The role of Indian merchants and bankers in the network of export trade was as follows- (i) From the late eighteenth century, the British in India began exporting opium to China and took tea from China to England (ii) Many Indians became junior players in this trade, providing finance, procuring supplies, and shipping consignments. (iii) Having earned through trade, some of these businessmen had visions of developing industrial enterprises in India (iv) Some merchants from Madras traded Burma while others had links with the Middle East and East Africa. There were yet other commercial groups, but they were not directly involved in external trade. They operated within India, carving goods from one place to another, banking money, transferring funds between cities, and financing traders.

Opium Trade _{The image is taken from Wikipedia}

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