Mulla Abdul Goffur

Mulla Abdul Goffur was one of the greatest merchant-traders of the Mughal Empire in the third quarter of the seventeenth century. He had a complete hold over the hinterland trade of the Mughal port of Surat as also the export trade from Surat to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf with a fleet of seventeen vessels which even the foreign Companies envied. From the activities of Mulla Abdul Goffur and Virji Vora in Surat, and the Jagath Seths and Khwaja Wazid in Bengal it is evident that Europeans had to face severe competition from Asian merchants. It was only when the Asian markets were subjected to European military and political power such as in the Moluccas, Macasser, or Bantam that the Asians were driven out of these places. From the mercantile activities of above mentioned men that they were far from being at the receiving end of the European Mercantile impact, they could and often did dictate terms to them.