(i) Before the age of machine industries, silk and cotton goods from India dominated the international market in textiles. Coarser cotton was produced in many countries, but the finer varieties often came from India. Armenian and Persian merchants took the goods from Punjab to Afghanistan, Eastern Persia and Central Asia.
(ii) Bales of fine textiles were carried on camel back via the North West frontier, through mountain passes and across deserts.
(iii) A vibrant sea trade operated through the main pre-colonial ports. Surat on the Gujarat coast connected India to the Gulf and Red Sea Ports; Masulipatnam on the Coromandel Coast and Hooghly in Bengal had trade links with Southeast Asian ports.
