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Solid ground beneath their feet? Armenian entrepreneurs in India, 1800-1950
| Armenians have been a community with a strong presence in different countries of Europe and Asia from at least the early modern times. The networks of trans-regional commerce based on ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ ties that gave a few members of the community a foothold even in the New World, drew also on the symbiotic relationships developed by the members of the diaspora with the governments of the host countries. In the eighteenth century they were one of the most important Asian ethnic groups participating in trans-regional commerce from their various bases in India. They usually purchased products from indigenous artisans and either supplied them to the Europeans or exported the goods themselves to other countries. Continuous circulation of commodities, information, and members of the diaspora among the bigger and smaller networks spread over distant parts of the world was embedded in the nature of this commerce. As the structure of the overseas trade of India changed after 1800, and as the organization of the seaborne commerce required different mechanisms, Armenians, like many other communities, had to find other ways to survive. Through a successful exploitation of market conditions, and the expanding institutions of the colonial government, it was possible for this group to carve a niche for themselves under the colonial government. This paper will analyze their changing nature of enterprise and network formation, and their relationship with the new elite after the transition from indigenous to colonial rule in India.
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