India was known as ‘Sone ki Chidiya’, which means Golden bird, for a reason, as India had a reasonably a strong money market and credit instruments at a time when the East India Company entered the country.
After the end of Aurangzeb’s government, bankers and merchants started playing a pivotal role in the country for taxes.
It is really a matter of pride that India had a banker as well as a merchant, like Manikchand of Bengal, in the 17th century. His banking house earned the title of Jagat Seth 300 years ago. He was that successful businessman that many modern businessmen do not seem to do even today. He mastered everything related to business at that time.
Interestingly, he was the only person in India in the 17th century who lent money to not just people but to big nations like Britain and he even had handsome money which was more than Britain’s bank.
According to reports, his properties and belongings are about 10,000,000 pounds. If it is estimated in today’s time, then it will be close to 1000 billion pounds in total. In the current documents of the British government, it is believed that at that time, the total assets of the Jagat Seth family were much higher than all the banks in England. Even in the 1720s, the British economy was less than the wealth of the merchant household.
After the demise of Madhab Rai & Maharaj Swaroop Chand, empire of Jagat Seth started collapsing as they lost control over much of the land they owned. Also, the money that the British East India Company borrowed from them, was never paid back. By the 1900s, the Sahu Family or the Jagat Seths disappeared and their descendants are not known…