Camp towns
Topic: Medieval India through Travellers' Eyes · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Through the Eyes of Travellers"
Meaning
"Camp towns" was François Bernier's label for Mughal cities in the 17th century. He believed these cities lived only because of the imperial camp (the moving court and army). In his view, they grew when the court arrived and declined quickly when it left. Historians reject this as far too simple.
Example
In fact, about 15% of India's people lived in towns in the 17th century. On average this was higher than in Western Europe at that time. There were many kinds of towns:
- manufacturing towns
- trading towns
- port towns
- sacred centres and pilgrimage towns
Cities like Ahmedabad had strong merchant bodies called mahajans, led by a chief merchant called the nagarsheth. They did not depend on the emperor's presence.
Don't confuse with
- Karkhanas: imperial workshops that Bernier described in detail. They were real centres of craft production, while "camp towns" was his misleading view of whole cities.