On the commercial side his system introduced State trading in valuable commodities such as sandal wood, silk, spices, coconut, rice, sulfur and elephants. It set up State own Kothis [kothi] or trading houses enabling on the western coast as far as far north as Kutch and in Madras, Pondicherry, Hyderabad and Muscat. These trading houses were to be run by trained officials operating with capital advanced by the State. The Sultan himself was to exercise close supervision upon the activities of these Kothis [kothi]. Following these examples of the European mercantilist powers [mercantilism] he sought to impose a State monopoly on foreign trade, prohibiting private traders from importing any foreign commodities except horses, elephants, mules, camels and guns and banning all trade contacts with Madras the seat of British power in South India. In fact he virtually imposed a blockade on all trades between Mysore and the British.