'm^ay c/o. ^4t<^^^:Ui- ci^^/i^ ?^>v^ t/n^'t/friu^^c^ y^aMc Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/eriglishinwesternOOanderich THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA; BEING THE HISTOEY OF THE FACTOKY AT SUEAT, OF BOMBAY, AND THE SUBORDINATE FACTORIES ON THE WESTERN COAST. « FROM THE EABLIEST PERIOD UNTIL THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. DRAWN FROM AUTHENTIC WORKS AND ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. PHILIP' "ANDEU^ON, A.M., ONE OF THE HONOURABLE COMPANY'S CHAPLAINS IN THE DIOCESE OF BOMBAY, AND A VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE BOMBAY BRANCH OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. SECOND EDITION, REVISED. LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., Q6, CORNHILL BOMBAY: SMITH, TAYLOR AND CO. 1856. [The Author of this Work reserves the right of authorizing a T^f^ushtion^ ^^^^'i • • laSNRY MORSE STEPH^IKS a<. PREFACE. The following pages will not, it is hoped, be thought uncalled for, as they fill an hiatus in Indian History. They contain facts which have been hitherto buried in old Manuscripts or in such printed works as are not accessible to many persons. It has been thought that when such are given for the first time to the world, they should be clothed, as far as possible, in simple and unadorned language. They may thus form a groundwork for those whose object is philo- sophical inquiry, and to trace the progress of Anglo- Indian civilization. The various authorities have been carefully examined, accurately quoted, and a diligent attempt has been made to estimate their true value. First in importance are the Records of Government, permission to consult which was conceded with liberality, and accepted with gratitude. Next in importance comes Bruce's Work, which is simply an analysis of those Records. The third place must be assigned to writers who have 511492 VI PREFACE. consulted those Eecords, and made use of them to a limited extent; — such are Orme, Macpherson, Mil- burn, Grant DufF, and Kaye. In the fourth class are personal narratives, such as those of Herbert, Roe, Fryer, Terry, Ovington, and Alexander Hamilton. These have different degrees of authenticity, which we must determine in various ways. There is no reason to question the truth of their accounts, when they declare that they were eye-witnesses of the facts which they record ; but when their information was gained at second hand, we know that they were liable to be imposed upon. Hamilton especially had a particular bias, and was a prejudiced, although pro- bably an honest man. The books of least importance in the compilation of this little work have been standard histories ; for they are not drawn from original sources, and sometimes their facts are squeezed into a shape which best suits their writer's purpose, or is most ornamental to his pages. In searching original Manuscripts, the object has not been to note down facts which have already appeared in the pages of authentic writers. That would have consumed much time, with no other result than the correction of a few and unimportant mis- takes. The aim has simply been to supplement histories, and to record circumstances which had been concealed from observation through the neglect of inquirers, a low estimate of their value, or timidity in exposing nude and ugly truths. Bacon has broadly stated it as his opinion, that " a PREFACE. Vll mixture of a lie doth ev^r add pleasure ;" and that although truth may be as much valued as a pearl, which shews best by day, it will never rise to the price of a diamond, which shews best in varied lights. This hint appears to have been taken by some modern historians, who have converted history into romance, and not merely set off, but disguised facts with orna- ments of imagination. Perhaps, however, some sober- minded readers will be satisfied with knowing, that as the writer of the following Chapters cannot oflPer the attractions of such authors, so neither has he been led away by their peculiar temptations. He has not endeavoured to walk on the stilts of fancy ; but has been satisfied with the secure footing of plain dealing and truth. One circumstance to which his attention has been obligingly drawn may be here noticed. The troops which Sir Abraham Shipman brought with him from England (see page HI, &c.) formed the Honourable Company's First European Regiment, and are at this day represented by the gallant Fusiliers. It appears that two Regiments had been raised in England. One was sent to Tangier, and when that place was aban- doned, having returned to England, obtained infamous notoriety as " Kirke's Lambs." This body of men is now represented by the Second or Queen's Regiment. The other Regiment, which was raised in 1638, after- wards comprised the European officers and soldiers who are mentioned in this work. When Bombay was transferred to the Company, only ninety-three soldiers Vlll PREFACE. were living of the five hundred which had left England; hut few as they were, these must he regarded as the Corps which has since gained so many laurels in various parts of India. CONTENTS, CHAPTER I. 1612—1616. PAGE Object of the writer— Progress of the British Power in India ; its incongruous character; its moral force — Early European travellers : Sir John Mandeville, Friar Odoricus, the Portuguese, Caesar Frederick — Early English travellers : Thomas Stephens ; his valuable letters; Leedes, Fitch, Newbury, a painter and others — English prisoners at Goa; their harsh treatment — Mildenhall arrives by the overland route ; his crimes and death — Captain Hawkins and his wife — ^William Finch— Wreck of the Ascension — Sir Henry Middleton — Best — Defeat of the Portu- guese — Receipt of a firman — First establishment of English reputation — English Factors : Starkey, Canning, Aldworth, and Withington ; their adventures — Downton — Second defeat of the Portuguese — Sir Robert Shirley and Sir Thomas Powell ; their misfortunes — Edwards' mission to the Great Mogul ; his presents — Sir Thomas Roe ; arrives at Surat ; reception at Burhampoor and Ajmeer ; his presents ; revelries ; jealousy of the Factors — Roe's subsequent history — Treaty with the Zamorin — Factory established at Calicut — Sea fight : Portuguese gallantry — Sketch of the Portuguese — Establishment of a Dutch Factory ; their economy ; Van den Broeck — English shipping 1 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER 11. 1616—1630. PAGE Arrangements of the Factory — President Kerridge ; his character — Joseph Salbank ; his complaint — Presidents Rastell and Wyld — Business of the Factors ; their private trade, and inadequate salaries ; their social position : aims solely mercantile — Domestic economy of the Factory — Dress of the period adopted in India — Society; a weeding banquet; no English ladies; history of a Portuguese damsel; intemperance — Legal powers to restrain offenders ; escape of a Dutch murderer — Religion ; the clergy ; the Rev. Henry Lord ; his Oriental researches ; Lescke and John Hall ; Terry ; his history ; his sermon before the Company ; Cope- land; Dr. John Wood's good opinion of the Company — Conversion of the natives ; Salbank's pious letter — Native opinions of English Christianity ; the Knight of the Golden Rapier's opinion ; account of this personage — Three portraits ; Tom Coryat ; his travels and eccentricities ; death and burial ; the reckless son of an English baron ; a rollicking cook — Delia Valle's visit to Surat ; his romantic history — Sir Thomas Herbert's visit ; his history — Two speculators ; scheme for navigating the Indu§ — Piracies by the Company's Captains — Reflections on English character 41 CHAPTER IIL 1630—1662. A dark age — Oldest despatch extant in India — Surat becomes the Company's chief place of trade — Description of Surat ; its popula- tion and trade — The use and exportation of tea; orders from England for tea — Swally ; description of the port and roads — English accounts of the state of the country; the Emperor's wealth ; inventory of his jewels ; various opinions ; oppression ; unsettled state of the provinces ; dangers of travelling ; thuggism ; highway robbers ; a bloody nach ; the markets; awkward position of foreigners — Presidents Methwold, Fremlen, Breton, Blackman, Revington, Wyche, and Andrews — Speculation in a diamond — Weddel and Mountney, agents of a new Company — Pusillanimity CONTENTS. XI PAGE of the President and Factors — Expedients of the new Company ; piracy — Sufferings of the Factors — Union of the two Companies — Interlopers — Question of monopoly stated and considered — Failure and triumph of monopoly — First collision with Sivajee — Factories at Rajapoor, Carwar, Cochin, and Ponani — Improve- ment in the social position of the Factors ; their mal-practices — Private trade — Surgeon Boughton's adventures— Davidge's mission — Internal economy of the Factory ; regularity of prayers ; religious tone ; Sunday sports ; refreshments — Dutch hostility 72 CHAPTER IV. 1662—1685. Bombay ; origin of the name — Its importance ; at first little appre- ciated — Description — The Company desire to obtain it; their plans and proposal — Ceded to England — Arrival of an English fleet — The Portuguese refuse to evacuate — English fleet sails with the troops to Swally ; thence to Anjeedeva — Bombay resigned to the English under Cook ; his absurd treaty — Appearance of the new possession — Sir Gervase Lucas succeeds Cook as Governor ; his history and death — Captain Gary ; his character ; his claim to the Governorship disputed — Bombay transferred to the Company — Commission sent from Surat — Bombay governed by Commis- sioners — Deputy Governors Gray, Gyfford, and Henry Oxenden — Court resolves to improve Bombay — Mlitary arrangements ; the militia ; the regular troops ; first European regiment — Fortifications, and other defences — Threatened attack from a Dutch fleet — Development of the resources of Bombay — Land tenures — Natives invited to settle — Trade encouraged — A Mint — Courts of Judicature — The first Judge — Unhealthiness of the climate ; cholera ; its cure ; causes of unhealthiness ; intemperance of sick soldiers ; an hospital built — A church proposed ; the rise of Christianity ; a Bishop at Callian ; martyrs at Tanna ; descrip- tion of Christian worship ; the Portuguese ; English place of worship; general anxiety to build a church — Improved con- dition of the Island : the revenues ; increase of trade — ISTew view of Bombay and its neighbourhood — Expenses of the works on the Island — Measures to increase the revenue 106 Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. 1662—1685. PAGE General and mercantile affairs — Presidents Sir George Oxenden, Gerald Aungier, and Sir John Child — The Company's invest- ments and debts — Factory at Amoy — Articles of trade; indigo, pepper, &c. ; the first cotton screw ; English horses ; slaves for labour ; slaves for the fancy — Hindrances to trade ; bankers driven away ; suspension of trade ; vexations at the Custom- house, and meddling propensities of the officials — Troubles of the Factors — Question of keeping up Factories — Sivajee plunders Surat ; gallant conduct of the English — Second assault of Sivajee ; base conduct of the French — Losses at Carwar and Hooblee — English interchange civilities with Sivajee; Ustick's mission, and its results ; Nichol's mission — Henry Oxenden and two Factors at Sivajee's installation ; settlement of a treaty ; the butchers' friends — The Company's navy — Sivajee's navy — The Siddee of Jinjeera — The Siddee enters the harbour of Bombay ; awkward predicament — Frequent visits of the Siddee ; cause disturbances — The contests for the possession of Haneri and Khaneri — The Court protests against war — Native opinion of English courage — The Court's crooked policy — Naval fight between the Marathas and Siddees — Native pirates ; their contest with Europeans ; cruel murder of an Englishman; fight at Vingorla; hazards of the coasting trade — The Portuguese ; their futile threats ; their priests expelled from Bombay ; they murder an English sergeant ; vexa- tious interference; migrations from Bandora to Bombay — The Dutch ; their war and intrigues — The French ; their Factory ; its failure — Capuchins at Surat; Father Ambrose — Prosecution of interlopers — Proposal for a new Company — James the Second proclaimed 149 CHAPTER VI. SAME PERIOD. Home and personal affairs — Swally, and the ride to Surat — The Factory — Rank and pay of the Factors ; the rest of the Establishment; idleness — The President's style — Sepulchral monuments — The Court remonstrates — Characters — Fryer; his CONTENTS. XUl PAGE history ; Ms travels into the interior, ascent of the Ghauts, and other adventures — Sir George Oxenden; his family; character; descendants — Gerald Aungier; his religion; death — Religious phrases in ordinary use — Contrast in the immorality of the times — Governors Cook and Gary — Deputy Governor Young; his outrageous conduct — A Naval Ensign — A drunkard's broadside ; A military quill-driver — Gentleman Jones the Sergeant — ^A Corporal's freak— Official peculation — Bombay punch and its effects ; duelling and gambling ; Clive's opinion of the military — The Court's opinion of their servants — A cargo of ladies ; bad investment ; their cruel treatment — Children of mixed marriages — Mutinies at Bombay ; causes ; spirit of the times; retrenchment ; first mutiny ; Shaxton sent home ; the Court disgusts all classes ; Keigwin raises the standard of revolt ; statesmanlike conduct — The President fails to establish order — Officers sent from England — Sir Thomas Grantham arrives, and gains possession of Bombay — Treatment of the rebels— Factories at Dhuramgaum, Honawar, Carwar, Rattera and Brinjan — Anecdotes of the Factors 189 CHAPTER VII. 1685—1697. Sir Josiah Child ; his character and influence with the Company ; new designs of the Court — Sir John Child ; hie early history ; becomes General; his character discussed — Sir John Wyburn, Deputy Governor ; his career and death — The Court prepares for war ; recruit their forces ; secresy — Preliminary steps to war — Child's disinterestedness — The Company's policy discussed — Child begins to capture native ships — The Court's approval — Aurang- zeeb's anger — Factors imprisoned — Child insults the Siddee ; his first misgivings — Desertion of the militia and of Europeans — The Siddee invades Bombay ; his success — Child negotiates ; his abject submission — The Siddee withdraws — Review of Child's proceed- ings — Child prosecutes Petit and Bowcher — His death — : Bar- tholomew Harris, President — Vaux, Deputy Governor; his history; suspension and death — Hard times for interlopers — Seizure of three interloping vessels — Successful resistance and escape of others — European pirates ; their settlements at Bab-el- XIV CONTENTS. PAGE Mandel and Madagascar — Sawbridge's cruel fate — Captain Avory plunders native vessels — Fury of the mob at Surat — The Com- pany's ships, the Mocha and Josiah, engaged in piracy — Native rovers — Fight with a frigate — The Factors placed in irons — Sir John Goldesborough — Cook and Weldon, Deputy Governors — Annesley, President ; his conduct and dismissal — Sir John Gayer, General 232 CHAPTER VIII. SAME PERIOD. Ovington ; his account of the Factory and Factors — The Company borrow of their servants — New regulations for Bombay — Low state of the revenues and garrison — Burdens on trade — Increasing ravages of disease — Everard ; his visit to Bombay ; adventures and sufferings — Manners of the English ; their diet ; dissolute morals ; character given of the ladies — Sir John Gayer's ward ; her first and second marriages ; seduction — The Court attempts to check vice — Taverns ; poisoning ; consumption of spirits — The military; Captain Carr — Religion; special form of prayer ; Divine Service — A Chaplain refuses to marry — Conversions to Romanism ; Lieutenant Finch; persecution of a Priest — Reasons for this intolerance ; treachery of the Jesuits — Punishment of the Portu- guese — Newton's apostacy — Unsettled state of the country — Minor Factories ; Amoy, Siam, Anjengo, Broach — Sporting at Carwar — Young Goring and Lembourg — Dutch intrigues — Ships captured by the French — Spirited conduct of the Court — Armenians 267 CHAPTER IX. 1698—1701. Necessity of referring to English politics — The House of Commons sanctions a new Company — Both parties bribe — The Old Company exposed ; ordered to be dissolved — A Bill passed in their favour — Consequent state of affairs in India — Additional rules of the New CONTENTS. XV PAGE Company's Charter — Hope for the Old Company ; their prospects and spirit — Fresh calamities of the Old Company — European piracy — Kidd sent to suppress it ; turns pirate ; his adventures ; taken and executed — Sivers ; his piracies ; taken and brought to Bombay — Satisfaction demanded from the Factors — Low condi- tion of the Factors — The two Companies prepare for a struggle — Lucas appears for the New Company; receives the Act of Authorization — Fresh arrivals of New Company's servants — Sir Nicholas Waite ; his reception ; contest for a flag — Waite's pro- ceedings — The New Factory — Intrigues — Sir William Norris the Ambassador ; preparations for his reception ; arrival at Surat ; his public entry — Mutual injuries — Good times for the Mogul officers — Sir John Gayer and others imprisoned — The Ambassador proceeds to Court ; offends the Minister ; his grand procession and audience ; result of his Embassy ; he is insulted and injured ; returns to Surat — Reflections on the Ambassador's conduct — His departure, sickness, last words, and death 296 CHAPTER X. SAME PERIOD. Continued rivalry of the two Companies — The Emperor refers the question to a Moola — Liberal conduct of the English Company — Terms of union arranged — Illustrative anecdotes — The New Company's Chaplain dies; interred in the Armenian cemetery; succeeded by Hackett; his martial commission — The Reverend Pratt Physon — Surgeon Maxwell — Disputes betweeta the members of Council — Lock strikes the President — Mewse breaks Proby's head — The Old Company's Surgeon — Statistics of crime for six months — Fight between Charles Peachey, Esq., and the President ; the President goes in and wins; Peachey severely punished — Offences of Walsh, Hartley, and Woodford — Captain Wyatt murders a sepoy — Provost-Marshal Hall — Sergeant Bazett and other scabby sheep — Disease in Bombay — State of Bombay; frugality — The Moguls — Marathas — Portuguese ; dispute with them ; their threats ; ridiculous termination of the affair ; they send an Envoy to Bombay ; his proposals rejected — An Embassy from Abyssinia — The British squadron — Queen Anne proclaimed 330 XVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XL 1703—1708. PAGE Continued disputes in India — Heavy liabilities of the London Company — Arrangements for the Government of Bombay — Fac- tors still in confinement — Sir Nicholas Waite's malicious and selfish behaviour ; he offends all parties ; is dismissed ; impartial view of his character — Mewse causes disputes between the two Companies' servants — Eustace Needham — State of the two Fac- tories — Fresh acts of piracy, and consequent injuries inflicted upon the old Factory — Wretched state of Bombay ; the revenues and garrison — Disease ; the European population dwindles away — Dr. Alexander Orme — Oppressions of the Mogul officers; Sir John Gayer's allegory — The Marathas threaten fresh assaults — Contest at sea — The Muscat Arabs — The Gennims — The Dutch successfully resist the oppression of the Moguls — Captain Green ; his piratical transactions — Suppression of European piracy — Union of the two Companies completed — New arrangements; the Government — The state and system of trade ; chartered ships ; import and export trade ; how con- ducted; alarm at competition — Lifringement of monopoly — Conclusion; remarks on the East India Company; on the Company's servants; on their relations with the people of India 356 Index 395 THE ENGLISH IN WESTEEN INDIA. CHAPTER I.. 1612—1616. Contents : — Object of the Writer — Progress of the British Power in India; its incongruous character; its moral force — ^Early European travellers : Sir John Mandeville, Friar Odoricus, The Portuguese, Caesar Frederick — Early English Travellers : Thomas Stephens ; his valuable letters; Leedes, Fitch, Newberry, a painter and others — English Prisoners at Goa ; their harsh treatment — Mildenhall arrives by the overland route ; his crimes and death — Captain Hawkins and his wife — William Finch — Sir Henry Middleton — Best — Defeat of the Portuguese — Receipt of a firman — First establishment of English reputation — English factors : Starkey, Canning, Aldworth, and With- ington ; their adventures — Downton — Second defeat of the Portuguese — Sir Robert Shirley and Sir Thomas Powell; their misfortunes — Edwards' mission to the Great Mogul ; his presents — Sir Thomas Roe ; arrives at Surat ; reception at Burhampoor and Ajmeer ; his presents ; revelries ; jealousy of the factors — Roe's subsequent history — Treaty with the Zamorin — Factory established at Calicut — Sea fight : Portu- guese gallantry — Sketch of the Portuguese — Establishment of a Dutch Factory ; their economy ; Van. den Broeck — English shipping. The history of the English in Western India may be divided into Five Periods. The first period com- mences vdth the establishment of a Factory at Surat ; the second with the formation of a settlement at Bombay ; the third with the supremacy which the 2 /'V ; 'toe' fefiGLiSH i^ 'Western india. Government of Bombay was authorized by the Honourable Company to assume over its other fac- tories and settlements in India ; the fourth with the annexation of territory in the neighbourhood of Bom- bay, Guzerat, and other places ; the fifth, with the loss of that supremacy which Bombay for long enjoyed, and its subjection to the Governor- General of India. The following History is designed to embrace the three first of these periods. The narrative of an Empire's rise and progress usually tells how the brook became a river, and the river became a sea. But the history of British India is peculiar and incongruous. It began without a strip of territory. A warehouse was expanded into a pro- vince ; a province into an Empire. I propose to collect some tales of the Warehouse, and to record the early history of the Province ; but I do not aspire to relate the annals of an Empire. My aim, moreover, is to furnish a few sketches of men and manners, without devoting an exclusive atten- tion to the great and illustrious. In most historical pictures, kings, statesmen, and warriors stand con- spicuous, whilst the multitude are grouped together, and their separate features are scarcely perceptible. But in modem ages a spirit of research has led students to inquire into the habits and characters of the many, and their minute discoveries have supplied defects in History ; throwing, as they do, light not only upon heroes, but on Man. The following work is not indeed antiquarian, but yet its design is to exhume from the graves in which OBJECTS OF THE WRITER. 6 they have been buried, the motives and acts of individuals. As students of antiquity, by finding a bone here, a piece of tesselated pavement there, in another place some pottery or rust-eaten weapons, have caught- glimpses of the Eoman's domestic life and social condition ; so now it is hoped, that by collecting heterogeneous facts from new and old books and from mouldy records, we shall be able to form a museum, in which will be exhibited the social and moral condition not only of the architects by whom the foundations were laid, and the building superintended, but also of those who were work-people in the construction of our Anglo-Indian Empire. And when expatiating " free o'er all this scene of man," it will be our object to show, that although " a mighty maze," it is " not without a plan." In writing the word " Empire " we are reminded how ill it assorts itself with the facts which are here to be recorded. The word conveys ideas of grandeur, wealth, and power ; whereas this and the two following chapters are annals of mediocrity and weakness : sometimes of drivelling baseness. The instruments, which Providence employed to create a British power in India, were often of the basest metal. But such answer the same purposes as the finest, in the hands of Infinite Wisdom. And though we may feel dis- appointed, we ought not to be surprised, when we see little to admire in the pioneers of our Eastern Empire, and find that some were amongst the meanest of mankind. Yet, bad as were such agents, it will, I think, 4 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. appear in this work that British power has heen established by the moral force of British character. A writer of Anglo-Indian History must indeed soil his paper with narratives, from which virtue and honesty turn with disgust. But here is a distinction : truth and sincerity have been, in the main, character- istics of the British ; and the opposite vices, exceptions. With the Oriental races amongst whom they have been located, fraud, chicanery, and intrigue have been the usual engines of State policy ; truth and sincerity have been rare as flowers in a sandy soil. When British merchants or statesmen have formed compacts, given pledges, or made promises, they have usually — though not in all instances — observed their compacts, redeemed their pledges, and fulfilled their promises ; and the natives have generally acknowledged this, so that, although their confidence has been sometimes misplaced, and has received a few severe shocks, they have continued to rely upon the good faith of English- men. On the other hand, they have rarely placed dependence on one another, and whilst some have been distinguished for their virtues in private life, their rule has ever been, to regard each other with suspicion and mistrust. But let us see the steps which led to the first estab- lishment of the English in India. So early as the commencement of the fourteenth century, certain Euro- peans, who have left accounts of their travels, visited the Western coast, and mentioned places well known at the present day — such as Cambay, Bassein, Choul, and Tanna. In the earliest English book that has EARLY EUROPEAN TRAVELLERS. O ever appeared in print,* the marvellous history com- posed A.D. 1235 hy Sir John Mandeville of St. Albans, there is a vague description of the country ; but the credulous knight does not state whether he had himself visited it. There is also a curious and fragmentary narrative, published about 1330, in Latin, which sets forth that it was taken by William de Solanga from the lips of Odoricus, an Italian friar of the order of Minorites or fr aires minor es^ a branch of the Franciscans. From Ormus, Odoricus passed in twenty-eight days to Tanna, where four of his Chris- tian brethren suffered martyrdom. He specifically calls the ship in which he sailed a "jahaz,"the generic name by which vessels of all kinds are known in India, -and he was surprised, as many other Europeans have been, to see that such were made of bamboos without any appearance of being fa'Stened by iron bolts, f He also notices with quaint brevity the flying foxes, and bandicote rats, which were so large that cats could not kill them, the toolasi tree standing before the houses of idolaters, and their superhumane practice of feeding ants and pismires. Soon after the Portuguese had discovered the pas- sage by the Cape of Good Hope, they formed settle- ments at Diu, Damaun, Goa, Calicut, Cochin, and * So styled by Hallam in his " Literature of Europe," part i., chap. i. t " In hac terra homines utuntur navigio, quod vocatur Jase, sutum sparto. Ego autem ascendi in unum illorum, in quo nullum ferrum potui reperire, et in viginta octo diebus perveni ad civitatem Thana, in qua pro fide Christi quatuor de fratribus nostris martyrizati sunt." Hak- luyt's Voyages, Vol. II. The same is noticed in " the Voiage and Travail of Sir John Mandevil, Kt." 6 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. other places on the Western coast. The deeds of high daring which they wrought, and the wealth which their deeply laden carracks hore to Europe, spread their reputation far and wide, and inspired the English in particular with a desire to share the risks and profits of Eastern adventure. In 1563 Master Csesar Frederick, a Venetian mer- chant, travelled by way of the Persian Gulf to these parts. He describes Cambay, where the marine supremacy of the Portuguese was acknowledged, and Ahmedabad ; both of which places were remarkable for their extensive trade. When journeying in a palanquin from Ankola to Goa, he was assailed by robbers, stripped naked, and would have been plun- dered of all that he possessed, if he had not, before starting, taken the precaution to conceal his valuables in a bamboo. Thomas Stephens is the first Englishman of whom we are sure that he visited the Western shores of India. When there, he was only known as a Jesuit ; but he had been originally educated at New College, Oxford. On the fourth of April 1579 he sailed from Lisbon, and the following October reached Goa, where he lived many years. A letter which he wrote to his father, a London merchant, soon after his arrival, is printed in Hakluyt's collection of Voyages. It not only contains a particular and interesting description of his perilous navigation round the Cape, but many sage remarks are made, in quite a mercantile spirit, on the state of Portuguese trade, of which he evidently desires that his countrymen should obtain a share. STEPHENS AND OTHER ENGLISH TRAVELLERS. / The reader is surprised to find a Roman ecclesiastic entering with such eagerness and penetration into commercial affairs. Probably Stephens' advices were the strongest inducements which London merchants had been offered to embark in Indian speculations; and certainly they began from this period to fit out expeditions for the East. Pyrard de Laval, who was a prisoner at Goa in 1608, states that Stephens was then Rector of a College on Salsette ; by which he probably means the province of that name in the Goanese territory. The English Jesuit was a kind- hearted ma'n, and true friend in need to several of his countrymen, who within the space of a few years found their way to India.* The advance guard to an army of English adven- turers now made their appearance. In 1583 Leedes, Ralph Fitch, John Newberry, and some others, entered India by the route which Caesar Frederick had fol- lowed. A suspicion that they were engaged in trade was sufficient to alarm the jealous Portuguese, who threw them into prison at Ormus, where they endured much suffering. After a short detention, however, they were set at liberty and permitted to prosecute their journey ; but no sooner did they reach Goa than they were again arrested and imprisoned. They tell us that first of all they were " examined whether they were good Christians or no," that is, whether they were Roman Catholics ; and as their Protestant scruples did not boggle at a lie, their Christianity was * Histoire Generale des Voyages ; par C. A. Walckenaer. Hakluyt's Voyages. 8 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. approved. In fact, they passed themselves off as '* real Catholics, " although strongly suspected of English heresy. One of their party had some skill in painting, and as his art was in great request at Goa for the decoration of its magnificent churches, he was induced to regain his liberty by becoming a Jesuit, and naturalized inhabitant of the place. Indulgence was also shown to the rest, through the good offices of Thomas Stephens, and after enjoying partial freedom they at last contrived to effect their escape, leaving the painter behind them. When too late, he repented of having changed his religion, and although he had no intention of leaving Goa, persuasion was in vain used to retain him in a cloister. He opened a shop, carried on a lucrative business, and married the daughter of an Indo-Portuguese. As for Fitch, he returned to England after a lengthened peregrination, and Leedes entered the service of the Great Mogul*. Pyrard de Laval, who, combining business with pleasure, left St. Maloes on the 18th May I6OI, and stayed many years at Goa, met there with Spaniards, Venetians and other Italians, Germans, Flemings, Armenians, a few English, and only three French- men.f The English were chiefly prisoners, who had been surprised at the bar of the Surat river by a cowardly stratagem of the Portuguese. Probably they had belonged to the expedition of Captain Hawkins, * Hakluyt's Voyages. Oriental Commerce : By WilKam Milburn, Esq. Vol. I. t Voyage de FranQois Pyrard de Laval. Seconde partie, chap. ii. Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire. By Robert Orme, Esq. PORTUGUESE TREATMENT OF THE ENGLISH. 9 whose long-boat with twenty-seven men and some valuable goods was seized. Laval merely states that they had been employed in traffic, and a gentleman who had come with them had gone on to the Great Mogul's Court, where he had been well received. Whilst their ships were at anchor, seventeen persons had left them in two boats laden with merchandise, which they intended to exchange for indigo. Their movements, however, had been watched from some Portuguese coasting vessels, the commander of which bore down upon them, cut oflP their retreat, and car- ried them all to Goa. Confinement and neglect soon brought on disease, and in a short time there were but six or seven survivors. Six months before he left Goa, Pyrard met another English prisoner, who seemed a person of some dis- tinction, and had been surprised in the same way as the others, when he was taking soundings. He accused the Portuguese of savage ferocity, declaring that they had slaughtered his cousin in cold blood, and placed his head upon a pike as a trophy. His own life had been in great danger, for his captors, knowing that he had been surveying the coast, re- garded him with peculiar suspicion. After a long imprisonment he was suffered to depart. Four months after this gentleman had been seized, the unlucky ship to which he belonged was wrecked on the coast. The crew, twenty-four in number, having contrived to reach the shore near Surat with their money and other property, were well treated by the native authorities. They then divided themselves 10 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. into two parties ; the more adventurous spirits making an attempt to return home by way of Tartary, the others remaining at Surat. The former were enabled by passports, which they procured at the Mogul's court, to pass through his dominions, but were not permitted to enter the country of the Tartars, and after a fruitless journey they returned to Surat. All the survivors repaired to Goa, and sailed from thence to England.* Every Englishman on whom the Por- tuguese could lay their hands was treated by them as a prisoner, and when Laval was about to leave India, several Englishmen were actually brought on board in irons.f Yet even when in this sad plight they ap- peared to him a proud set, who took every opportunity of showing their contempt for Frenchmen. J Such was Portuguese hospitality ! Shipwrecked mariners, instead of receiving from them generous fare and clothing, or at least protection and sympathy, were condemned to eat the bread and water of afflic- tion in a dungeon, and if they survived such treat- ment, were sent to their own country with ignominy. Exclusiveness and illiberality are the sure forerunners of degeneracy, and the English are avenged. Being now the dominant party, they can return good for evil, by blessing the descendants of these persecutors with religious toleration and political freedom. Mildenhall, a London merchant, was sent out from that capital by a commercial association in 1599 ; but, * Pyrard de Laval. Troisieme partie, chap. xx. f lb. chap. xxi. I lb. Second partie, chap. vi. MILDENHALL HAWKINS. 1 1 as he travelled overland, and was frequently delayed, he did not reach Agra until 1603 ! His object was to obtain from the Emperor a firman, authorizing the English to trade in his dominions. After waiting three years, and defeating the machinations of Jesuits and two Italian merchants, he was satisfied with his success, and returned to England. We hear of him as being again at Agra in 16 14, but have no very clear account of his history. It is said that he went in 1610 to Persia, where he was joined in a com- mission with two young men, whom he poisoned, and having possessed himself of their property, repaired to Agra. Religion, of course, sat loosely on such a character, and as soon as he found it convenient to be a Roman Catholic, he threw ofi^ his Protestant faith. It was not long before he was himself poisoned, and dying, left his money to a Frenchman, whose daughter he had intended to marry.* Two years after Mildenhall had left Agra to give an account of himself in England, Captain Hawkins, of the ship Hector^ came to Surat. He tells us that he was kindly received by the natives, "after their barbarous manner;" but was much harassed by the Portuguese, who, however, permitted him to land his iron and lead, with some treasure. As soon as pos- sible, he started with a letter from King James to the Great Mogul, for Agra, where he arrived at the end of May 1609, after being in continual fear that he would be assassinated by his attendants at the insti- * Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire. By Robert Orme, Esq. 12 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. gation of the Portuguese. His reception at court was flattering, and he was assured that he should have permission to establish a Factory at Surat. The Great Mogul, wishing to engage his services and keep him in the country, oficred him a pension and a wife. Hawkins was not averse to either. Although he called himself an English ambassador, he did not scruple to accept a salary, which, however, was very irregularly paid ; and as the imperial harem contained a large assortment of ladies varying in race, colour, and religion, he was provided with a bride to his taste, who was both a Christian and a maiden. He seems to have really loved his wife, and to have re- solved not to forsake her. Still, he did not forget the interests of his English employers ; he repeatedly de- manded the privileges which they required, was fre- quently promised them, and as frequently disap- pointed. At last, baffled by the intrigues of the Por- tuguese, and disgusted with the wavering counsels of the Emperor, he gave up his efforts in despair, and requested his dismissal. The Indian potentate did not condescend to give any answer to King James's letter, and Hawkins, after a protracted contest with his wife's brothers, who wished to prevent her from leaving the country, contrived to take her on board an English ship at Cambay, from whence he sailed with her on the 26th of January 1612, to Europe.* When Hawkins went up the country, he left William Finch, and three or four English servants, * History of the European Commerce with India. By David Mac- pherson. Ornie's Fragments. FINCH COVERTe's NARRATIVE. 13 at Surat, that they might dispose of such goods as he had landed. Finch's stay was hrief, for in January 1610, at the summons of his superior, he started for Agra, and from thence travelled by way of the Pun- jab and Persia to England. But before leaving Surat, he had an opportunity of rendering important ser- vices to many of his distressed countrymen. The ship Ascension having been on a voyage from England to the Red Sea, had arrived off the coast of Guzerat, and was wrecked at Gundavee. Coverte, the chief officer, who wrote an account of the whole voyage, published in black letter, quarto, at London, in 1612, attributes this mishap to the neglect of Alexander Sharpey, the commander, who refused to take a pilot on board, and used no proper pre- cautions for avoiding danger. When there was no longer any hope of saving his ship, Sharpey permitted his crew to make free use of the treasure, amounting to ten thousand pounds, which was on board, and by this means they were enabled to purchase necessaries on landing, and to secure respectful treatment. Seventy-five escaped, and made the best of their way to Surat, but not being suffered to enter the city, they were maintained by Finch, at a neighbouring village. Most of them seem to have been dispersed over the country ; but Thomas Jones, • one of their number, induced a Portuguese priest to befriend him, and by his help travelled with three comrades to Damaun, thence to Choul and Goa, from which place they were taken in the Portuguese fleet to Europe. These, probably, were the Englishmen whom Pyrard de 14 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. Laval met. Sharpey was employed by the Emperor to build a ship at Sm-at, which, when Middleton arrived, was nearly ready to be launched. Sir Henry Middleton left England in I6IO, with four ships, one, the Peppercorn, being commanded by Downton, of whom we shall have occasion to say more hereafter. The expedition first visited the Eed Sea, and was received favourably at Aden ; but at Mocha, Middleton and some of his officers were treacherously seized and imprisoned. Only after a tedious and distressing confinement did they regain their liberty, when hearing from the crews of native vessels that the English were welcomed at Surat, and that Captain Hawkins had been made a great lord at the Mogul's court, they made for that port, and entered the roads on the 26th September, I6II. Seven Portuguese men-of-war were riding there, under the command of an officer styled Captain- Major of the North, who declared that he was resolved to prevent Sir Henry from trading. Nicholas Bangham, a carpenter, was the only Englishman who happened to be at that time in Surat, and he brought on board a letter which William Finch had despatched from Lahore, where he had arrived on his route to England. The native Governor, also, sent a polite message, affirming that he was desirous of opening commercial transactions with the English, but he was restrained by the power of the Portuguese. Middleton resolved to do his utmost ; fre- quently landed his men, who were intercepted by the Portuguese ; and the little sand-hills near Surat were the scene of many conflicts, in which the enemy were SIR HENRY MIDDLETON. 15 always worsted and put to flight, although their large numbers rendered eventual success hopeless. At this crisis, Khojah Nassau, the Governor, was by the Emperor s orders, deprived of his ofiice ; and as, by his trickery and prevarication, he had caused great annoyance to the English, Middleton was so ill-advised as to seize him and confine him on board the Pepper- corn. Although the new Governor had consented to this act, it gave great offence to Mokrib Khan, the powerful Governor of Cambay, who refused permission to establish a Factory, and gave the English such positive orders to depart, that they had no choice but to comply. In revenge for this mercantile failure, Middleton seems to have turned pirate, and to have pillaged such Indian vessels as fell in his way.* Expeditions from England to the western coast of India became now more frequent. The object of all was purely commercial, but it was an ominous fact that Englishmen only obtained respect and influence amongst the natives by means of hard fighting. Their laurels were first gathered at Swally near Surat. The managers of a Factory which had a few years pre- viously been established at Bantam in Java, had recommended that a trade should be opened at Surat and Cambay for the sake of supplying them with cloths and calicoes, and Sir Henry Middleton's voyage was undertaken in compliance with their suggestion ; but his efibrts, as we have seen, were frustrated, partly through his own unfair dealing and insolent treatment of a native chief, partly by Portuguese intrigue. * Orme's Fragments. Voyages and Travels. Printed for Thomas Astley, 1747, a.d. 16 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. More successful, however, was one of those daring spirits, who have never heen wanting to the British in their hour of need. Captain Best was determined to open a passage to Surat with his two ships, the Dragon and Hosiander, He reached the coast on the 28th October, I6l2. Two Portuguese armaments suc- cessively threw themselves in his way at the river s mouth ; but after severe struggles, the skill and cou- rage of himself and men prevailed against both. The great Mogul then sent down to him a firman author- izing an English Minister to reside at Court, and opening to English subjects the trade of Surat. This imperial ordinance w^as forwarded to Best as an ordi- nary letter, but he had by this time become aware of his own power, and of the impression which a little display makes upon native minds. He therefore wisely insisted that the usual ceremonies should be observed, and the firman was formally presented to him by the Governor of Surat, who came in state to Swally for the purpose. Best then sailed away, first leaving at Surat ten persons to dispose of the goods which he had brought, and with a stock of four thousand pounds to purchase the manufactures of India. That was the first rising of the British star, and the Portuguese paled before it. In vain did they afterwards endeavour to undermine by intrigue the influence which was built upon conduct and bravery. Englishmen had left an impression which was never to be effaced. * * Annals of the Honourable East India Company. By John Bruce, Esq., Vol. I. Orme's Fragments. Description of Hindostan. By Walter Hamilton. Appendix to a treatise on the wealth, power, and resources of the British Empire. By P. Colquhoun, LL.D. ENGLISH FACTORS AT SURAT. 17 The principal Factors left in 1613 by Best at Surat, were Andrew Starkey, Canning, Aldworth, Withing- ton, and Kerridge. Starkey had orders to proceed overland to England with intelligence that a Factory had been established; but, as is asserted, he was poisoned on the journey by two friars. Canning, being sent with a king's letter to Agra, was attacked on the road by robbers, who wounded him and another Englishman, and killed one of his escort. He carried with him a present for the great Mogul, but it was of so little value that it was received with contempt, and the disappointed monarch asked if that was sent by the King of England. He was in constant dread of being poisoned, and as he died on the 29th of May, the Portuguese Jesuits, whom the Factors believed capable of committing any crime, were suspected of having caused his death. Aldworth and Withington travelled in November from Surat to inspect Broach, Jumbooseer, Baroda, and Ahmedabad, with a view to ascertain the state of their markets. At Broach and Ahmedabad they hired houses on the Company's account, and left brokers to transact their business. Aldworth was for some time the principal merchant at Surat, and died in 16 15 at Ahmedabad. At this place Withington heard a report that three English vessels were lying in the Indus, and immedi- ately started on a most perilous journey overland to assist them with his counsel. He had better have remained where he was. He never reached the Indus, but being plundered by the predatory tribes of all that 18 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. he possessed, and reduced to sustain life by begging alms, was compelled to retrace his steps. After an absence of a hundred and eleven days, during which he had suffered intense misery, he thought himself lucky in April 1615 to set his foot again in Ahmed- abad. Soon afterwards he was sent for to Agra, that he might secure the effects of Mildenhall, who had lately deceased.* This season Captain Nicholas Downton sustained the reputation of which Captain Best had laid the foundation. He was the chief commander, or, as such officers were then styled, " the General " of four English ships. At Surat he found three English Factors, Aldworth, Biddulph, and Eichard Steele ; the last of whom had lately come from Aleppo. His first step was, to demand redress for extortion in the customs ; his second was to require, like a true Eng- lishman, that a market for beef should be established at Swally. The first application was met by evasion ; the second by a declaration that beef could not be had, as the bunyas, by whom the preservation of animal life was regarded in the light of a religious duty, had paid a large sum to prevent bullocks from being slaughtered. The Emperor and petty princes of the Deccan were united in an attempt to drive the Portuguese out of India, and no sooner had Downton arrived, than the Governor of Surat invited his co-operation. But as Portugal and her possessions were then subject to the Spanish crown, and there was peace between Spain * Orme's Fragments. DOWNTON DEFEATS THE PORTUGUESE. 19 and England, the English Captain declined this invi- tation ; which so annoyed the Governor, that he in turn refused him all assistance, and on a frivolous pretext threw the English Factors into prison. Downton s forhearance was hut ill-requited hy the Portuguese; for they falsely represented to the Governor that he had consented to join them in an attack upon Surat. Their own acts, however, soon refuted this calumny. With six galleons of from four to eight hundred tons burden, three other vessels of considerable size, and sixty smaller ones, mounting in all a hundred and thirty-four pieces of ordnance, the viceroy of Goa attacked the four English ships, which could only mount eighty guns of inferior calibre. To the astonish- ment of the natives, the assailants were defeated as signally as in the previous year, so that their glory and renown were for ever transferred to their conquerors. Downton was no longer treated with roughness and insolence, but before leaving Surat received from the pliant Governor and principal men of the place dis- tinguished marks of courtesy and respect. He died at Bantam on the sixth of the following August, " lamented, admired, and unequalled."* The report which had induced Withington to at- tempt his hazardous journey, was an exaggeration; but one English ship had actually arrived at the Indus. On board were Sir Robert Shirley, who was returning from England, whither he had been sent as the King of Persia's Ambassador, and Sir Thomas Powell, who had been sent to that monarch on an embassy by King * Orme's Fragments. Macpherson's History. Colquhoun's Treatise. 20 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. James. Debarred by the Portuguese from passing the Straits of Ormus into the Persian Gulf, the two ambassadors and their wives attempted to land in Baloochisthan, where they narrowly escaped being mur- dered. At last they disembarked at Diul on the Indus, and there again were ill-treated and detained by the Governor, whom the Portuguese had either bribed or intimidated. Sir Thomas Powell and one of his followers died ; but Sir Robert Shirley per- sisted in setting off for Persia. No sooner, however, had he put off from the shore, and was afloat on the river Indus, than an armed force brought him back. A fray ensued, in which his companion, Mr. Ward, fired his pistol in the face of a trooper, and was in- stantly shot dead by another trooper. At this juncture Sir Thomas Powell's widow was confined, and died with her infant ; as did also Michael, the brother of Sir Thomas. Shirley at length escaped from the hands of his barbarous tormentors, and reached Agra, where he was courteously received by Jehangeer, who sent him forward on his journey with rich presents, equipages, provisions, and an escort.* By this time a regular Factory had been established at Surat. It was usually styled "the English House," and was presided over by Kerridge. A Factor named Edwards had also been left at Ahmedabad, and it was arranged between the two that he should proceed on a mission to the Mogul Court. He v/as provided with a letter from King James ; and Kerridge, having an eye to business, made him take with him an investment * Ormc's Fragments. Edwards' mission to the great mogul. 21 of cloths, looking-glasses, and sword blades. Half Ambassador and half hawker, he thus went to Agra, where he was presented to the Emperor by Asof Khan, the Prime Minister and favourite Sultana's brother. By a judicious distribution of presents he obtained all that he asked. To the Emperor himself he delivered portraits of King James and the Royal family. But his most acceptable offering was a large mastiff, of which Kerridge wrote as follows : — " Mr. Edwardes presented the Kinge a mastife, and speakinge of the dog's courage, the Kinge cawsed a yonge leoparde to be brought to make tryall, which the dogge soe pinchtt, thatt fewer howres after the leoparde dyed. Synce, the Kinge of Persia, with a presentt, sent heather haulfe a dozen dogges — the Kinge cawsed boares to be brought to fight with them, puttinge two or three dogges to a boare, yet none of them seased ; and rememberinge his owne dogge, sentt for him, who presently fastened on the boare, so disgraced the Persian doggs, wherewith the Kinge was exceedingly pleased. Two or three mastiifes, a couple of Irish greyhowndes, and a couple of well -taught water spanyells, wold give him greate contente." No needy client ever studied a patrician's whims and caprices more attentively than did the English Factors study the Great Mogul's. In 1612 they had specially recommended that toys and bull-dogs should be sent for presents to him and his courtiers ; and now Edwards desired that landscapes, such pictures as represented the manners and customs of England, 22 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. portraits of the nobility, and some fine beaver hats, should be forwarded.* Although Hawkins, Canning, Kerridge, and Ed- wards had assumed the imposing title of Ambassador, yet they were merely humble agents of the Company. It was now resolved to try what effect the dignity of a Royal Embassy would have. Sir Thomas Koe was chosen to make the experiment, and there could scarcely have been a better selection. The object of his embassy was twofold— to arrange the terms of a treaty, and to recover large sums of money due to the Company from persons about the Court. He brought with him the draft of a treaty comprising nineteen articles, the first seventeen of which related to the protection and encouragement of trade, the last two to an alliance offensive and defensive between the Emperor and the English people. Having left England on the sixth of March he arrived at Surat on the twenty-fourth of September 161 5, and was received in an open tent by the chief officers of the city with distinguished honour. On this, as well as all other occasions — whether he was admitted to interviews with great chiefs, the Prince Royal, or the Emperor himself — he refused to com- promise the dignity of England by making those slavish prostrations which Indian despots expected from the representatives of foreign powers. From Surat Sir Thomas marched to Burhampoor, where he was most courteously and honourably re- ceived by Parveez, one of the Emperor's younger sons. * Bruce's Annals, 1614-15. EMBASSY OF SIR THOMAS ROE. 23 The Prince's court had no pretensions to splendour, but parade was by no means neglected. A hundred native gentlemen on horseback formed a lane in the outer court of the palace, through which the Ambas- sador was conducted. Parveez himself sat under a canopy in the inner court, and his nobles were ranged on either side of him, according to their rank. An interpreter standing upon the steps of the throne was the medium of communication. Many of the usual ceremonies were dispensed with, that the Prince might pay Sir Thomas the compliment of receiving him according to the customs of England. " An officer told me as I approached," writes Sir Thomas, " I must touch the ground with my head bare, which I refused, and went on to a place right under him railed in, with an ascent of three steps, where I made him reverence, and he bowed his body ; so I went within where were all the great men of the town with their hands before them like slaves. The place was covered overhead with a rich canopy, and under foot all with carpets : it was like a great stage, and the Prince at the upper end of it. Having no place assigned, I stood right before him, he refusing to admit me to come up the steps, or to allow me a chair. Having received my presents, he offered to go into another room, where I should be allowed to sit, hut by the way he made himself drunk out of a case of bottles I gave him, and so the visit ended" The Emperor was residing at Ajmeer. The day before the Ambassador arrived there he was met by Edwards and Coryat. He found the Court in the midst 24 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. of joyous festivities, and was well pleased with his recep- tion ; but complained that the meanness of the presents which he took with him proved a serious drawback. In spite of the care with which their Factors had drawn their attention to the subject, the Company did not under- stand how to gratify the taste of an Oriental potentate. The presents were ill selected, unworthy of the monarch by whom Sir Thomas was accredited, and, as he well knew, were spoken of with contempt by the Emperor. An English carriage was accepted graciously, but was not sufficiently gaudy to please a native of India. As before, so now, some noble mastiffs had an irresistible charm for the Imperial sportsman, who was, however, much disappointed when he found there was no " great English horse," for which he would have given a lakh of rupees. And then his inquisitive Majesty began to fumble in the Ambassador s chests, until by ill-luck he drew out a picture. The subject was " Yenus leading a Satyr by the nose." " What is the meaning of this?" asked Jehangeer. The Ambassador really did not know. His Chaplain was then asked for an explana- tion ; but he also pleaded ignorance. So the Emperor pertinently demanded why they brought to him things which they did not understand. His suspicions soon suggested to him an interpretation. He decided that it was an allegory and caricature of himself and people. The Satyr was black; so he must represent the natives of India. Venus leading him by the nose symbolized the great influence which women were sup- posed to exercise over men in Hindoostan. His Majesty was in high dudgeon for some time after the discovery SIR THOMAS ROES PRESENTS. 25 of this ingenious solution. It was natural that it should occur to the husband of the beautiful and all- powerful Noor Jehan, better known to the readers of English poetry by the name of Nourmahal, " his harem's light." Sir Thomas Koe's liberality was soon exhausted in attempting to cram the maw of an Indian monarch and his greedy courtiers. On New Year s Day he had so little left that he could only offer the Emperor " a couple of fine knives, and six glasses," to Asof Khan " a pair of gloves, and a curious nightcap," the former of which was returned as "of no use in India." The neglect with which he was occasionally treated, was attributed by him to these evidences of poverty ; yet on the whole he was honoured with marked distinction. In his case there were few of those barriers which are now raised between Europeans and natives. He did not indeed, when invited to great men's houses, partake with them of the same dishes ; but sat with his chaplain at a separate table : except in one memorable instance, when Asof Khan listened to his remonstrances, and shared a meal with him. But this restriction upon social intercourse at formal banquets was amply compensated by the admission which he freely gained to drinking bouts. Like the symposia and commissationes of the Greeks and Komans, these were separate entertainments, conducted with the utmost freedom and joviality. For although Jehan- geer and his courtiers were strict observers of the Koran by day, at night they felt absolved from all attention to its abstemious principles. On one occasion 26 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. the Ambassador noted a curious scene as follows: — " I presented the King with a curious picture I had of a friend of mine, which pleased him highly, and he showed it to all the company. The King's chief painter being sent for, pretended he could make as good ; which I denying, a wager of a horse was laid about it between me and Asof Khan, in the Mogul's presence, and to please him; but Asof Khan after- wards fell off. This done, the Mogul fell to drinking of Alicant wine I had presented him, giving tastes of it to several about him, and then sent for a full bottle, and drinking a cup, sent it to me saying, it began to sour so fast it would be spoiled before he could drink it, and I had none. This done, he turned to sleep ; the candles were popped out, and I groped my way out in the dark." The wine of Alicant was always in great request, and accepted without scruple ; but "the Lord of the world" called also for a more potent draught. The liquor of which he drank deep was so strong that the mere fumes made the Ambassador sneeze. Then his Imperial Majesty passed through the stages of intoxication known as " laughing " and " crying drunk." Now in the warmth of his heart he vowed that he would recognise no distinctions between Christians, Moors, and Jews, for that all should share his favour equally ; now " sighs stole out, and tears began to flow." Next day he had forgotten all about his debauch, and when it was referred to, called for the list of persons who had been present, "and fined some one, some two, and some three thousand rupees ; and some that were nearer his person he caused to be THE GREAT MOGUL DRUNK AND SOBER. 27 whipt before him, they receiving a hundred and thirty stripes with a terrible instrument, having at the end of four cords irons like spur-rowels, so that every stroke made four wounds. When they lay for dead on the ground, he commanded the standers-by to spurn them, and after that the porters to break their staves upon them. Thus most cruelly mangled and bruised they were carried out; one of them died on the spot." The Ambassador having discovered his Majesty's taste, took the hint as usual, and in writing to the directors of the East India Company offered them his advice thus : — " There is nothing more welcome here, nor did I ever see men so fond of drink, as the King and Prince are of red wine, whereof the Governor of Surat sent up some bottles; and the King has ever since solicited for more. I think four or five casks of that wine will be more welcome than the richest jewel in Cheapside."* * That Roe's narrative is not a libel against Jehangeer is evident from that monarch's own confessions. He acknowledges in his autobiography that when on a hunting expedition he had for the first time drank a cup of wine, at the recommendation of the Commandant of Artillery, who assured him he would be much refreshed by it, he found it so delicious, that he afterwards repeated the draught. Increasing his potations gra- dually, he at last drank wine in large quantities, and it had no effect upon him. Then he craved a stronger liquor. " Constantly, for nine years, he drank of double-distilled spirits, fourteen cups in the day, and six cups at night, which, he says, were altogether equal to six Hindoostan seers, or English quarts." The result was the same as in Falstaff, who had but " one half-pennyworth of bread to an intolerable deal of sack." Jehan- geer suffered loss of appetite, and contracted such a nervous affection, that he was obliged to have the cup lifted to his mouth. — Gladwin's History of Jehanguire. 28 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. Although Sir Thomas was mortified by many refusals and evasions, yet he obtained more success at last than he could have anticipated. He so com- pletely brought Asof Khan over to his interests, that even a stout opposition of the heir to the throne was overcome. The separate articles of his treaty were indeed rejected ; "yet by piecemeals," he wrote, " I have got as much as I desired at once. I have recovered all bribes, extortions, and debts made and contracted before my time till this day, or at least an honourable composition." He gained also permission to establish a Factory at Broach, which, although its fortunes varied, was so flourishing in 1683, that an investment of fifty-five thousand pieces of cloth was sent from it in that single year to England. Sir Thomas was much vexed and retarded in his operations by difficulties which the Factors of Surat threw in his way, probably at the suggestion of their English masters. The East India Company have always been jealous of such servants of the Crown as have been mixed up with their affkirs, and the Am- bassador was convinced that they were so in his case. He writes : — " Your Factors sent me four or five clauses of your commission that concerned Persia, a fort, a plantation in Bengala, all which they knew were not of use ; with no other proposition or resolution they will acquaint me. They cannot abide I should understand or direct them. If they resolve of anything in their opinion for your profit, I will effect the Court part ; but you will find in my letters and journey how they RESULT OF SIR THOMAS ROe's EMBASSY. 29 use me, which doubtless at first was sowed by some jealousy of yours, which will cost you dearly." And again he writes : — " Steele, Kerridge, and others, are very fond of their notions, insomuch that they do not pay me the respect which they ought, and are every day at daggers-drawn with my parson. I have told Steele, his wife cannot live in this country, for she would draw many inconveniences upon us, and therefore he must send her back to England." No wonder if poor Eichard Steele was from that time his enemy. It is creditable to the good sense of both parties that they understood each other at last, and when Sir Thomas left the country the Factors parted with him on good terms. On the whole, the result of the embassy must be pronounced a triumph of diplomacy. Its display was indeed insignificant as compared with the splendour of the Court to which it was despatched, and at one time it was on this account threatened with failure. Yet such as it was, it proved in the end so expensive, that — as the thrifty King threw the burden upon the Company — their finances were drained alarmingly. Happily, Sir Thomas Roe was gifted with judgment and tact, and he had the good fortune to visit a communicative and sociable, if not a liberal and enlightened Emperor. So that, although eighty years or more afterwards the character of the British nation was lowered by an embassy entrusted to the vacillating and misguided Sir William Norris, it was at this time exalted. The condescension, affability, even friendli- 30 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. ness, with which Sir Thomas was received by the occupant of the peacock throne, caused the English to shine in native eyes with lustre reflected from Imperial glory.* So highly were the Company pleased with Sir Thomas Roe's conduct, that when he returned to England, they paid him the compliment of offering him an honorary seat in their Court of Committees, and more substantially rewarded him with a pension of two hundred pounds per annum, f He afterwards obtained a seat in Parliament, where he supported the Company's interests. J So late as 1643 his name appears in English history. He was then sent as Ambassador Extraordinary by Charles the First to the Emperor and Princes of Germany ; and was the subject of unjust accusations, which were secretly submitted by the French Ambassador to the English Parliament. § In March I6l6 Keeling, "the General" || of the four ships with which Sir Thomas Roe arrived at Surat, made a strenuous effort to establish a Factory * Journal and Letters of Sir Thomas Roe in Churchiirs Collection of Voyages. The History of Hindostan ; translated from the Persian ; by Alexander Dow, vol. iii., chap. iii. The view of Hindostan ; by Thomas Tennant, vol. i. f Macpherson's History. X Robert Grant's " Sketch of the History of the East India Company," chap. i. § Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, book vi. II Naval officers were at this time distinguished by titles which are now confined to the Army. So also in Charles the Second's reign Lord Sand- wich and Sir William Penn were called Generals, and Pepys writes of Major Holmes, an officer of the Navy. TREATY WITH THE ZAMORIN. 31 at Cranganor. The Zamorin, as the ruler of the country was styled, having heard the fame of Down- ton's exploits, sent his minister to meet Keeling at Calicut, and invited him to a conference. The Eng- lish captain took the precaution to secure a hostage for his safe return, and then went to the neighbour- hood of Cranganor, which the Zamorin was besieging. He was received with great politeness, and soon con- cluded a treaty, which commenced with the heathen ruler s words, thus : — " As I have been ever an enemy to the Portuguese, so do I purpose to continue for ever." He then promises to give the fort of Cranga- nor — when captured — ^the islands, and nine miles of coast to the English; also with their aid to take Cochin, and then transfer it to them with all its territory ; finally he stipulates to exempt them from all payment of duties and customs. It is scarcely necessary to say that these terms were too favourable for the English to be observed. However, Keeling left at Cranganor three Factors and a lad, as also a gunner, who entered the Zamorin's service. It was not long before the Factors found themselves the victims of gross extortion, instead of being encouraged. They seized the first opportunity of escaping with their goods to Calicut, where they remained in spite of the many difficulties with which they had to con- tend. Thus the English Factory of Calicut had its origin.'* The place, we may be sure, was celebrated for the produce of its looms, from the fact of its name having been given to our ordinary cotton fabrics. * Orme's Fragments. 32 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. As these pages contain much that is discreditable to the Portuguese, it is a pleasure now to chronicle an action which redounds to their honour. Four English ships, in one of which was Terry, afterwards Sir Thomas Roe's chaplain, were bringing to India merchandise, and the presents which the embassy was to take charge of for the Emperor. All were under the command of General Joseph. At the head of the channel between Madagascar and the African coast, they descried a Portuguese carrack of enormous size, which proved to be commanded by Don Manuel de Menezes. Although England and Portugal were at peace, yet in the Indian seas there was a smouldering enmity between the sea- men of the two nations, which was always ready to burst into a flame. The Glohe^ a small but fast sailing vessel of Joseph's squadron, gave chase to the carrack, and on coming up was saluted with oppro- brious language, and an order to fall to leeward. As obedience was not promptly paid, the Portuguese fired five large shot at her. By this time Joseph himself had come up in his large ship, the Charles^ and called out that the Commander of the carrack must come on board. As the excuse was made that they had no boat, Joseph sent his own, which brought three officers with a message, " that Don Menezes had promised his master, the King of Spain, not to quit his ship, out of which he might be forced, but never com- manded." Joseph replied, "that he would sink by his side, or compel him." After these words of defi- ance had been exchanged, the fight began. Joseph was killed in a few minutes, and his command assumed SEA FIGHT : PORTUGUESE GALLANTRY. 33 by Captain Pepwell. Night came on ; but the chi- vab-ous Menezes scorned to skulk away in the dark- ness, and hung out a light to guide his enemies. The following day and night passed without any con- tinuance of the struggle, but it was renewed at sunrise on the second morning. Pepwell was wounded in the jaw and leg, and his eye was struck out. The car- rack's main and mizen masts were brought down, and her fore-top shot away. Seeing their foe in this plight, the English sent a boat to him, with Mr. Cormack, the principal merchant, bearing a flag of truce; and Menezes received him courteously, but declared his resolution to renew the contest on the morrow. Un- happily for the gallant Don, his ship struck on the rocks during the night. The crew set her on fire, and made their escape with treasure to a large amount, but being overpowered and plundered by the natives were reduced to great distress. Menezes at last con- trived to reach Goa, where he was received with great respect on account of his valour and misfortunes. He was also much honoured on his return to his country, and, as his force had been far inferior to that of his enemies, his defeat was considered equivalent to a victory.* One of the most peculiar features in this early part of English history is the evidence of a jealousy and hatred with which all who were in the Company's employ, and their rivals in trade, mutually regarded each other. The French had not yet appeared in India, if we except the three whom Laval met at Goa, * Orme's Fragments. Terrj^'s Voyage. D 34 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. and a few whom Bemier found employed by the Emperor as cannoneers. But the Portuguese had been there so long that they had passed their zenith, and were in the descendant. They had formed settle- ments at Calicut, Mangalor, Goa, Bombay, Salsette, Bassein, and Daman. As they always seemed igno- rant how to use victory with moderation, their haugh- tiness and insolence had prepared the natives to look with favour upon any rival who should contest with them the privileges of trade and command of the sea. In 1508 they had taken and plundered Dabhol, and in 1510, under Albuquerque, surprised and conquered Goa. As early as 1512 they pillaged Surat, and nearly destroyed it.* The inhabitants then spoke of them as "the vile miscreants," and when a Turkish Admiral arrived, welcomed him as a deliverer from their odious tyranny. The Admiral himself, who has left us an account of his voyage, always uses the word " mis- creant" as a synonyme for " Portuguese." f Bombay was occupied by them in 1532. The same year they burned the whole of the towns on the coast between Chicklee Tarapoor and Bassein, and in 1548 all between the neighbourhood of Goa and Bankot. Although their chief possessions were at a distance from Surat, yet we have seen them using all their power to prevent the English from entering its port. However, the power of these dreaded plunderers was ' * Conquets des Portugais par Lafitou. Maffeei Historiamm Indica- rum, lib. x. This Jesuit gives detailed accounts of their plundering expeditions, without expressing any disapprobation. t Voyages de Sidi Aly par M. Moris. Grant Duff's History of the Mahrattas, vol. i., chap. ii. SKETCH OF THE PORTUGUESE. 35 shown, by a succession of naval defeats, to have been over-estimated. " On my word they are weak in India," wrote Sir Thomas Roe, " and able to do your fleet no harm, but by supplies from Lisbon."* At last, in 1630, they procured a reinforcement from Europe, and with nine ships endeavoured to destroy a fleet of ^ye English ships as it approached Swally. Their efforts were baffled, and then the superiority of British seamen was for ever established, f Lest it should be suspected that our opinion of the Portuguese is dictated by national prejudices, the tes- timony of their own countrymen and intelligent Frenchmen is appealed to. Much of the above account is taken from their historian, De Faria. The bio- grapher of Francis Xavier dwells upon their moral degradation, and declares that they " lived more like idolaters than Christians." He adds that they had imitated the depraved habits of the heathen, that wedded chastity was little esteemed amongst them, that they were even proud of the number of their concubines, and nothing could be more corrupt than their whole lives. | Father le Gobien traces the aver- sion with which they were regarded by the natives to the violence which they had employed, and Father de Fontenay makes special mention of their dissolute behaviour. § The Abbe Eaynal enters into the subject, and his testimony is very decided. He regarded the Por- * Sir Thomas Roe's Letters to the Company. t Mill's History of India, book i., chap. ii. I S. Xaverii Vita, auctore Tursellino, lib. ii., cap. i. § Choix des lettres edifiantes, torn. iv. 36 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. tuguese as a decaying race. The religious zeal which once inspired them with energy and generous courage, was afterwards manifested only in ferocity, and served to stifle all scruples about pillaging, cheating, and enslaving idolaters. As they pretended to have been endowed with authority over the kingdoms of Asia by a decree of the Pope, they chose to suppose that a power to seize the property of individuals was also conferred upon them. Demanding tribute from the ships of every country, ravaging the coasts, and in- sulting native chiefs, they became the scourge and terror of all the nations bordering upon the ocean. Nor was their treatment of one another better than of foreigners. They were divided into factions; and amongst all, avarice, debauchery, and cruelty pre- vailed. Many of them had seven or eight concubines, whom they employed as menial servants. Efifeminacy pervaded their armies, and they lost the courage for which they had long been celebrated. " No Portuguese pursued any other object than the advancement of his own interest; there was no zeal, no union for the common good. Their possessions in India were divi- ded into three governments, which gave no assistance to each other, and even clashed in their projects and interests. Neither discipline, subordination, nor the love of glory, animated either the soldiers or the offi- cers. Men-of-war no longer ventured out of the ports ; or whenever they appeared, were badly equipped. Man- ners became more and more depraved. Not one of their commanders had power enough to restrain the torrent of vice ; and the majority of these commanders were VAN DEN BROECK. 37 themselves corrupted. The Portuguese at length lost all their former greatness, when a free and enlightened nation, actuated with a proper spirit of toleration, appeared in India, and contended with them for the empire of that country."* According to La Croze, ancient and modern ac- counts show " that there was never in the world a more infamous and general corruption of manners than that of the Portuguese in India."f The first Dutchman who attempted to open a trade at Surat was Van den Broeck. He was favourably received on the 2nd /)f August I6l6 by the Gover- nor, and permitted to dispose of his goods ; but when he craved permission to establish a Factory, as well as the English, he was told that a reference must be made to the Great Mogul. His failure at that time is attributed by him in great measure to the success of English intrigue. However, when he went away he promised that he would return, and left behind him three Factors with a Chief. Accordingly, he did return in 1620, and declared himself Director of the Dutch trade in all those parts of the East. From that year he kept a diary, which has been published. Delia Valle describes him as "a gentleman of good breeding, and very courteous."^ Before Van den Broeck's return to Surat, an acci- dent, turned to account with remarkable adroitness by * A Philosophical and Political History of the Settlement and Trade of Europeans in the East and West Indies. By the Abbe Raynal. f Histoire du Christianisme des Indes, liv. ii. I Voyage de Pierre Van den Broeck ; Recueil des Voyages, tome 38 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. the Dutch, had gained them a secure footing. One of their ships having been wrecked in July 16 17, on the neighbouring coast, the merchants were allowed to dispose of its cargo in the city; and, as they quickly discovered how valuable traffic there would prove, they left behind them ten persons with instructions to make arrangements for the establishment of a Fac- tory.* As they were more powerful, and soon proved themselves more skilful in trade than the Portuguese, the English did not fight them, but endeavoured to supplant them by base and underhand means. Sir Thomas Roe used every art to prejudice the Mogul government against them; his object being, as he said, " to disgrace them," and "turn them out," if he could do so without risk.f Eeferring to the arrival of a Dutch ship at Surat he writes thus : " This I improved to fill their heads with jealousies of the designs of the Dutch, and the dangers that might ensue from them, which was well taken ; and being demanded, I gave my advice to prevent coming to a rupture with them, and yet exclude them the trade of India." J When the crafty ambassador said that he improved a fact, he simply meant, that he perverted the truth. However, his illiberality was neither more nor less than was shown at that time by the representatives of other European nations in India. The Dutch appear to have had the advantage of the English in the superior management of their Factories, and sagacity in all commercial transactions. The * Bruce's Annals, 1617-18. ' f Letter to the East India Company. X Sir Thomas Roe's Journal. DUTCH ECONOMY. 39 large capital which their Company possessed, and their economy in disposing of it, enabled them to compete successfully at Surat; so that the English Factors were reduced to utter puerile complaints, that their rivals bought Indian goods at a higher rate, and sold European goods at a lower rate than them- selves.* But after some years this opposition ceased, and the two nations joined their arms against the Portuguese.f At this period the Dutch were distinguished chiefly for their enterprising spirit, and republican simplicity of manners. This simplicity was probably accom- panied by rudeness, and some years later fell imder the lash of Dryden's satire. J Their Governor- General's salary was at the rate of 91^. 13^. 4d. per annum, with the liberty of private trade; which, however, was afterwards withheld from all their Com- pany's servants. Even at Batavia, their chief settle- ment, the members of Government dressed, we are assured, like common sailors ; and before the year 1650, not one remarkable fortune had been made. But this state of affairs did not continue very long. At Surat they soon affected some style, and finally luxury and magnificence were introduced. § * Mill's History. | Van den Broeck. I " With an ill grace the Dutch their mischiefs do : They 've both ill nature, and ill manners too. Well may they boast themselves an ancient nation, For they were bred ere manners were in fashion. And their new Commonwealth has set them free, Only from honour and civility." — Satire on the Dutch. § Raynal's History. 40 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. As the reader will probably be glad to gain some idea of the English shipping which visited the coast of India, I conclude this chapter with an extract from a curious pamphlet entitled " Trades Increase" pub- lished at that time. " You have built," writes the author, apostrophizing the Company, " more ships in your time, than any other merchants' ships, besides what you have bought out of other trades, and all those wholly belonging to you. There hath been entertained by you since you first adventured, one-and- twenty ships, besides the now intended voyage of one new ship of seven hundred tons, and happily some two more of increase. The least of all your shipping is of fourscore ton ; all the rest are goodly ships of such burthen as never were formerly used in merchan- dise ; the least and meanest of these last is of some hundred and twenty ton, and so upward even to eleven hundred ton. You have set forth some thirteen voyages ; in which time you have built of these, eight new ships, and almost as good as built the most of the residue, as the Dragon, the Hector, &c." Respecting a ship called, like the pamphlet, " The Trades In- crease,'' the writer adds : — " It was a ship of eleven hundred ton, for beauty, burthen, strength, and suf- ficiency, surpassing all merchants' ships whatsoever. But alas ! she was but shown ; out of a cruel destiny, she was overtaken with an untimely death in her youth and strength."* * This pamphlet was published in 1615. Robert Grant's " Sketch of the History of the East India Company." 41 CHAPTER 11. 1616—1630. Contents : — Arrangements of the Factory — President Kerridge ; his character — Joseph Salbank ; his complaint — Presidents Kastell and Wyld — Business of the Factors ; their private trade, and inadequate salaries ; their social position : aims solely mercantile — Domestic eco- nomy of the Factory — Dress of the period adopted in India — Society ; a wedding banquet; no English ladies; history of a Portuguese damsel ; intemperance — Legal powers to restrain offenders ; escape of a Dutch murderer — Religion ; the clergy ; the Rev. Henry Lord ; his Oriental researches ; Lescke and John Hall ; Terry ; his history ; his sermon before the Company ; Copeland ; Dr. John Wood's good opinion of the Company — Conversion of the natives ; Salbank's pious letter — Native opinions of English Christianity ; the Knight of the Golden Rapier's opinion ; account of this personage — Three portraits ; Tom Coryat; his travels and eccentricities; death and burial; the reckless son of an English baron; a rollicking cook — Delia Valle's visit to Surat ; his romantic history — Sir Thomas Herbert's visit ; his history — Two speculators ; scheme for navigating the Lidus — Piracies by the Company's captains — Reflections on English character. It has been shown in the preceding pages that an English Factory had been established at Surat, under encouraging auspices. Through the efforts of Best, Downton, and Roe, the Factors had attained by proxy to a high degree of reputation. English courage and naval skill were feared; and even the inferior pre- tensions of the embassy to magnificence, patronized as it had been by the Great Mogul, were respected. Let us 42 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. now enter the Factory's gates, and endeavour to ascer- tain its internal economy, with the qualities, charac- ters, and employments of its occupants. The persons who superintended the Company's affairs were, according to the humour of the times, variously styled Presidents, Agents, or Chiefs. In 1616, the title of President was given to Thomas Kerridge, the first superintendent, by his own sub- ordinates, and many of his successors are so addressed in the Company's records. The little we know of this Kerridge is much to his credit. He came to India in Best's ship, the HosiandeVy September, 1612. For some time his residence was at Agra, and then he managed a factory at Ahmedabad, where he suffered much from the oppression of Mogul officers. His in- tegrity and ability were unquestionable, and — which was scarcely to be expected under the circumstances — he had an inquiring and literary turn of mind. As Europeans, before his time, had been sorely perplexed by the various castes into which the natives are divided, and had in vain attempted to thread the mazes of their idolatry, he urged Henry Lord, "Preacher to the Honorable Company of Merchants," to explore the whole of Hindoo and Parsee mythology, and himself supplied the student with all the information which his position enabled him to obtain.* Joseph Salbank, a man of observation, though some- what illiterate, whose testimony we shall have to cite hereafter, was in 16 17 a factor at Surat. He wrote to England a grievous complaint of the way in which * A Discovery of two Forreigne Sects in the East Indies ; by Henry Lord. Churchill's Voyages. Bruce's Annals. PRESIDENT KERRIDGE JOSEPH SALBANK. 43 he had been treated by " proud Captain Keeling," who, as general of the fleet, appears to have had a controlling power over the Company's servants on shore. Poor Joseph maintained that he had carried himself " very genteelly" towards Keeling, and, indeed, had shown an excess of humility, but yet sufiered the indignity of being placed under " punies and young- lings," for whose grandfather he might have passed, so much was he their senior.* Thomas Kastell seems to have succeeded Kerridge in the presidency, in 1623, and he was succeeded by Wyld. The narratives of two visitors will presently introduce us to the acquaintance of these inviduals. To house for exportation the calicoes and produce of the country was the business in which the community engaged on their principals' account. These goods were paid for in money, or else by the exchange of spices and the manufactures of England and China.f With this business of the Company, the Factors com- bined a profitable trade on their own account, and, as might be expected, considered their own interests, without paying too exclusive an attention to those of their employers. Indeed, unless they had had this resource, they could scarcely have hoped to obtain a bare subsistence — so beggarly were the salaries which they received — much less could they have amassed fortunes. By the bad policy of the East India Com- * Letter from Joseph Salbank to the Company, quoted in Kaye's " Administration of the East India Company." t Mokreb Khan complained to Sir Thomas Roe that the English brought " too much cloth and bad swords." lie recommended that they should import rarities from Japan or China, and from England the richest silks and cloth of gold. — Sir Thomas Roe's Journal. 44 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. pany, their servants were thus driven to consult more for themselves than the public good. That judicious observer, and their true friend, Sir Thomas Roe, fore- seeing this consequence, strongly urged the Directors to increase their Factors' salaries, and then to pro- hibit them, under severe penalties, from engaging in private trade. He also justly remarked, that if they complied with his recommendation, they must select persons of respectability for their service; such as would only be induced by the oiFer of liberal payment to come to India, but when once there would regard high wages as a compensation for the loss of other profits, and would honestly devote their time and ingenuity to fulfil their employers' intentions.* This advice was not followed; and after a few years the servants of the Company were obscure indi- viduals, whose characters were either unknown, or only known to their disadvantage. Gentlemen they did not pretend to be; for even their masters did not aspire to such a title. It was an age when the occu- pation of a merchant was still looked upon as decidedly vulgar. f The persons who formed the Com- pany were known by the name of " adventurers ;" and so far from seeking for men of rank, they regarded gentle blood and noble race as disqualifications for their service. When the Crown proposed that they should employ Sir Edward Michelbourne, they looked * Letter to the East India Company. t The word " merchant" is frequently used in Shakspeare as a term of contempt. Thus, in the First Part of King Henry the Sixth, act ii., scene 3, the Countess of Auvergne, when perplexed by Talbot, calls him "a riddling merchant;" and in llomeo and Juliet, act ii., scene 4, the nurse calls Mercutio " a saucy merchant." PAY AND POSITION OF THE ENGLISH FACTORS. 45 upon the prefix to his name with a suspicion and low-minded jealousy. It was their resolution, they declared, " not to employ any gentleman in any place of charge," and they requested that they might " be allowed to sort theire business with men of their own qualitye, lest the suspicion of the emplo3rment of gen- tlemen being taken hold upon by the generalitie, do dryve a great number of the adventurers t9 withdraw their contributions."* So that the first English Fac- tors were above, or, perhaps, we should say below, all suspicion of being gentlemen. But what the Directors most dreaded was, that their servants might be animated with a martial spirit. They repeatedly warned them against any appeal to arms, even for their own defence. They declared that war and traffic were incompatible, and in this instance at least attended to Sir Thomas Eoe's coun- sel, who, when recommending the Company to confine their attention to trade, had referred to the examples of the Portuguese and Dutch. " The Portugueses," he wrote, " notwithstanding their many rich resi- dences, are beggared by keeping of soldiers ; and yet their garrisons are but mean. They never made ad- vantage of the Indies, since they defended them. Observe this well. It has also been the error of the Dutch, who seek plantations here by the sword. They turn a wonderful stock ; they prole in all places ; they possess some of the best; yet their dead pays consume all the gain." With even more prudence, the ambassador points out the uselessness of expen- * Mill's History, book i., chapter ii. 46 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. sive Embassies. He himself had obtained solid ad- vantages for the Factory ; but he thought that in future they should be content with employing a native agent at Court on a low salary.* The wisdom of this opinion was subsequently proved, when Norris frit- tered away large sums of money, and only brought contempt upon himself and his countrymen. Books and records enable us to catch but few glimpses of English manners at this early period. We may represent the Factory as a mercantile house of agency, in which the President or Chief was head partner. He and his junior partners, who were called Factors, lived under the same roof, each having his own private apartments ; but all assembling for meals at a public table, maintained by the Company, and being expected to meet at a certain hour every day for prayers. Such carriages and cattle as they possessed, were part of the common stock. Horses were ex- pensive luxuries, used only by the Chief and some of his friends, and bullock-carts were in ordinary use. For space and furniture the English and Dutch houses excelled all others in the city. The President affected some style, and when he went into the streets, was followed by a long train of persons, including some natives, armed with bows, arrows, swords, and shields; a banner or streamer was borne, and a saddle-horse led before him. His retainers were numerous; and as each only received three rupees per mensem for wages, the whole cost but little. There were also many slaves, whose * Roe's Journal and Letters. STYLE OF DRESS OF THE ENGLISH FACTORS. 45 clothing was white calico, and food, rice with a little fish.* The English had not yet properly adapted their mode of dress to the climate. The costume of the seventeenth century must have heen found peculiarly cumbersome and oppressive in a tropical climate. Old prints represent Europeans in India with large hose, long waisted, " peasecod-bellied" doublets, and short cloaks or mantles with standing collars. Then there were ruffs, which Stubhs says were " of twelve, yea, sixteen lengths a-piece, set three or four times double;" and he adds, that the ladies had a "liquid matter, which they call starch, wherein the devil hath learned them to wash and dive their ruffs, which being dry will then stand stiff and inflexible about their necks." Breeches, too, were worn by gentlemen, ex- travagantly large ; and their conical-crowned hats were of velvet, taffata, or sarcenet, ornamented with great bunches of feathers.f Probably, however, this dress approved itself to native taste better than ours ; at least. Fryer, when at Junar, flattered himself that Nizam Beg, the governor of the fort, admired both the splendour and novelty of his costume.J Sir Thomas Koe and his suite, as we are informed, were all clothed in English dresses, only made as light and cool as possible ; his attendants wore liveries of " red * The Travels of Signer Pietro della Valle, letter i. Sir Thomas Herbert's Travels, page 43. t See the History of British Costume in the Library of Entertaining Knowledge. X Fryer, letter iii., chap. v. 48 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. taifata cloaks, guarded with green taffata," and the chaplain always appeared in a long hlack cassock.* Society was of the free and jovial kind. There were no English ladies, after the expulsion of poor Mrs. Steele ; and if the Factors wished to enjoy the conversation of the gentler sex, they must resort to \ the Dutch Factory. We have an account of a wed- ding party there, in which the bride was an Armenian ; the bridegroom a Dutchman. All the Europeans of the place were invited, and every lady came ; so there were present, one Portuguese and one Dutch matron, a young Maronite girl, and a native woman who was engaged to marry a Dutchman. The circumstances under which the Portuguese lady was brought there are so characteristic of the times, that they should be narrated. The King of Portugal was in the habit of giving a dowry every year to a few poor but well-born orphan girls, whom he sent to assist in colonizing the settlements of India. A ship which was conveying three of these maidens had been intercepted and seized by the Dutch, who immediately carried their prizes to Surat. A supply of ladies was naturally received with avidity in that time of dearth, and the most eminent of the merchants became can- didates for their hands. Two were taken, we know not where; but Donna Lucia, the third, married a rich Dutchman, and was a guest at the wedding ban- quet. She seems to have been contented with her lot, as the affection of her Protestant husband led him to tolerate her religion in private, although * Roe's Journal. LADIES IN THE DUTCH FACTORY INTEMPERANCE. 49 she was compelled to observe in public the forms of the Dutch Reformed Church. The reason why there were ladies in the Dutch, and not in the English Factory, was, that the Government of Holland encouraged the matrimonial desires of their Company's servants. At Java such as had wives and families could claim peculiar privileges ; and on that account many came to Surat, merely that they might marry native women and take them to Batavia.* Sir Thomas Koe remarked with disgust the preva- lence of intemperance amongst Europeans at Surat, and wondered that it was tolerated by the native Government. Drunkenness, he writes, and "other exorbitances proceeding from it were so great in that place, that it was rather wonderful they were suffered to live." The manners of the young men in the Factory were extremely dissolute, and on that account they were continually involved in quarrels with the natives. Even the President, after passing the night on board the ship which brought Delia Valle, no sooner rose in the morning than he began drinking " burnt wine." This was a hot mixture flavoured with cinnamon, cloves, and other spices, and, we are told, was " drank frequently in the morning to comfort the stomack, sipping it by little and little for fear of scalding." f Where intemperance prevailed to such an extent, there must also have been a considerable amount of crime ; but it is difficult to determine what were the * Delia Yalle, letter i. t Roe's Journal. Terrj^'s Voyage. Delia Valle, letter i. E 50 THE ENGLISH IN WESTERN INDIA. legal powers with which the Company were invested for the punishment of criminals. In 16 16 a formal trial was held, and sentence of death passed against one Gregory Lellington, who was charged with mur- dering Henry Barton in Surat. The Court assembled on board the ship Charles at Swally. The prisoner having confessed his guilt, was sentenced to be taken ashore the next day, and there shot to death by the musketeers of the guard.* This appears to have been a court-martial; but in 1622 James the First author- ized the Company to chastise and correct all English persons residing in India, who should commit mis- demeanours. Yet the Company could not have considered that they had auth