Boomtime in Cholamandalam
L.R.S. Lakshmi
TRADE AND POLITICS ON THE COROMANDEL COAST: SEVENTEENTH AND EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES by Radhika Seshan Primus Books, Delhi, 2013, 137 pp., 695
April 2013, volume 37, No 4

Although much has been written on the trade and political economy in southern India in the medieval and modern periods by scholars such as Burton Stein, S. Arasaratnam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, this recent book by Radhika Seshan on the Coromandel coast adds to the historical literature on regional studies. The author has analysed in detail how trade and politics were interwoven on the coast and in the process, she has raised many questions that are still debated by maritime historians. The book is divided into four chapters, each with interesting titles that match its content and the appendices are also informative.

Set in a time period that covers the two rich and prosperous Chola and Vijayanagara empires, this book delves into the intricacies of the vibrant trade along the Chola-mandalam coastline.

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