When the World Brought Its Silver to India’s Door Quick Answer: In the 17th century, India was one of the world’s largest manufacturing centers, textiles, spices, steel, all of it. Europe had little worth offering India in return, so payment came in silver instead. The mines of the Americas, Japan’s silver, and the trade routes…
When India Gave Money a Standard Quick Answer: The Rupee’s foundations were laid in the 1540s by Sher Shah Suri, who introduced a fixed 178-grain high-quality silver coin called the Rupiya. Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556–1605) adopted and refined this system, making the Rupee the most widely accepted silver standard across the Mughal Empire — roughly…
Prologue: Man, Gold, and Trust The Oldest Question Imagine this. You are a farmer. I am a blacksmith from the city. You have wheat. I have a plough. You need the plough. I need the wheat. We meet, we exchange. Problem solved. Economists call this the Barter System. But what if I don’t need wheat?…