Kush's Royal Household
Near the Middle Nile Basin, which was at the time producing Cotton In different continents, in eastern Sudan, cotton (Gossypium herbaceum Linnaeus) may have been domesticated as early as 5000 BC. In Mero, cotton production and expertise in its spinning and weaving peaked in the 4th century BC. Textile exports were one of Mero's main sources of wealth accumulation
Cotton may have played a significant role in the economy of Nubia due to its use in trade with the Egyptians who lived nearby, according to the findings of some academics. Physical evidence of cotton processing tools and the presence of cattle in some places both point to the existence of a "culture of cotton" in ancient Nubia. The Aksumite King Ezana claimed in his inscription that during his conquest of the area, he destroyed large cotton harvests in Mero.
Cotton Plants
Most of these fabric remnants are from Lower Nubia, and 85% of the textiles found in Classic/Late Meroitic sites are made of cotton. Cotton, a plant that normally thrives in moderate rainfall and better soils, requires more irrigation and work in Sudanese climate conditions because of these arid conditions.
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| Cotton Plants |
Numerous cotton textiles from the Meroitic Period, which began in the third century BCE, have been discovered and survived thanks to hospitable dry conditions. This would have taken a substantial amount of resources, which would have likely restricted its cultivation to the aristocracy.
As can be seen from the direction of spun cotton and the weaving technique, discovered cotton fragments from the first to the third century CE all started to reflect the same style and manufacturing process. Cotton fabrics can also be found in prestigious locations like statues and burial stelae.
China
During the Han era, which spanned from 207 BC to 220 AD, Chinese people in the province of Yunnan, which is situated in the southern region of China, grew cotton.
Pacific and Asian regions
Egyptians were in charge of cotton cultivation and spinning for the first seven centuries of the Christian era.
Since the sixth century, handheld roller cotton gins have been used in India; from there, they were exported to other nations. In the 12th and 14th centuries, India and China saw the development of dual-roller gins. From there, portable roller cotton gins were employed in various nations.
The Indian dual-roller gin had been adopted as standard machinery in the cotton trade all over the Mediterranean by the 16th century. In some areas, the force of the water was used to push this mechanical device.
The first distinct representations of the spinning wheel were created in the Islamic realm in the eleventh century. Since the first clear mention of a spinning wheel in India dates from 1350, it is possible that Iran introduced the spinning wheel to India during the Delhi Sultanate.
Europe
In his texts and illustrations, the 14th-century artist John Mandeville portrayed cotton plants.
During the late medieval era, cotton became well-known in northern Europe as an imported material. Everyone at the time just knew that cotton was a plant; they had no idea where it came from or how it was made.
Since Herodotus stated in Book III, Page 106 of his Histories that wool-producing trees naturally existed in India, it was assumed that the plant was a tree rather than a shrub. As a result, it was presumed that the plant was a tree. German speakers refer to cotton as baumwolle, which literally translates to "tree wool" (Baum is the German word for "tree" and Wolle is the word for "wool").
Numerous Germanic languages have names for cotton that reflect this trait. Locals in the area could only surmise that cotton must be produced by plant-born sheep because of its striking resemblance to wool. (See Vegetable Lamb of Tartary) According to John Mandeville, who was writing in the year 1350, it was a known fact that "there grew there [India] a wonderful tree which bore tiny lambs on the ends of its branches.
These branches were so pliable that they bent down to allow the lambs to feed when they are hungry."
The lamb's veggie counterpart in Tartary.
The earliest cotton products were made in Europe during the Muslim invasion of Sicily and the Iberian Peninsula. The knowledge of cotton weaving moved to northern Italy after the Norman invasion of Sicily in the 12th century, and from there, it spread to the rest of Europe. When the spinning wheel was introduced to Europe about the year 1350, cotton spinning could be finished more quickly. By the 15th century, Venice, Antwerp, and Haarlem were important cotton trading ports, and the trade in cotton goods was now highly lucrative.
Islamic India
The two main topics covered are the Mughal Empire and the Bengali Muslim trade.
Additional information on India's economic history
A woman wearing lovely Bengali muslin can be seen in Dhaka in the 18th century.
Under the Mughal Empire, which ruled the Indian subcontinent from the early 16th century until the early 18th century, cotton production in India increased dramatically. Both the manufacturing of cotton textiles and cotton raw cotton increased throughout this period.
Agrarian reforms were adopted by the Mughals, who also favored higher-value cash crops like cotton and indigo in their new income structure. This enhanced market demand while also giving the state incentives to develop lucrative crops. The Mughals also reorganized the system of land allocation as part of their agrarian reforms.
The most significant industrial enterprise in the Mughal Empire was the production of cotton textiles. Piece goods, calicos, and muslins were all produced in this sector and were all offered unbleached and in a range of colors.
In the 18th century, Indian cotton textiles were the most significantly produced items in international trade and were used everywhere from the Americas to Japan. The Bengal Subah province, notably the area around its capital city of Dhaka, was the most significant hub of cotton production. In the first half of the eighteenth century, India accounted for 25% of the world's textile commerce. In the 18th century, Indian cotton textiles were the most significantly produced items in international trade.
Mughal Empire
The worm gear roller cotton gin was developed in India in the early Delhi Sultanate period of the 13th to the 14th centuries, entered usage in the Mughal Empire somewhere in the 16th century and is still in use in India today.
In India at some point during the late Delhi Sultanate or the early Mughal Empire, the cotton gin was the first to incorporate the crank handle. The widespread use of the spinning wheel, along with the addition of the worm gear and crank handle into the roller cotton gin, led to a significant increase in the number of cotton textiles produced in India during the Mughal era. Cotton production may have started in this period.
An Indian cotton gin, which is half machine and half tool, was said to be capable of cleaning 28 pounds of cotton every day with the help of one man and one woman. With the aid of an Indian cotton gin, this was done.
By modifying the Forbes method, one man and one child might produce 250 pounds of food per day. 16 of these machines could perform the same amount of work as 750 people in the past if oxen were used to power them and a few people's labor was used to feed them.