Schorer’s Account of the Coromandel Coast
Summary
This translation presents a 1616 Dutch description of the Coromandel Coast by Anthony Schorer. After serving seven years at the Dutch East India Company’s factory in Masulipatnam, Schorer wrote a detailed report on the geography, trade and society of the coast stretching from the Gulf of Mannar to Narsapur. He enumerates Dutch factories at Tegnapatnam, Pulicat, Nizampatnam and Masulipatnam, listing local products such as cotton cloth, saltpetre and indigo, and imported goods including spices, silk, camphor and metals. The text carefully explains currency conversions (fanams, pagodas, cassens), weights and duties, and notes that duties on imports could be paid in kind while export duties were paid in cash. Schorer remarks on the multi‑ethnic population—Hindus, Muslims, Portuguese and Persians—and records customs like sati and polygamy. He describes shipping routes linking Coromandel with Bengal, Sumatra, Ceylon, the Maldives and Malaya, detailing the commodities exchanged on each route. The account thus provides a rare early seventeenth‑century European view of south‑eastern India’s maritime economy.
AI-assisted summary, not yet checked. Consult the original PDF before citing.
Conclusion
Schorer’s report is invaluable for historians of trade and cross‑cultural contact. It captures the complexity of Coromandel commerce, the interplay of European and Asian merchants, and the diversity of local society. Such first‑hand descriptions complement indigenous sources and enrich our understanding of the Indian Ocean world before colonial domination.