The river Ganges is of very unequal breadth, being in some places a League, in others a League and a half wide; so that when the wind is high this River abounds with Waves and Billows, no ways inferior to those of the sea (Glanius, A Relation of An Unfortunate Voyage to the Kingdom of Bengala, 1682, London, Henry Bonwick: 151–2).

States, Religious Networks and Maritime Societies

This book is about Bengal. Bengal is a land of rivers. Its coastal (or littoral) history is marked by centuries old interactions with other lands, peoples and cultures. The history of its coastal commerce and sea trade betrays a continuous negotiation between placid upland rivers coming from the Gangetic plain, swift rivers coming down from the north eastern India, sluggish deltaic zones that house many of Bengal's ports, and the open sea. Such a landscape has rendered Bengal's littoral space unique. The discovery of pre-historic stone figures from eastern India–mainly of snakes, monitor lizards, ducks, birds, toads and frogs–affirm the existence of this distinctive zone from very early times. No work on the commercial history of Bengal can afford to ignore this distinctive waterscape.

Sailing in Bengal is a combination of riverine (upcountry), coastal and sea navigation. Sailing is an integral part of this landscape. Ballads have been composed around boats, poems and novellas have been written about ships at sea, and customs, rituals and festivities have grown around sailing practices and passed into the stuff of legend. Sailing practices have complemented three types of trade: riverine, coastal and long distance.