Battles in Europe using gunpowder from Bengal

When the sun sets in the East, the Western sky is tinged with the light of dawn. Today, the Middle East trembles under Western arms; on either side of the Wagah border, foreign aircraft or drones ignite the lands of India and Pakistan. Yet, in earlier times, the soil of Europe shuddered under the weaponry of India and medieval Bengal.

What was that weapon? Nicknamed shora, its main ingredient was potassium nitrate, the principal component of gunpowder. The largest suppliers were the merchants of Bengal.

Production of shora or saltpetre in Bengal, and indeed all of India, began in the Mughal era. Babur established the Mughal Empire in India with the help of Turkish cannons and gunpowder. After Babur’s death, Humayun could not maintain the Mughal dominance for long. Blinded by the lust for power, emperors repeatedly commit the blunder of expansionism. Babur’s son Humayun made the same mistake: once he became Sultan of Delhi and much of India was under his feet, he became obsessed with expanding his territory. His eyes turned towards the Sultanate of Bengal. At that time, Sher Shah Suri sat on the throne of Bengal-Bihar. Humayun's forces marched to defeat him and take control of Bengal. Instead, the Mughals were defeated. An invigorated Sher Shah launched a counterattack on the Mughals, advancing steadily toward Agra. After defeating Humayun, he captured northern India. The Mughals were exiled temporarily.

By then, India’s rulers had learned the cannonball-making formula from the Turks. Saltpetre — shora or potassium nitrate, the key component of gunpowder — was being produced especially in Patna (presently the capital of Indian state of Bihar). In other words, the entire control of Bengal’s saltpetre was in Sher Shah’s hands. Five years after capturing Agra, Sher Shah attempted to conquer the fortress of Vindhya in Uttar Pradesh, where he died from a cannonball strike. Who knows, perhaps that very cannonball came from Patna, under his own rule!

Ten years later, Humayun again conquered India, expanding his empire. After his death, his son Akbar ascended the throne of Agra. During this time, a battle ensued between Akbar’s general Bairam Khan and Delhi’s commander Hemu — the Second Battle of Panipat. In the absence of the Mughals, control over India’s saltpetre trade had passed into Hemu’s hands.

In a previous article, we discussed the Nunia community, who were involved in the production and processing of shora. They became so skilled in this craft that they produced the finest shora in the world. By the third decade of the 17th century, shora had become Patna’s most lucrative commodity.

During Sher Shah’s time, Portuguese traders were active in Bengal. They bought shora from Patna and exported it to Europe via Goa port. However, they relied more on Rajapur in Maharashtra than on Patna. One major reason was the local rulers’ demand for cannonballs. After Bengal’s rulers secured quality ammunition for themselves, the leftover shora was what foreign traders got. At one point, Chhatrapati Shivaji of Maharashtra brought the production and export of shora under state control.

In 1625, King Charles I ascended the throne in Britain. Soon after, religious wars erupted in British territories, plunging England into civil war — especially severe clashes with Scotland. The British crown then realised they needed to bolster their arsenals and stockpile more gunpowder. That effort began.

At that time, Britain produced shora domestically through a special process, which was similar to the forced indigo cultivation in India — imposed harshly on common people. The amount of shora collected this way only met one-quarter of Britain’s demand. The remaining three-quarters had to be imported. But importing shora from India was not easy for Britain. The Dutch East India Company dominated the market. The British East India Company could not compete. So, the British government tried to purchase shora from the Dutch and also turned to Germany and other countries — but they failed to procure quality shora. Consequently, pressure increased on the British East India Company.

At the time, the Dutch East India Company controlled Bengal’s shora trade. Though it was the Portuguese who first introduced Bengal’s shora to the global market, it was the Dutch who built its brand value. Relations between the Mughal rulers of Bengal and the Portuguese soured. The situation deteriorated to the point where the rulers of Bengal tried to drive them out. The Dutch East India Company aided in this effort, leading to the Portuguese being expelled from Hooghly. Thereafter, the Dutch took control of Bengal’s shora trade.

They bought saltpetre from local traders and purified it in stages before shipping it to Europe. That shora was of the highest global standard, making the Dutch immensely wealthy. So much so that they established a company: the Dutch East India Company. Their shora factory was in Bengal itself, near Chinsurah port in Kolkata. However, they could not procure shora at will. After fulfilling the Mughals' demands, they needed special permits to buy the rest. The Dutch paid high prices for these permits and did business. In 1618, the Dutch produced a modest amount of shora, but by 1632, they had set up a massive factory in Chinsurah. Over the next four decades, their business flourished. Meanwhile, the British engaged in unprofitable ventures in Surat, Coromandel and Agra. By 1670, they withdrew from those regions and set up base in Bengal. They began trading, particularly in shora, and profits poured in.

Seeing their booming business, the Nawabs of Bengal and Bihar were unwilling to forgo their share. A special tax was imposed on shora. The Dutch, flush with cash, paid the high taxes without much trouble. But the British East India Company lacked funds and found themselves cornered. They folded their operations in Bengal, causing the saltpetre trade to collapse. Consequently, they appeased the British and invited them back.

A major political change then took place in Subah Bengal. The Mughals began to weaken, and Subah Bengal emerged as an independent state. In 1717, Murshid Quli Khan became the first Nawab of independent Subah Bengal. The control of the shora trade also came under his jurisdiction. Mughal imperial permits became irrelevant. Sensing the opportunity, the French East India Company rushed to Bengal. This brought balance to the trade and increased European commercial activity in the region. To preserve their positions, the three companies formed a balance agreement. Each company contracted local merchants for a specific quota of shora. But the Dutch, being wealthier and more powerful, soon broke the agreement and purchased more shora than the others, thereby making greater profits. The French and British refused to accept this. They complained to the Nawab, and disputes broke out among them.

In 1727, Murshid Quli Khan died. His son-in-law Shuja-ud-Din Khan ascended the throne, only to pass away in 1732. His son Sarfaraz Khan then took the throne. During Shuja-ud-Din’s reign, Alivardi Khan was appointed governor of Bihar. In 1740, he revolted, attacked Murshidabad, defeated and killed Sarfaraz Khan, and became the ruler of Bengal — one of its most capable rulers ever.

Soon after assuming power, Alivardi Khan observed the European merchants embroiled in internal conflict. He brought this chaos under control by abolishing the Europeans’ right to buy shora directly. Instead, he delegated the trade to select local businessmen. These traders bought shora from Nunia wholesalers and sold it to the British. One such intermediary was Amir Chand or Umichand, who later conspired against the British during Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah’s reign.

Through close ties with Amir Chand, the British East India Company rapidly rose to dominance, establishing a monopoly over the shora trade.

In 1756, Nawab Alivardi Khan died. His grandson Siraj-ud-Daulah took the throne, but lacked his grandfather’s authority. Exploiting Siraj’s weakness, Lord Clive and Mir Jafar’s group conspired to oust him. Siraj-ud-Daulah was killed. Effectively, Bengal came under the control of the British East India Company. The company seized the exclusive right to Bengal’s shora, and the stockpiles of gunpowder in the British arsenal grew steadily.

Meanwhile, in the same year — 1756 — the British Crown engaged in war with the French. France had superior manpower and resources. The war lasted seven years. But manpower is not everything — weaponry ultimately shifts the tide of battle. The British had more than enough gunpowder. Meanwhile, after losing control of Bengal, the French East India Company was expelled by the British, leading to a shortage of shora on their side, which impacted their performance on the battlefield. Despite having a massive army, the French were defeated. The British became the dominant power in Europe — thanks to the gunpowder from Bengal.

Abdul Gaffar Rony: Science writer