridge University|location=New York|isbn=978-0521268837|pages=22, xiii|edition=1. publ.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C&q=%22deshmukh%22+%22deshpande%22+sultanate+pargana&pg=PR9}}</ref><ref name="Gandhi's Tiger and Sita's Smile: Essays on Gender, Sexuality, and Culture - Google Books">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zN4nTmnlwsAC&q=deshpande+surname&pg=PA74 | title=Gandhi's Tiger and Sita's Smile: Essays on Gender, Sexuality, and Culture - Google Books | publisher=Yoda Press, 2005 | author=Ruth Vanita | year=2005 | page=316 | isbn=9788190227254}}</ref> The lowest administrative unit was the village. Village society in Marathi areas included the Patil or the head of the village, collector of revenue, and [[Kulkarni]], the village record-keeper. These were hereditary positions.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Deshpande|first1=Arvind M.|title=John Briggs in Maharashtra: A Study of District Administration Under Early British rule|date=1987|publisher=Mittal|location=Delhi|isbn=9780836422504|pages=118–119|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79sS_w_bOQYC&q=balutedar+maharashtra&pg=PP15}}</ref> The village also used to have twelve hereditary servants called the [[Bara Balutedar|Balutedar]]. The Balutedar system supported the agrarian sector. Servants under this system provided services to the farmers and the economic system of the village.<ref>{{cite journal | jstor=44140322 | title=Social and Economic Position of Brahmins in Maharashtra in the Age of Shivaji | last1=Kulkarni | first1=A. R. | journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress | year=1964 | volume=26 | pages=66–75 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Kosambi |editor-first=Meera |last=Kulkarni |first=A. R. |chapter=The Mahar Watan: A Historical Perspective |title=Intersections: Socio-Cultural Trends in Maharashtra|date=2000|publisher=Sangam|location=London|isbn=978-0863118241|pages=121–140|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XU8dmAiaZSgC&pg=PA121|access-date=13 December 2016}}</ref>
In exchange for their services, the ''balutedars'' were granted complex sets of hereditary rights (watan) to a share in the village harvest under a [[Barter]] system.<ref>Fukazawa, H., 1972. Rural Servants in the 18th Century Maharashtrian Village—Demiurgic or Jajmani System?. Hitotsubashi journal of economics, 12(2), pp.14-40.</ref>

==Trade==
Trade played a secondary but important role in the Maratha economy. Local markets facilitated the exchange of agricultural produce, textiles, and livestock to other neighbouring Kingdoms and coastal regions. A well developed internal trade network connected major regional trading centers such as [[Pune]] and [[Nagpur]] with [[Gujarat]] and other parts of North India.<ref name="ChandraMedieval">{{cite book |last=Chandra |first=Satish |title=History of Medieval India |pages=250–270 |url=https://archive.org/details/history-of-medieval-india-800-1700}}
</ref>

The Marathas also promoted trade via ports like [[Chaul]], [[Dabhol]], and [[Surat]], asserting control over coastal trade.<ref name="Kurup1997">{{cite book |last=Kurup |first=K. K. N. |title=India's Naval Traditions: The Role of the Navy in the History of India |publisher=Northern Book Centre |year=1997 |pages=140–160}}</ref>
[[File:Thomas Daniell, Sir Charles Warre Malet, Concluding a Treaty in 1790 in Durbar with the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire.jpg|right|thumb|270x270px|Durbar of Peshwa [[Madhavrao II]]]]

The Marathas did interact with some European trading companies, particularly along the western coast. However, trade remained minimal between two parties. Over time the Maratha economy was slowly integrated into a pre existing inter regional and wider [[Indian Ocean]] trade network with links to Deccan markets, [[West Asia]] and even [[Europe]].<ref name="Roy2013">{{cite book |last=Roy |first=Tirthankar |title=An Economic History of Early Modern India |edition=2nd |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |pages=18–25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3dQcAAAAQBAJ}}
</ref>
<ref name="Prakash1998">{{cite book |last=Prakash |first=Om |title=European Commercial Enterprise in Pre-Colonial India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1998 |pages=210–215 |isbn=9780521257589 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/european-commercial-enterprise-in-precolonial-india/7714E1D87BC2BBB8F4B6CF23BDBFFE17}}
</ref>

==Industrialization==
Some authors such as Frank Perlin and [[ Sanjay Subrahmanyam]] have classified the eighteenth century Deccan economy in proto-industrial terms. Perlin argued that pre-colonial South Asian economies, including those under Maratha influence, were marked by significant commercialization, monetization, and integration into wider market networks, rather than being confined to subsistence production.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Perlin |first=Frank |title=Proto-industrialization and pre-colonial South Asia |journal=Past & Present |year=1983 |issue=98 |pages=30–95 |doi=10.1093/past/98.1.30}}</ref>
These features showed some semblance to the economic patterns of a proto-industrial state.<ref>{{cite book |last=Subrahmanyam |first=Sanjay |title=The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India 1500–1650 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1990 |pages=300–320 |isbn=9780521383455}}</ref>

However, Perlin did not explicitly classify the Maratha economy as proto-industrial, but rather put it within a broader understanding of pre-colonial economic structures,
suggesting that some parts of the of the Deccan region showed of early proto-industrial development.<ref>{{cite book |last=Perlin |first=Frank |title=The Invisible City: Monetary, Administrative and Popular Infrastructures in Asia and Europe, 1500–1900 |publisher=Variorum |year=1993 |pages=1–30}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Economic history of India]]
* [[Economic history of the Indian subcontinent]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Maratha Empire}}

[[Category:Economic history of India]]
[[Category:Hindu dynasties]]
[[Category:Maratha Empire]]
[[Category:History of taxation in India]]

Economy of the Maratha Empire - Revision history

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