A Study Of Indian Textile Trade Of Spain And Portugal In Early Modern Times And Intercultural Interaction

As the first two countries to start Great Navigation,Spain and Portugal played an important role in Eastern trade,trafficking Indian textiles to all around the world.They are pioneers in connecting the world as a whole.However,there are currently few researches on these two countries in China,and there is almost no special research on the Indian textile trade conducted by Spain and Portugal in the early modern times.Therefore,it is necessary to study this issue from a perspective of global history combined with Spanish and Portuguese materials.From the 16 th century to the mid-17 th century,the Portuguese used gold and silver to purchase textiles from India,active in the seas of Asia and Europe.In the late 16 th century,the Portuguese began to invest heavily in textiles,while Spain opened the Manila Galleon trade.Textiles became the most important commodity in the mid-17 th to mid-18 th centuries,with growing demand in European market and a large number of cheap cotton fabrics being sold to Latin America.Spain and Portugal created a global network linking the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean for the first time,and Indian cotton textile became "the first global consumer goods".Indian cotton textiles stimulated the development of the textile industry in Spain and Portugal.They began to import raw materials and semi-finished products instead of importing textiles,promoting the transcontinental dissemination of textile technology.The exchange of dyeing technology triggered by Indian indigo is a typical example,which has led to the emergence of a new fabric printing industry.In the 16 th century,the advance payment of European merchants and the Dardenne system of controlling production appeared in India,and Indian professional weavers began to serve long-distance trade,relying heavily on contractors.The initial use of Indian cotton textiles was to decorate living life in Western European countries;migrants to the Americas also carried large amounts of cotton textiles.At the end of the 17 th century,cotton textiles were widely used in Western European clothing,including shirts,handkerchiefs,headscarves and sleeves;the print fabric became popular among the poor and rich people.Embroidered cotton cloth with fringes and other decorations represented wealth and status,and muslin synonymous with fashion.Indian textiles became the largest commodity in demand in Latin America in the 16 th and 17 th centuries,Lima became a major consumer of textiles.Textile trade promoted the exchange and interaction of textile fashion and social culture in Europe and Asia.Indian cotton textiles blended Portuguese naval patterns with Indian mythical figures and so on.The most famous pattern,"Tree of Life",has undergone many changes to integrate European aesthetic habits and Chinese elements,having an impact on printed cotton fabrics and wallpaper in Spain and Portugal.The textile trade promoted the establishment of the colonial system of imperialism in Spain and Portugal.Many Portuguese people gradually interacted and integrated with Asians,and regarded India as their homeland;they were no longer homesick and did not return home to engage in trade.The Spanish and Portuguese exchanged Indian coarse cloth for slaves of West Africa,and also used it as a waist cloth for slaves.The blue cloth worn by slaves became the "cloth of sadness".Indian cotton textiles made a significant contribution to the establishment of the slavery plantations in the Americas.To sum up,the Indian textile trade carried out by Spain and Portugal has promoted exchanges and interactions among Asia,Africa,Europe,and America,demonstrating the tremendous energy of combining capital and national power.