Kashmir was an important source of ice for the Indian plains during the Mughal era.
The only place they could obtain ice from was Boston, America, as the East India Company was unable to continue the costly process.
According to an article by Neha Bunka in The Indian Express, “About three centuries before the British mesmerised the city of Calcutta with ice, Babur, the first Mughal emperor, used his extensive resources to transport ice on elephants and horseback from Kashmir to the capital in Delhi.”
There is historical documentation that the British tried to imitate the Mughals’ practise of bringing ice from Kashmir, but due to the costs, East India Company authorities abandoned the practice and concentrated instead on American ice.
The East India Company relied on American ice as the Kashmir ice was otherwise not able to survive for long.
In September 1833, American ice from the frozen rivers, ponds, and streams of Massachusetts began to arrive in Calcutta. It could take up to four months for a shipment. American ice imports became the most popular good by 1847.
The American ice monopoly ended in 1878 when colonial India developed its own infrastructure for producing ice.