Cotton: fluffy, white and soft. It’s hard to imagine how different our wardrobes and homes would be without it. Of all the natural fibres, cotton has captured global attention like no other. To date, it is still the most profitable non-food crop in the world, with an estimated global value of £1.4 trillion. How did we get to the point of such staggering profits and consumption?
For many centuries, cotton was extensively grown, harvested and produced throughout the Indian subcontinent. These industries relied on local knowledge and crafts, skills passed from generation to generation, supported by a thriving network of national and international trade routes. Indian cottons were highly sought after by many cultures: bespoke orders were tailor-made to suit the tastes and habits of various societies, their colours and patterns altered accordingly. These wares ranged from the finest quality cloth destined for the elites, so light that – famously – it could fit through a ring, to cheaper cotton bought in bulk, which was bound up with the slave trade in West Africa.
After the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama’s arrival in India in 1498, there followed an influx of European traders keen to cash in on both spices and cotton. The booming demand led to a spate of industrial inventions, cotton plantations and the control of labour, land and people, which ultimately shaped empires. Another result: the enormous disparities in relative wealth and poverty that we still see today.