Volume 2 - Issue 2, March - April 2026

This article examines the maritime cultural landscape of Balasore, Odisha, highlighting its role as a major shipbuilding and repair centre from the seventeenth to early nineteenth century. Drawing on archival records and maritime scholarship, it emphasizes the importance of the Budhabalanga River in sustaining dockyard activity and regional trade. European companies, including the East India Company and the Danish East India Company, relied heavily on indigenous shipbuilding expertise and riverine infrastructure. The study argues that Balasore’s decline was not solely due to colonial domination but resulted from environmental changes, technological shifts such as steamship introduction, and the centralization of maritime administration in larger ports like Calcutta. Overall, the article repositions Balasore as an active participant in early modern Indian Ocean commerce rather than a peripheral colonial outpost.

Dr. Sikhasree Ray, Prof.Pabitra Mohan Nayak, Mrs.Jeenapriyanka Jethi, Mr.Santigopal Jana, Parshuram Mohanty, Soumyashree Nayak, "Maritime Cultural Landscape, Indigenous Shipbuilding Technology, and Colonial Trade Dynamics in Early Modern Balasore, Odisha" International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Educational Development, V2(2): Page(96-105) Mar-Apr 2026. ISSN: 3107-6513. www.ijamred.com. Published by Scientific and Academic Research Publishing.