What were Bernier’s views about of 17th-century cities? Why his description is oversimplified?
Around 15% population in the 17th century lived in towns. This ratio was more than the ratio of the urban population of Europe. Then he described Mughal towns as ‘camp towns’ which he meant by those towns which were dependent upon imperial camps for their existence. He believed that these towns came into existence when the imperial court moved in and declined very quickly when it moved out. He also wrote that they did not have viable social and economic foundations and they were dependent upon imperial patronage.
