Explain: The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century.
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Source: TextbookThe port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century primarily due to the growing power and influence of the European colonial companies, particularly the British East India Company. As the British consolidated their control, they shifted the centre of trade away from the old Indian ports like Surat and towards new ports that they controlled, such as Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata). The European companies secured a monopoly over trade, established their own shipping fleets, and undermined the existing networks of Indian merchants and bankers who had financed trade through Surat. This deliberate redirection of trade routes and monopolisation of commerce by the British led to the gradual decay and marginalisation of Surat as India's premier trading port.
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