Early Travels in India - Forgotten Books

EAR LY T RAV E L S

IN IND IA

1 583—1 6 1 9

EDITED BY

W IL L IAM FOSTER , C . L E .

(0 8 3 31 7

HUMPHREY MILFORD

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW COPENHAGEN

NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE CAPE TOWN

BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS SHANGHAI PEKING

19 21

L IST OF CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE

LIST OF CHIE F AUTHORITIE S QUOTED xii i

1 583—9 1 . RALPH FITCH

1 599-1 6 0 6 . JOHN MILDENHALL

1 6 08—1 3 . WILLIAM HAWKINS

1 6 08—1 1 . WILLIAM FINCH

1 6 1 2—1 6 . NICHOLAS W ITHINGTON

1 6 1 2—1 7 . THOMAS CORYAT

1 6 1 6—1 9 . EDWARD TERRY

ILLUSTRATIONS

IND IA IN 1 6 05 F ronti sp iece

MESOPOTAMIA Tofacepage 8

THE C HATS AT BENARESFrom a photograph by the editor.

MILDENHALL ’

s TOMB

From a photograph by Miss Milford, reproduced in

Mr. E . A . H . Blunt’s Christian Tombs and Monumentsin the Uni ted Provinces .

JAHANGIRFrom a drawing in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris .

SURAT CASTLEFrom a photograph by Mr . V . M . Mehta.

BURHANPUR CASTLEFrom a photograph by Mr . B . K. Parry, I .C .S .

AJMERFrom a photograph by the editor.

CORYAT ON AN ELEPHANTFrom the 1 6 1 6 pamphlet .

EDWARD TERRYFrom his Voyage to East India

PREFACE

THE following pages contain the narratives of seven Engl ish

men who travelled in Northern and Western India during there igns of the Emperors Akbar and Jahangir . Though these donot by any means exhaust the l ist of English visitors of that

period who have left us records of the ir experiences , theyinclude practically all those of rea l importance ,

with the

exception of Sir Thomas Roe , whose lengthy account of his

embassy is already procurable in a modern ed it ion .

In the case of none of these narrative s i s a manuscript

source ava ilable , and it has been necessary to go instead to

the earliest printed ed it ions . Ralph F itch ’s story of his

adventures appeared first in Hakluyt’s Principal"Navigations,

from wh ich it i s here reprinted . The other six are to be found

in the volum inous collection published by the Rev . Samuel

Purchas in 1 6 2 5 , and in the case of four of them W e follow the

text there given . For Nichola s With ington ,however, use has

also been made of a fuller version (from his origina l manu

script ) given in a scarce e ighteenth-century work wh i le the

letters of Thoma s Coryat are printed from the contemporarypamphlets in wh ich they first saw the light and from wh ich

Purchas made merely a select ion .

Since each of the narrat ives has its own introduction ,

l ittle need be sa id here by way of pre l im inary . It may perhaps

be po inted out that at the time (1 584 ) when the earliest of

our travellers reached the court of Akbar, the Mugha l Empire

in Ind ia had not yet reached its sixtieth ann iversary . It was

in 1 525 that Babur, then King of Kabul , crushed at Panipat

the Afghan dynasty which had ruled at Delh i during the

preced ing three-quarters of a century . Babur’

s son , Humayfin,

was driven from his throne in 1 540 by Sher Shah , the Afghan

“

v i i i PREFACE

ruler of Bengal and Bihar, but recovered h is kingdom in 1 555 ,

o nly to die in the following year, leaving to his young son

Akbar a precarious domin ion over a territory which i s to-dayrepresented by parts of the Panjab and the Un ited Provinces

of Agra and Oudh . By 1 584 Akbar had largely extended his

doma ins . Partly by pol icy and partly by conquest he had

become master of Gujarat, Malwa , and the bulk of Rajputana

wh ile on the ea st he had subdued , but not yet entirely a ssim i

lated , the provinces of Bihar and Benga l . Later in his reign

he recovered control of Kabul (wh ich had become practically

independent under his brother, Muhammad Hakim) and added

to his empire Kashmir, Sind , Kandahar, Khande sh , and parts

of Ahmadnagar . On his death in 1 6 0 5 he was succeeded by

his only surviving son ,Salim ,

who took the t itle of Nur-ud-din

Jahangi r . The latter was Emperor at the time of the visits

o f all but the first two of our travellers .

Though Southern Ind ia has l ittle to do with our story,i t may be noted that immed iately to the south of the Mughal

dom in ions lay the Muhammadan kingdom s of Ahmadnagar

on thewestern andGolconda on the eastern side of the pen insula .

South of Ahmadnagar was a third Muhammadan kingdom ,

that of Bijépur Wh ile the rest of the pen insula was stil l

under the rule of petty Hindu princes , the chief of whom was

the Raja of Chandragiri , who represented the once powerful

dynasty of Vijayanagar . In contemporary records he i s

common ly, though incorrectly, described as King of the

Carnatic .

The only European nation hold ing any territorial possessions

in India at the t ime was the Portuguese , whose regu lar

dom in ions comprised merely the d istrict round Goa and a few

other ports on the we stern coa st , though some of the ir com‘patriots had established themselves, in a position more or less

independent, at various places on the other side of the peninsula

and in the delta of the Ganges . The Portuguese had been in

I nd ia longer than the Mughal s , and the contro l they exerci sed

PREFACE ix

over the ne ighbouring seas was accepted without repining by

Akbar and his successor . Thi s was not the case with our own

countrymen, and the story of the succe ssfu l endeavours of

the Engl ish to establish the ir right to trade with India ,

notwithstanding the oppos ition of the Portuguese , forms the

underplot of the present volume . Its ma in purpose, of course ,

i s to give a picture of the Mugha l Empire as it appeared to

Engl ish eyes in the days of Shakespeare .

The accuracy of the picture so presented can be judged by

comparison with modern reconstructions of the period . The

narratives printed in th i s vo lume are ind ividually partial and

incomplete , but the ir genera l effect is in close accordance with

such works as the late Dr . Vincent Smith ’s Akbar the Great

Mogul, and Mr . W . H . Moreland ’s India at the Death of Akbar ,both of wh ich are based on a much more extens ive mass of

evidence . In some respects the passing of four centuries has

made l ittle d ifference ; Ind ian s are natura lly conservative ,though we need not go so far as to agree that, as asserted by

an Engl ishman in 1 6 7 5 , they preferr an old Hel l to a new

Heaven ’. But in many important respects the change i s

remarkable . Even physically a great d ifference may be noted .

Large stretches of ground now high ly cultivated were then

covered with jungle or else left barren . Roads were few and

bad , canals scarcely existed , and ra ilways of course had

not been dreamt of. Goods were mostly carried from place

to place on camel s or oxen and trave l lers, i f they had any

th ing worth taking, could move only in large bodies or with

guards , for fear of the outlaws that infested the ways . On

the frontiers (of wh ich the southern cut right across CentralIndia) hostil ities were almost incessant whi le c ivil wars were

of frequent occurrence . Epidem ics and fam ines constantlyswept away large numbers, and the ir advent found the

authorities fatal istic and impotent . The Government was

a pure despotism, and the l ive s and property of al l subjects ,fr om prince to peasant, were subject to the caprice of the

PREFACE

reigning monarch . The revenues of the country were e ither

spent in extravagant d isplay and in ma intaining large m i litary

forces , or e lse were hoarded in the imperia l treasury . On the

other hand justice , i f rough and l iable to be influenced by

bribery, was fa irly good traders of all nations were free lv

adm itted and in re l igious matters toleration was more

consistently practised than in any European country at that

period . On the who le , our travellers , who were of course

comparing Ind ian cond it ions with those of the ir own country ,

were not unfavourably impressed . Th i s was part icularly the

case with Terry, though his optim istic views are d iscounted

by the fact that he rea lly saw less of Ind ia than any of the

other narrators whose stories are here given .

One fact it i s wel l to keep in m ind i s that none of these

accounts was de signed ly written for publication , except

possibly that of With ington , who may have intended to

i ssue it for his own just ification , though there is no evidence

that he did so . Terry ’s treatise—the only one that dea l s

with the subject in a broad manner —was composed for theedification of the Prince ofWale s Hawkins ’s for the informa

t ion of his employers . Fitch ’ s narrative , as Hakluyt tell s

us in the dedication of his second volume, was presented to

Lord Burleigh ,who had doubtless taken an interest in the

setting forth of the exped it ion . The sect ion that bears the

name of Finch was compiled from his journal after his death

by the d il igent Purchas . Those dea l ing with the travels of

Mildenhall and Coryat are true letters , and the ir wr iters hadno hand in the ir publ ication . The se facts account to some

extent for an occasional want of proportion ,minor matters

being described at length ,whi lst others, of which we should

have been glad to hear full deta ils , are slurred over or omitted .

There i s compensation , however, in the greater naturalness of

the narrative . Most of our trave llers are seen , as it were , in

undress , and we learn more of the ir characters than we

probably should, had they been conscious that they were

PRE FACE xi

addressing a wider aud ience . Little as we know of them ,

beyond what we can gather from the ir writings , the impressions

left are favourable . If they appear at times self-assert ive,

th i s was natura l enough when the Engl ish were practically

unknown in India and had to encounter a steady stream of

d i sparagement from the Portuguese and the ir agents, the

Roman Cathol ic m issionarie s . The host il ity thus engendered

makes our travellers at times unjust to the latter but here

we must reckon with the sturdy Protestantism of the Engl i sh

man,wh ich rendered him qu ite incapable of recogn izing any

merit in a Jesu it . For the trave llers them se lves one feel s

a genuine adm iration . One and all , the men who here write

the ir adventure s so soberly and so modestly, with many

a shrewd observation and occasionally a fla sh of humour,

ran da i ly great risks ; and in fact three of them found in

the East the ir last resting-place , wh i le a fourth d ied on the

voyage home . Sickne ss, robbery, threats of violence, were

incidents that did not shake the ir cheerfulness , and there

i s l ittle reflection in the ir narratives of the dangers and

hardsh ips wh ich were constantly the ir lot . They had chosen

to wander to the unfrequented Ynde and they accepted

the con sequences , however unpleasant , stol idly and without

repin ing.

The assistance rece ived from many friends in the prepara

t ion of the notes , &c ., has been acknowledged in the appropriate

places . For he lp in collecting the materials for the illustration s

I have to thank Me ssrs . F . G . H . Anderson ,E . A. H . Blunt ,

B . K . Parry, and A. K . Sm ith , all of the Indian Civil Servicealso M . Henri Omont

, of the Bibl iotheque Nationale , Pari s,who not only gave me perm i ssion to reproduce the portrait of

the Emperor Jahangi r, but kindly arranged for the taking of

the necessary photograph .

In reprinting the various narratives, the old spell ing has

been reta ined , except that the use of u for v , of v for u , and

of i for j has not been followed whi le as regards punctuation

xi i PRE FACE

and the employment of capita l letters modern practice has

also been observed . In the spe ll ing of Oriental names, both of

persons and of places , the Imperial Gazetteer of India has been

mostly adopted as a guide but vowel s occurring at the end of

a word have not been marked as long, though they should beunderstood to be so .

FULLER TITLES OF

CHIEF AUTHORITIES QUOTED

Calendar of State Papers , East Indies, 1513—1 6 1 6 . London, 1 8 6 2 .

Cathay and the Way Thither . By Colonel Yule . Second edition byH . Cordier. 4 vols . Hakluyt Society, 1 9 1 3—1 6 .

Covert , Robert . A True andAlmost Incredible Report, cfcc. London, .

1 6 1 2 .

De Laet , Johannes . De Imp erio Magni Mogolis . Leiden , 1 6 3 1 .

Della Valle, Pietro, Travels of. Translated and edited by Edward:Grey. 2 vols . Hakluyt Society, 1 89 1 .

Documentos Remettidos da India . 4 vols . Lisbon , 1 880—93 .

Du Jarric, P . Thesaurus Rerum Indicarum. 3 vols . Cologne ,Fanshawe , H . C . D elhi Past and Present. London, 1 902 .

Federici , Cesare . Viaggio . Venice , 1 58 7 .

F irst Letter Book of the E ast India Company, 1 600—19 . Edited byS ir George Birdwood and William Foster. London , 1 893 .

Fryer, John . A N ew Account of East India and Persia. London ,

1 6 9 8 .

Ga it , S ir Edward . History of Assam . Calcutta , 1 90 6 .

Galvano , Antonio . The D iscoveri es of the World. Translated and

ed ited by R ichard Hakluyt . Hakluyt Society, 1 8 6 2 .

Hakluyt , R ichard . The Principall N avigations , dbc. 3 vols . .

London , 1 59 8—1 6 00 .

Hawkins’

Voyages , the. Edited by Sir ClementsMarkham . Hakluyt .

Society, 1 8 7 8 .

Herbert, Thomas . S ome Yeares Travels . Londo n , 1 6 3 8 .

Hobson-Jobson . By Colonel Yule and A. C . Burnell . Second edition

(by W . Crooke ) . London, 1 903 .

Jourdain, John , the Journal of. Edited by William Foster. HakluytSociety, 1 90 5 .

Lancaster, S i r James, the Voyage of. Edited by Sir ClementsMarkham . Hakluyt Soci ety, 1 87 7 .

Letters Received by the East India Companyfrom its Servants in the

E ast, 1 6 02—1 7 . 6 vols . London , 1 89 6—1 90 2 .

L inschoten , J . H . van , the Voyage of. Translated and edited byA. C . Burnell and P . A. T iele . 2 vols . Hakluyt Society, 1 884 .

Maclagan , Sir Edward . Jesuit Missions to the Emperor AkbarJournal of the Bengal Asiatic Soci ety, v ol . lxv, part i .

The Earliest English Visitors to the Panjab ’

, 1 585«

1 6 28 . Journal of the Panj abHistorical Society, v ol . i , no . 2 .

xiv CHIEF AUTHOR ITIES QUOTED

Menucci , N iccolao . S toria do Mogor. Translated and edited byWilliam Irvine . 4 vols . London , 1 90 7

—8 .

Monserrate, Father. Mongolicae Legationis Commentarius . Editedby Father Hosten . Memoirs of the Bengal Asiatic Society,v ol . iii , p . 5 1 3 .

Moreland ,W. H . India at the Death of Akbar. London , 1 920 .

Bl undy, Peter, the Travels of. Edited by Sir R ichard C . Temple .

In p rogress . Hakluyt Society, 1 907 , etc .

Purchas , Samuel . Purchas Hi s P i lgrimes . 4 vols . London , 1 6 25 .

Purchas His P i lgrimage. London , 1 6 26 .

Roe, S ir Thomas , the Embassy of. Edited byWilliam Foster. 2 vols .Hakluyt Society, 1 89 9 .

Smith , D r . Vincent A. Akbar the GreatMogul . Oxford, 1 9 1 7 .

Stein , S ir Aurel .‘Notes on the R outes from the Panjab to

Turkestan and China recorded by William Finch Journal

of the Panj ab H istorical S ociety, v ol . vi .Stephen , Carr. The Archaeology andMonumental Remains of Delhi .

Calcutta , 1 87 6 .

Teixeira , Pedro, the Travels of, 1 604—5 . Translated and edited byW . F . S inclair and D . Ferguson . Hakluyt Society, 1 90 1 .

Terry, Edward . A Voyage to E ast I ndia . London , 1 6 55 .

Thomas , Edward . The Revenue Resources of the Mughal Emp ire.

London , 1 87 1 .

Tombs andMonuments in the Bombay Presidency. Bombay, N . D .

Tombs andMonuments in the United Provinces . By E . A. H . Blunt .Allahabad , 1 9 1 1 .

Tazuk-i-Jahangi ri , orMemoirs ofJahangir . Translated byA. Rogersand edited by H . Beveridge . 2 v ols . London , 1 909 and 1 9 1 4 .

Yule , Sir Henry . TheMission to Ava . London , 1 858 .

1583—91

RALPH FITCH

THE interesting narrative here reprinted be longs of courseto a period anterior to the e stablishment of the Engl i sh E astInd ia Company

,though the journey it describe s holds a by no

means un important p lace among the event s lead ing up thereto .

At the date of it s inception ,namely the end of 1 5 82 or the

beginn ing of 1 5 83 , Engl ish merchants were striving eagerlyto d iscover some mean s of securing a share in the rich tradewith the East

,but so far the ir endeavours had been unsuccess

ful . The attempts to find a way to Ch ina round the northerncoasts of Europe and Asia had ended in fa i lure , wh i le the threeexped ition s of Martin Frobisher in search of a passage roundNorth America had met with a sim ilar fate . The e stablishment of a trade with Russia had resulted in severa l venture sto Persia by that route , but no further attempt was made in

th i s d irection after 1 5 81 . The sea route by the Cape of GoodHope was not on ly long and dangerou s but was cla imed as a

Portuguese monopoly, and Queen Elizabeth was not yet

prepared to break with Ph il ip II , who since 1 5 80 had beenKing of Portuga l as we ll as of Spa in and a lthough the returnof Sir Francis D rake by th i s route , from his voyage round theworld , had encouraged an attempt under Edward Fenton in

June 1 5 82, to pass that way into the Indian Ocean , cautiou s

merchants may we ll have anticipated the fa ilure that actuallyensued .

.Attention was thus d irected to the possibil ity of util izingthe long-establ ished trade-route by way of Syria wh ich hada lready been tapped to some extent by the synd icate of

merchants , headed by Edward Osborne and Richard Staper ,who had been granted the monopoly of Engl ish trade in the

Turkish dom in ions by a royal charter in September 1 5 8 1 .

Moreover, a certa in John Newbery had just returned froma long and important journey in the desired d irection . Startingfrom Tripol i , in Syria ,

he had made his way overland to Basra ,

on the Persian Gulf,and thence by sea to Ormus , the famous

i sland at its mouth , opposite to the present Bandar Abbas i .After spending some time on the island , during wh ich he

carefu lly concealed his national ity from the Portugue seofficia l s

, he returned by land through Persia and Armen iato Constantinople

,and thence home by way of Poland and the

B

2 EARLY TRAVELS IN INDIA

Baltic .

l Evidently he had learnt muc h about the routesbetween Ind ia and Persia , and had come to the conclu sion thatcommerce by that route was perfectly feasible .

Plans were qu ickly made for a further experiment in the

same d irection , and the result was the journey which i s herechron icled . The necessary funds were found ch iefly byOsborne and Staper , and Newbery was placed in charge of

the expedition . The party consisted of a number ofmerchants(among whom we need only mention John E ldred and RalphFitch ) , together with an expert in gem s named Will iam Leeds ,and a pa inter named James Story, who (accord ing to L in

schoten ) was not employed by the promoters of the venturebut jo ined in order to seek his fortune . It was arranged thattwo of the merchants should be left at Bagdad with part ofthe stock , and two more at Basra with a further quantity of

goods , wh i le Newbery and Fitch should continue the ir journeyto the Ind ies . For th i s purpose they were furn ished withletters of introduction from Queen Elizabeth , addressed to

the Mughal EmperorAkbar (described as King of Cambay) , anda l so to the Emperor of China . Both letters are among the

documents printed by Hakluyt .The material s for the h i story of the first port ion of the

journey are fa irly abundant . Beside s Fitch ’ s narrative ,Hakluyt gives one by Eldred (who did not go farther thanBasra) , together with six letters from Newbery and one fromFitch wh ile Purchas supplements these by three more lettersfrom Eldred and two from Newbery . In add ition ,

we havean interestingaccount (part icularlyof our travellers

’experiences

at Goa ) by Linschoten in his I tinerario (Hakluyt Society’s

ed it ion , v ol . i i , p . These documents are not here reprinted,

s ince we are ch iefly intere sted in that portion of Fitch ’ s narrative wh ich concerns his travel s after qu itting Goa use has

,

however, been made of them to supply a few of the dates wh ichare so conspicuously lacking in Fitch

’ s own account .Newbery and his compan ions sa iled from London in the

T iger2 in February 1 583 , and reached Aleppo about May 20 .

On the last day of that month they started on the ir adventurou sjourney, and on August 6 found them se lves safe in Ba sra , the

port town of Mesopotam ia . Newbery’s plan was to go byboat to Bush ire on the Persian coast , and thence proceed byland to Ind ia but he was obliged to abandon th i s idea becausean interpreter could not be secured . Forced , therefore , to riskinterference on the part of the Portuguese , the l ittle party

1 Accounts of this and of a previous journey of hi s in Syria and

Palestine will be found in Purchas His Pilgrimes (Part ii, bk. ix, ch.

2 Her husband ’s to Alaipo’

gb‘

ne, master of the Tiger,’ says the First

Witch in Macbeth, a clear proof (as a prev ious writer has remarked) thatShakespeare knew hi s Hakluyt.

RALPH FITCH, 1 5 83—9 1 3

embarked for Ormus , wh ich was reached early in September .The Ital ian merchants resident in the i sland were qu ick to

note the arriva l of fre sh trade competitors (concern ing whoseintentions they had apparently been warned from Aleppo ) .and on the ir insinuation s that the new-comers were heretic sand spies , acting in the interests o f the pretender to the

Portuguese throne , our trave llers were arrested and sent toGoa . At the latter place they were comm itted to prison , wherethey rema ined about a month . They found friend s , however,in two Jesu its , one a Dutchman and the other an Engl ishman ,

Father Thoma s Stevens 1 also in the young Dutchman

L inschoten (a lready mentioned ) , who ,be ing in the suite of the

Archbishop of Goa , was able to exert some useful influence inthe ir favour . The fact that they a ll professed to be good

Cathol ics told on the ir beha lf, and just before Christma s 1 5 83Newbery, Fitch ,

and Leeds were re leased on ba il .Story had a lready obta ined his l iberty by agree ing to

become a lay brother in the Jesu its’ convent , where h is ta lent s

were needed for the decoration of the church . The others nowtook a shop and commenced to trade , and two letters writtenby Newbery and Fitch in January 1 5 84 spoke cheerfully of

the ir prospects . Before long, however , matters a ssumed a

d ifferent aspect . The Jesu it s h inted that the Engl ishmen

would probably be sent to Portuga l by the next fleet , and theViceroy , to whom they applied for the return of the moneythey had deposited in the hands of the ir surety, returned a

threaten ing answer . Alarmed at th i s , they decided to makethe ir escape , and early in April under pretext of an

1 It is scarcely necessary to recall that Stev ens is famous as the firstEnglishman known to hav e set foot on Indian soil. Born in Wiltshireand educated at Winchester, he made his way to Rome and there

entered the Jesuit order. Being desirous of serving in India, he

obtained a passage at Lisbon in the spring of 1 57 9 and reached Goa inOctober of that year. A letter to his father, describing the voyage , willbe found in the pages of Hakluyt . Stev ens laboured in Goa for fortyyears , dying in 1 6 19 , at the age of seventy. He was the first Europeanto make a scientific study ofKonkan i , and he wrote two religious works,one of which, a long epic inMarathi , still keeps his memory green in thatpart of India .

2 Fitch says 1585 , but I imagine that this is a slip ,since the narrative is

scarcely consistent with their having spent sixteen months in Goa. In

the same way, the date he gives for Newbery’s departure from Fatehpur

Sikri, v iz . September 28 , 1585 , shoul d probably be read as mean ing a

year earlier. Nothing can be inferred from the Emperor’s movements,

for he was at Fatehpur Sikri in the summers of both years ; but itis clear that the trav ellers pushed on to Agra through the rainy season(which they would hardly have done unless pressed for time), and oncethey had seen the Emperor, Newbery would doubtless be anxious to

B 2

4 EARLY TRAVELS IN IND IA

excursion, they sl ipped over the border into the territory of

the King of Bijapur . It was wel l they did so , for , on hearingof the arriva l and imprisonment of a party of Engl ishmen ,

King Ph il ip wrote to the Viceroy of Goa (February 1 5 85 ) topuni sh them if found guilty, and to take special care thatne ither they nor any of the ir countrymen should be a l lowedin Portuguese territory . On being informed ,

in reply, of the

e scape of the prisoners , he wrote aga in ,both in 1 5 87 and 1 5 8 9

urging efforts to apprehend them and pun i sh the ir abettorswh ile in 1 5 9 1 he ordered that the survivor— Story the pa inter ,who had qu itted the clo ister, married a half-caste woman

,and

settled down at Goa— shou ld be sent to L i sbon . Whether th i swas done i s not known but if so , the unlucky art ist probablyperished in one of the two sh ips that were lost on the ir home

ward voyage in 1 592 (see the Introduction to The Travels ofPedro Teicceira ,

pp . xxvi i—xxx ) .Newbery and his fel low fugit ive s made the ir way first to

Bijapur, the capita l of the kingdom of that name . Thencethey journeyed to Golconda , the ch ief c ity of the Kuth Shah ikings . At both places they seem to have made specia l inqu iriesregard ing prec ious stone s , the procuring of wh ich , accord ingto L inschoten ,

was one of the origina l objects of the exped it ionand the reason why a jeweller formed one of the party . It maybe surm ised that the ir immed iate object was to invest the irstock ofmoney in gem s , wh ich were easily concealed and couldbe profitably d isposed of at any place of importance . From

start for home. Moreover, Fitch tells us that Newbery promised to

meet him in Bengal in two years’

time and, if their parting took placein the autumn of 1 584, this would account for Fitch deferring his departure for Pegu until November 1586 . On the other hand , if 1585 iscorrect, it is strange to find that in 1 587 Fitch was not in Bengal , butfar away in Pegu . As apparently he kept no journal , but wrote thesketch of his journey from memory on his return , it would be easy forhim to make such slips in hi s dates.Another reason for supposing thatwe should read 1584 for 1 585 is that,

while Akbar was at Fatehpur Sikr i throughout the former year, in thelatter he left that city on August 22. If Fitch was really there at the

time of the Emperor’s departure—which must have been attended

wi th imposing ceremoni al—it seems strange that he should have saidnothing about it and equally strange that he shoul d have stated thatin September he left Leeds in serv ice with the king Zelabdim Echebar

in Fatepore thus implying that the Emperor was still there. Dr.

Vincent Smith suggests (Akbar, pp. 228 , 23 1 ) that the travellers arrivedin July or August 1585 , that Leeds at once entered Akbar’s serv ice, andthat Fitch merely meant that the jeweller remained on the imperialestablishment at Fatehpur Sikr i after the Emperor

’s departure. Thisexplanation is plausible, but not quite conv incing.

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weeks , and then made his way back to c u and so to Benga l,as the first stage of h is homeward journey . He was doubtless able by th i s timc to speak Portuguese fluently andrather than venture the long and to il some journey throughNorthern Ind ia and Persia ,

he decided to risk the sea-routeby way of Coch in,

in spite of the evident danger of a freshimprisonment should his identity be d iscovered . Unfortunatelyhe reached Coch in just too late to catch the last sh ip of thesea son, and had ,

in consequence , to spend nearly e ight monthsthere before he could get a passage to Goa . In that dangerou sc ity he rema ined only three days , and then made his way toChaul , where he found a sh ip wh ich carried him to Ormus

,

another danger po int—e specially as he had to wa it fifty daysbefore he could get a passage to Basra . Once arrived at thatport , he was fa irly safe, and he managed to reach Aleppowithout much trouble . After some de lay he embarked forLondon, where he landed at the end of April 1 59 1

, after anabsence of just over e ight years .On his arriva l in England F itch found that the charter of

the Turkey Company had expired and that negotiation s wereproceed ing for a fresh one . It was doubtless in connexion withthese that he presented to L

'

ord Burgh ley an ample relationofhis wonderfu l] trav ailes asHakluyt tel ls us in the D ed icationof the second volume of the Princip all N avigations (1 5 9 8Whether th i s was identica l with the present narrative

, or

whether the latter was written specia lly for Hakluyt, we

cannot tel l . The re sult of the negotiations was the grant ofa charter in January 1 592 , wh ich un ited the two a ssociation strad ing to Turkey and Ven ice respectively . The new bodywas known as the Levant Company, and among the privileges

granted to it was the monopoly of the trade by land throughthe Turkish dom in ions ‘into and from the East Ind ia a s

d iscovered by Newbery and his compan ions . Fitch ,by the

way,i s mentioned in th is charter as a member of the new

Company ; a s a lso in the subsequent charter of 1 6 0 5 . It i sneed less to say that no rea l attempt was made to developcommerce a long th i s l ine . It had become evident that themost prom ising way to the Ind ies was by the Cape route , andnow that England was defin itely at war with King Ph il ip therewas no need to study the feel ings of the Portuguese . Jame sLancaster had sa iled on h is first voyage in that d irection in1 59 1 and a lthough he fa iled to get farther than the N icobarsand Penang,

it was proved that the enterprise was at lea stfea sible , and from th i s period successive exped ition s wered ispatched from England and Holland unt il the a im wasreached .

Of the rest of Fitch’s l ife but meagre deta il s are ava ilable .

Evidently he went aga in to the Levant, for in the autumn of

RALPH FITCH,1 5 83—9 1 7

1 59 6 he was at Al eppo and was e lected consu l by the Engl ishmerchants there—an appointment wh ich was d i sa llowed bythe Levant Company (Brit ish Museum : Lansdowne MSSno . 241 , if. 52 , Probably he thereupon returned to

England ,for Hakl uyt speaks of him (about 1 59 9 ) as

‘l ivinghere in London ;

1 wh ile the Mr . Fitche .

’ whom the EastInd ia Company decided , on October 1 , 1 6 00 , to consultregard ing the lad ing of the ir sh ips i s certa in ly our travel ler .The Court Minute s of that Company are m i ssing betweenAugust 1 6 03 and December 1 6 0 6 , or possibly some furtherreferences to him would be forthcom ing ; but he i s clearlymentioned in the m inute s for December 3 1 , 1 6 0 6 , when it wasd irected that the proper t itles for the roya l letters wh ich werebe ing prepared for various Eastern potentates should be

inqu ired of Ralph Fitch .

Noth ing has h itherto been known concern ing the rest of ourtrave ller’ s l ife , but I was recently fortunate enough to d iscoverat Somerset House two h itherto unnoticed wills wh ich seemto wind up the story and , further, to give us some clues to hisfamily h istory . In both documents the testator de scribesh imse lf as Ra lph Fitch ,

c it izen and leatherseller 2 of London ,

and in both he mentions a brother Thomas , a sister Frances ,and a n iece of the same Christ ian name . It is evident , therefore , that the two wills were made by the same person and

that th is was the Fitch in whom we are interested hard lyadm it s of a doubt . The earl ier wil l (6 D rury) i s dated Feb

ruary 1 4 , 1 5 83 (the t ime of our travel ler’s departure fromEngland ) , and an interest ing feature i s that it was dulyproved by the executor in February 1 590 , the testator be ingdescribed in the Probate Act Book as having d ied beyond thesea s . Evidently, as noth ing had been heard of the trave llerfor severa l years , his death was presumed and his estateadm in i stered ; so his reappearance a year later must havebeen a complete surprise . The second wil l (8 1 Wood) wasmade on October 3 and proved on October 1 5 , 1 6 1 1 , and

Fitch ’ s death must therefore have occurred between those twodates . The Probate Act Book adds that he belonged to the

parish of St . Catherine Cree , and th i s suggest s that he wasburied in that church , s ituated in Leadenhall Street . Unfortunately, the parish registers of the time are not extant .

Afurther po int to be noted i s that ne ither will mentions a wifeor a ch ild . The presumption i s that the testatorwas a bachelor ;

1 That Hakluyt was personally acquainted with Fitch is suggestedalso by the passage quoted in a note on p . 40 .

2 Meaning, presumably, that he was a member of the LeathersellersCompany. I hav e not succeeded in obtaining from that body anyinformation on the subject.


and this a lone , in a much marrying age, points to his havingspent most of his l ife abroad .

Fitch ’s story of his experiences was first given to the worldby R ichard Hakluyt in the second (1 5 9 8—1 6 00 ) ed it ion of h is

P rincip ali N avigations (v ol . i i , part i , p . Consideringthe t ime covered by his wanderings and the many countrie she visited , it i s d isappo intingly brief ; but probably he keptno journa l , and had therefore to re ly ma in ly on his recollec

tions . Th is , and possibly a d istrust of his own l iterary abil ities ,may expla in why he copied so closely the narrative of CesarFederici , the Venetian merchant who , starting in 1 5 6 3 , trave lledby way of Basra and Ormus to Goa , pa id

'

visits to Gujarat ,Vijayanagar , and most of the Portuguese settlements on the

coast of Ind ia , and then proceeded to Pegu, Ma lacca , &c .,

return ing to Ven ice in 1 5 8 1 . His Viaggio was publ ished therein 1 5 87 , and an Engl ish version by Thomas Hickock appearedin London the fo l lowing year . Hakluyt has printed thi stranslation in juxtapos ition to Fitch ’s own account ; and a

comparison shows that our Engl ish trave ller, whenever hisroute co inc ided with that of Federici , followed a lmost slavish lythe latter’s word ing . The narrat ive of another contemporarytravel ler, Gasparo Balbi , who was in Pegu about the same

t ime as Fitch ,may a lso have been accessible to our author

,

s ince it was publ ished at Ven ice in 1 590 but I can find no

convincing evidence that he made use of it .In 1 6 25 the R ev . Samue l Purcha s reprinted the story (with

one short om iss ion ) in his famous Purchas H is Pi lgrimes

(part i i , book x , chap . and a similar compliment has beenpa id to it in severa l other collections of trave l s, both Engl ishand foreign . A specia l vo lume was devoted to the subject in1 899 by Mr . J . Horton Ryley, entitled Ralph F i tch England

’

s

P i oneer to India , conta in ing the trave l ler’s narrative and

letters , together with a number of related documents . ThoughMr . R yley’ s work afford s some u seful information regard ingthe h i storica l sett ing of F itch ’ s journey, it i s weak on the

geograph ica l s ide but, apart from th is , no excuse i s necessaryfor repeating in the present work a narrat ive of such absorbinginterest . The text followed i s that given by Hakluyt .

IN the yeere of our Lord 1 583 , I Ralph Fitch of London ,

marchant , being desirous to see the countreys of the E a st

Ind ia ,in the company of M . John Newberie , marchant (wh ich

had beene at Ormus once before ) , of William Leedes , jewe ller,and James Story, painter, being chiefly set foorth by the


right worshipfull Sir Edward Osborne , knight, and M . Richard

Staper , cit izens and marchants of London ,did sh ip my se lfe

in a sh ip of London called the Tyger, where in we went for

Tripol is in Syria ; and from thence we tooke the way for

Aleppo ,wh ich we went in seven daye s with the carov an .

Be ing in Al eppo , and find ing good company, we went from

thence to Birra , wh ich i s two dayes and an halfe travaile with

came l s .

Birra '

[Bir , or B irij ik] i s a l ittle towne , but very plentifull of

victual s ; and meere to the wa l l of the towne runneth the

river of Euphrates . Here we bought a boate and agreed with

a master and bargemen, for to go to Babylon . These boats

be but for one v oiage ; for the streame doth runne so fast

downewardes that they cannot returne . They carie you to

a towne wh ich they cal l Felugia [Fe luja] , and there you se l l

the boate for a l itle money, for that wh ich cost you fiftie 1

at Birra you sel l there for seven or e ight . From Birra to

Felugia i s sixteene dayes journey . It is not good that one

boate goe a lone , for if it should chance to breake , you should

have much a doe to save your goods from the Arabians , wh ich

be alwayes there abouts robbing ; and in the n igh t, when

your boate s be made fast , it i s necessarie that you keepe good

watch,for the Arabians that bee theev es will come swimm ing

and steale your goods and flee away, aga inst wh ich a gunne i s

very good, for they doe feare it very much . In the river of

Euphrates from B irra to Felugia there be certa ine places

where you pay eustome,so many medines 2 for a some

3or

camels lading, and certa ine raysons and sope , wh ich i s for the

sonnes of Aborise ,4 wh ich i s lord of the Arabian s and a ll that

great desert, and hath some villages upon the river . Felugia ,

where you unlade your goods wh ich come from B irra , i s a l ittle

village from whence you goe to Babylon in a day.

Babylon [Bagdad] i s a towne not very great but very

populous , and of great traf fike of strangers , for that it i s the1 In copying from Federici , Fitch has omitted the word sequins or

(as the English translation has it) chickens . This was the gold zecchino

of Venice , worth about seven shillings English.

2 ATurki sh coin equiv alent to about three halfpence .

3 Probably a misprint for seme a load .

4 Abu Rish. Balbi speaks of him as living atAnah, on the Euphrates.

1 0 EARLY TRAVELS IN IND IA

way to Persia , Turkia and Arabia and from thence doc goe

carovans for these and other p laces . Here are great store of

victual s , wh ich come from Armen ia downe the river of Tygris .

They are brought upon raftes made of goates skinne s blownefull of winde and bordes layde upon them ; and thereupon

they lade the ir goods , wh ich are brought downe to Babylonwhich being d ischarged , they open the ir skinnes , and carry

them backe by came ls , to serve another time . Babylon in

times past did belong to the kingdome of Persia , but onowe i s

subject to the Turke . Over aga inst Babylon there i s a very

fa ire village , from whence you passe to Babylon upon a longbridge made of boats , and tyed to a great cha inc of yron ,

wh ich i s made fa st on e ither side of the river . When any

boates are to passe up or downe the river, they take away

certaine of the boate s until] they be past .

The Tower of Babel 1 i s built on th i s side the river Tygris,towardes Arabia from the towne about seven or e ight m iles

wh ich tower i s ru inated on all s ides , and with the fal l thereof

hath made as it were a l itle mounta ine , so that'

it hath no shape

at all . It was made of brickes dried in the sonne , and certaine

canes and leave s of the palme tree layed betwixt the brickes .

There i s no entrance to be scene to goe into it . It doth stand

upon a great pla ine betwixt the rivers of Euphrate s and Tygris .

By the river Euphrates , two dayes journey from Babylon ,

at a place called Ait [Hit] , in a fielde neere unto it , i s a strange

th ing to see —a mouth that doth continually throwe foorth

aga inst the ayre boyling pitch with a filthy smoke ; wh ich

p itch doth runne abroad into a great fielde wh ich i s alwayes

full thereof. The Moore s say that it i s the mouth of he ll .

By reason of the great quantitie of it , the men of that countreydoe pitch the ir boates two or three inches th icke on the out side ,so that no water doth enter into them . The ir boates be ca lled

Banee [danak] . When there i s great store of water in Tygris,

you may goe from Babylon to Ba sora in 8 or 9 dayes if there

be sma l l store , i t will cost you the more dayes .

Basora in t ime s past was under the Arabians, but now i s

sgbject to the Turke . But some of them the Turke cannot1 The reference is evidently to the ruined tower called Akerkuf,situated in the desert about nine miles west of Bagdad.



many horses of Persia,wh ich serve all Ind ia . They have a

Moore to the ir king, which i s chosen and governed by the

Portugales . The ir women are very strange ly attyred ,wearing

on the ir noses , cares , neckes, armes and legges many rings

set with jewe ls, and lockes of silver and go lde in the ir eares ,and a long barre of golde upon the side of the ir noses . The ir

cares with the we ight of the ir jewel s be worne so wide that aman may thrust three of his fingers into them . Here very

shortly after our arriva l] wee were put in prison , and had part

of our goods taken from us by the Captaine of the castle ,whose name was Don Math ia s de Albuquerque ; 1 and from

hence the e leventh of October he shipped us and sent us for

Goa unto the Viceroy, which at that t ime was Don Franciscode Mascarenha s . The shippe where in we were imbarked forGoa belonged to the Captaine , and carried one hundred twentie

and foure horses in it . All marchand ise carried to Goa in a

shippe where in are horses pay no custome in Goa . The horse s

pay custome , the goods pay noth ing ; but if you come in a

sh ip wh ich bringeth no horses, you are then to pay e ight in the

hundred for your goods .

The first citie of Ind ia that we arrived at upon the fift of

November, after we had passed the coast of Z ind i [Sind] , i sca lled D iu ,

wh ich standeth in an iland in the kingdome of

Camba ia , and i s the strongest towne that the Portugales have

in those partes . It is but l itle , but we l l stored with marchan

d ise ; for here they lade many great shippes with d iverse

commod ities for the stre its of Mecca ,for Ormus, and other

p laces , and these be shippes of the Moore s and of Christians .But the Moores cannot pa sse , except they have a passeport

from the Portugales . Camba ietta [Khambayat or Cambay]i s the ch iefe citie of that province , wh ich i s great and very

popu lous , and fa irely bu ilded for a towne of the Gentile s ;but if there happen any fam ine , the people wil l sel l the ir

ch ildren for very l ittle . The la st king of Camba ia was SultanBadu ,

2 wh ich was killed at the siege of D iu ,and shortly a fter

1 Captain of Ormus 1583—6 , and afterwards (159 1—7 ) Viceroy at Goa .

2 Sul tan Bahadur, murdered by the Portuguese in 1537 . The referenceto the conquest of Gujarat is an inaccurate version of Federici’s account.

The GreatMogor (o grdoMagar) was the Portuguese way of describingtheMughal Emperor.

RALPH FITCH,1 5 83—9 1 1 3

his citie was taken by the Great Mogor, wh ich i s the king of

Agra and of Dell i , wh ich are fortie dayes journey from the

country of Camba ia . Here the women weare upon the i r

armes infinite numbers of rings made of e lephants teeth ,

where in they take so much del ight that they had rather be

without the ir meate then without the ir bracelets . Go ingfrom D iu , we come to Daman , the second towne of the Portu

gale s in the countrey of Camba ia ,wh ich i s d i stant from D iu

fortie leagueSu Here i s no trade but of com e and rice . They

have many V i llages under them wh ich they qu ietly possesse

in time of_peace , but in tiTn-

eo-

fwarre the enem1e i s ma ister of

them . From thence we passed by Basa im [Ba sse in] , and from

Basaim to Tana [Thana] , at both wh ich places i s sma l l trade

but only of com e and rice . The tenth of November we arrived

at Chaul , wh ich standeth in the firme land . There be two

townes , the one belonging to the Portugales and the other

to the Moore s . That of the Portugales i s neerest to the sea ,

and commaundeth the bay, and i s walled round about . A

l ittle above that i s the towne of the Moore s, wh ich i s

governed by a Moore king ca lled Xa-Maluco .

l Here i s

great traffike for all sortes of sp ices and drugge s, silke ,

and cloth of s ilke , sanda les [sanda lwood] , e lephant s teeth,

and much Ch ina worke , and much sugar wh ich i s made of the

nutte called Gagara .

2 The tree i s cal led the pa lmer [Port .

p almeiro] , wh ich i s the profitablest tree in the worlde . It

doth alwayes beare fruit , and doth yeeld wine , oyle , sugar,v ineger , cordes , coles of the leaves are made thatch for the

houses , sayles for shippes, mats to s it or l ie on of~ the branche s

they make the ir houses , and broomes to sweepe of the tree

wood for shippes . The wine doeth i ssue out of the toppe of

the tree . They cut a branch of a bowe and binde it hard , and

hange an earthen pot upon it , wh ich they emptie every

morn ing and every even ing, and stil l it and put in certa ine

1 The Portuguese name for the Kings of Ahmadnagar was Nizama

luco ’

, i . e . Nizam-ul-Mulk. Federici missed the first (unaccented)syllable, and wrote Zamalucco while Fitch, in copying him , gave theterm a further twist.2 Jagm or palm-sugar. Fitch has here misunderstood Federici

but both are wrong in saying that the sugar is made from the coco-nutinstead of from the sap extracted from the stem of the tree .


dried rays ins, and it becommeth very strong wine in short

time . Hither many shippes come from all partes of Ind ia ,

Ormus , and many from Mecca ; heerc be man ic Moores and

Gentiles . They have a very strange order among them . They

worshippe a cowe , and esteeme much of the cowe s doung topaint the walles of the ir houses . They will kil l nothing, not

so much as a louse for they holde-it a s inne to kil l any thing .

They eatc no flesh , but l ive by rootes and ryce and m ilke .

And when the husbande d ieth , his wife i s burned with him ,if

shee be al ive if shee will not , her head i s shaven, and then

i s never any account made of her after . They say if they

should be buried, itwere a great sinne , for of the ir bod ies therewould come many wormes and other verm ine , and when the i r

bod ies were consumed , those wormes would lacke sustenance ,wh ich were a sinne therefore they wil l be burned . In

Camba ia they will kil l noth ing,nor have any th ing killed ;

in the towne they have hospital s to keepe lame dogs and cats ,and for birds . They will give meat to the ants .

Go a i s the most principa l citie which the Portuga l s havein Ind ia , wherin the Viceroy rema ineth with h is court . It

standeth in an ilaud , which may be 25 or 3 0 m ile s about .

It is a fine citie , and for an Indian towne very fa ire . The ilaud

i s very fa ire , ful l of orchards and garden s, and many palmer

trees , and hath some villages . Here bee many marchants of

all nation s . And the flccte wh ich commeth every yeere from

Portuga l , wh ich be foure , fiv e , or sixe great shippes , commeth

first h ither . And they come for the most part in September,and remaine there fortic or fiftie dayes ; and then goe to

Coch in , where they lade the ir pepper for Portugall . Often

times they lade one in Goa the rest goe to Cochin , wh ich i s

from Goa an hundred leagues southward . Goa standeth in the

countrey of Hidalcan,

1 who l ieth in the countrey sixe or seven

dayes journey . His chiefe citie is’

called Bisapor . At our

eomming we were cast into the prison , and exam ined before

the Justiee and demanded for letters , and were charged to be

spies , but they could proov e noth ing by us . We continued in

prison untill the two and twentie of December, and then we

were set at l ibertie, putting in sureties for two thousand1 Adil Khan (Adil Shah) , i. e. the King of Bijapur Bisapor

RALPH FITCH,1 5 83—9 1

duckats not to depart the towne wh ich sureties FatherStevens , an Engl ish Jesuite wh ich we found there , and another

rel igious man , a friend of his , procured for us . Our sureties

name was Andreas Taborer, to whom we pa id duckats ,

and stil l he demaunded more whereupon we made sute to

the Viceroy and Justice to have our money againe , consideringthat they had had it in the ir hands meere fiv e moneths and

could proov e noth ing against us . The Viceroymade us a very

Sharpe answere , and sayd wee should be better sifted before

it were long, and that they had further matter aga inst us .

Whereupon we presently determined rather to secke our

l iberties , then to bee in danger for ever to be slaves in the

country, for it was told us we should have the strapado .

1

Wherupon presently, the fift day ofApril 1 5 85 2 in the morning ,

we ranne from thence .lAnd be ing set over the river, we went

‘ fl b ” AI M -yrv< o a k—M VF W u p

two dayes on foote , not without feare , not knowing the wayfor

’

we dursm rfist‘

h tfiéi ; the‘

townem iehm me~

unto is”

[Belgaum ] ,where there i s a great market kept of d iamants , rubies , saph ires ,and many other soft stones . F rom Bellergan we went toBisapor , wh ich i s a very great towne where the king doethkeepe his court . Hee hath many Gentiles in his court , and

they bee great idolaters . And they have the ir idols stand ingin the woods , wh ich they call Pagodes .

3 Some bee l ike a cowe ,some l ike a monkie , some l ike buffles, some l ike peacockes ,and some l ike the devil] . Here be very many elephants wh ich

they goe to warre withall . Here they have good store of gold

and silver . The ir houses are of stone , very faire and high .

From hence wee went for Gulconda , the king whereof i s calledCutup de 1ashaeh .

4 Here and in the kingdome of Hidalcan ,

and in the countrey of the king of Decan [Ahmadnagar] , beethe d iamants found of the olde water . It i s a very fa ire

1 Apun ishment in which the offender was hoisted by a rope and then

allowed to fall a considerable distance, thus jerking him violently.

2 Probably 1584 (see p.

3 Pagode or Pagoda had in India three meanings (1 ) an idol , (2) thetemple in which it stood, (3) a coin , so called from the figure of a god

impressed upon it.0

‘1 Kutb Shah, the title of the kings ofGolconda. The city ofGolconda ,situated about five miles west ofHyderabad, is now in ruins.


towne , pleasant, with fa ire houses of bricke and timber. It

aboundeth with great store of fruites and fresh water . Herethe men and the women do go with a cloth bound about the ir

m iddles,without any more apparel] . We found it here very

hote . The winter beginneth here about the last ofMay. In

these partes is a porte or haven cal led Masul ipatan ,which

standeth e ight daye s journey from hence toward the Gulfe of

Benga la , whethe r come many sh ippes out of Ind ia ,

1 Pegu , and

Sumatra , very rich ly laden with pepper, spices , and other

comm od it ies . The countrie i s very good and fruitful] .

From thence [i . e . from Golconda] I went to Servidore ,wh ich i s a fine countrey, and the king i s ca lled the King of

Bread .

2 The houses here bee al l thatched and made of lome .

Here be many Mooregu

and Gentiles , but there i s smal l rel igion-u.-. l “ M A ( "L’ s-J u l i: r ,‘p -‘ h—w -‘I

among them .

“

From thence I went to Bellaporé'

fi'

andso to

Ban

rrra—m

‘

pore ,4“

which i s in the country of Zelabdim E chebar

[Jalaluddin Akbar] . In th i s place the ir money is made of a

kind of s ilver, round and th icke , to the value of twentie pence ,wh ich i s very good s ilver great and a pepulous countrey.Bl

n the ir n

'

June, July;'

afid

Afigfisttfl iera is no passing in the streetes but with horses, the

waters be so h igh . The houses are made of lome and thatched .

Here i s great store of cotton cloth made , and pa inted clothes

of cotton wool ] . Here groweth great store of com e and rice .

We found mariages great store , both in townes and villages

in many place s where wee passed , of boyes of e ight or ten

yeeres, and girles of fiv e or s ix yeeres old . They both do ride

upon one horse very trim ly decked,and are caried through the

towne with great piping and playing, and so returne home

and cate of a banket made of rice and fru its, and there they

daunce the most part of the night, and so make an ende of

the marriage . They l ie not together until] they be ten yeeres

old . They say they marry their ch ildren so yoong, because1 Here, and in certain other passages, Portuguese India appears to be

meant.

2 Possibly E tch meant Darid, the family name of the dynasty of

Bidar, then an independent state. Serv idore may be a confused formof Bidar, the capital , situated about 70 miles NW. ofGolconda.

3 Balapur, in Akola district, Berar.4 Burhanpur, on the Tapti , capital ofKhandesh.

RALPH FITCH,1 5 83—9 1 1 7

it i s an order that, when the man d ieth, the woman must be

burned with h im so that if the father die, yet they may have

a father in lawe to he lpe to bring up the ch ildren which beemaried and a lso that they will not leave the ir sonnes without

wives, nor the ir daughters without husbands . From thence

we went to Mandoway,

1 which i s a very strong towne . It was

besieged twe lve yeeres by Zelabdim E chebar before hee

could winne it . It standeth upon a very great high rocke , asthe most part of the ir castles doe

,and was of a very great

circuite . From hence wee went to Ugimi [Ujja in] and Ser

ringe [S ironj ] , where wee ov ertooke the ambassadour 2of

Zelabdim E chebar with a marv eilous great c ompany of men ,

e lephants, and came ls . Here i s great trade of cotton and cloth

made of cotton , and great store of drugs . From thence wewent to Agra , passing many rivers, which by reason of the

ra ine were so swol len that wee waded and swamme oftentimes

for our l ives .

n ra i s a very g reat citie afl

ndfl

populous bl i ilh fl itll rfi gng s-c w

having fa ire and large streetes, with a faire river 12111111211n

castleand 5“

strangwafiaveryfa ire d itch . Here bee many

MooreSj'

and“ Gentiles

"

: The king i s ca lled Zelabdim ~ Echebar

thepeoplefortflé‘

fi‘

a'

st part cal l him the Great Mogor . Fromthence we went for Fatepore [Fatehpur Sikri] , wh ich i s theplace where the king kept his court . The towne i s greater then

Agra , but the house s and streetes be not so fa ire . Here dwe l l

many people , both Moores and Gentiles . The king hath in

Agra and Fatepore (as they doe cred ibly report) elephants,

thirtic thousand horses , tame deere , 800 concubines

such store of ounces ,3 tigers , bufHes, cocks , and haukes , thatis very strange to see . He keepeth a great court , which they

cal l Dericcan .

4 Agra and Fatepore are two very great citie s ,

1 Mandu, in Dhar state , about thirty miles SW. of Mhow. The

story of the siege is mythical.2 Presumably this was Abdullah Khan , Who was sent by Akbar

to Goa in 1582 (seeMr. Vincent Smith’sAkbar, p . This might havesettled the question of the year, but unfortunately the date of the

ambassador’s return to court is not on record.

3 Cheetahs (hunting leopards).4 Pers ian dam

'

kkdna,’

aipalace.


e ither of them much greater then London and very populous .

Betweene Agra and Fatepore are 1 2 m iles,

1and al l the way i s

a market of victual s and other things , as ful l as though a man

were stil l in a towne , and so many people as if a man were in

a market . They have many fine cartes , and many of them

carved and gilded with gold , with two whee les,which be

drawen with two l itle buls about the bignesse of our great

dogs in England , and they will. runne with any horse , and carie

two or three men in one of these cartes they are covered withs ilke or very fine cloth , and be used here as our coches be in

England . Hither i s great resort of marchants from Persia

and out of Ind ia , and very much marchand ise of silke and

cloth, and of prec ious stones , both rubies , d iamants , and

pearles . The king i s apparelled in a wh ite cabic [i . e . a muslin

tun ic] made l ike a sh irt t ied with strings on the one side , and

a l itle cloth on his head coloured oftentimes with red or yealow .

None come into his house but his eunuche s wh ich keepe h is

women . Here in Fatepore we staled all three until] the 28 of

September and then Master John Newber ie tooke hisjourney toward the citie of Lahor, determ in ing from thence

to goe for Persia and then for Aleppo or Constantinople

(whether hee could get soonest passage unto ) ; and d irectedme to goe for Benga la and for Pegu , and d id prom ise me ,

i f it

pleased God, to meete me in Bengala with in two yeeres witha shippe out of England . I left Wil l iam Leadcs the jeweller in

service with the king Zelabdim Echebar in Fatepore, who did

entertaine h im very wel l, and gav e him an house and fiv e

slaves , an horse, and every day sixe S . S . [sh ill ings] in money .

I went from Agra to Satagam3 in Bengala ,

in the compan ieof one hundred and fourescore boate s laden with sa lt , opium ,

h inge [asafetida Hindfistani hing] , lead , carpe ts , and d ivers

other commod it ies , downe the river Jemena . The chiefe

marchants are Moores and Gentiles . In these countries they

have many strangg jeeggn

rrronies. jghe Bramanes, wh ich are= g ra n

":‘ w’ ”5 m 4“ "1

1 Real ly?rw?enty-three miles ; but Fitch is probably reckoning by the

Indi an kos , each of which is l §~ or 2 miles.

2 See p . 3 for a suggestion that this was probably 1584.

3 Satgaon ,on a creek which entered the Bagli river just above the

town of Hfigli . It was the silting up of thi s creek which transferred thetrade to the latter place , called by the Portuguese Porto Piqueno.



head he covered his privities . The nailes of some of his fingers

were two inches long, for he would cut noth ing from him ;

ne ither would he speake . He was accompanied with e ight ortenne , and they spake for him . When any man spake to him

,

he would lay his hand upon his brest and bowe himselfe , but

would not speake . Hee would not speake to the king . We

went from Prage downe Ganges , the wh ich i s here very broad .

Here i s great store of fish of sundry sorts, and of wild foule , as

of swannes, geese , cranes , and many other things . The

countrey i s very fruitful] and populous . The men for the

most part have the ir face s shaven , and their heads very long,

except some wh ich bee all shaven save the crowne and some

of them are as though a man should set a d ish on their heads

and shave them round , all but the crowne . In thi s river ofGanges are many ilands . His water i s very sweete and

pleasant , and the countrey adjoyning very fruitful ] . Fromthence wee went to Bannaras [Benares] , wh ich i s a great

towne , and great store of cloth i s made there of cotton, and

shashes [turban-clothes] for the

be all Ge ntiles , and be the great

To th is:

t’

bvvffié‘

i bifiéfi

t

countreys . Here a longst the waters side bee verymany fa irehouses , and in all of them , or for the most part , they have

the ir images stand ing, wh ich be ev ill fav oured ,made of stone

and wood , some l ike l ions , leopards , and monkeis some l ikemen and women , and pecocks and some l ike the devil with

foure armes and 4 hands . They sit crosse legged , some with

one th ing in the ir hands, and some another . And by breakeof day and before , there are men and women wh ich come out

of the towne and wash themselves in Ganges . And there are

d ivers oldmen wh ich upon places of earthmade for the purpose,sit praying, and they give the people three or foure strawes,

wh ich they take and hold them betweene their fingers when

they wash them se lves and some s it to marke them in the fore

heads , and they have in a cloth a l itle rice , barlie, or money,wh ich , when they have washed them se lves , they give to the

old men which sit there praying . Afterwards they go to d ivers

of the ir images , and give them of the ir sacrifices . And when

they give , the old men say certaine prayers, and then i s all

RALPH FITCH,1 5 83—9 1 2 1

ho ly . And in d ivers places there standeth a kind of image

wh ich in their language they ca l l Ada and they have d ivers

great stones carved , whereon they poure water, and throw

thereupon some rice , wheate , barly, and som e other things .

Th i s Ada hath foure hands with clawes . Moreover, they have

a great place made of stone l ike to a we l l , with steppes to goe

downe water standeth very fou le and stinketh,

for the

throwe into it , doe make Thiai‘é'

béalwayes many

they"

say wh’

é’

ii"they wa sh themse lves in it ,

that the ir s inne s be forg iven them , because God , as they say,

d id wa she himselfe in that place . They gather up the sand in

the bottome of it , and say it i s ho ly . They never pray but in

the water, and they wa sh them se lves overhead , and lade up

water with both the ir handes , and turne them se lves about ,and then they drinke a l itle of the water three times , and so

goe to the ir gods wh ich stand in those house s . Some of them

will wa sh a place wh ich i s the ir length , and then will pray

upon the earth with the ir arme s and legs at length out, and

will rise up and lie downe , and kisse the ground twentie or

th irtic t imes , but they wil l not st irre the ir right foote . And

some of them wil l make the ir ceremonies wi th fiftecne or

sixteene pots l itle and great , and ring a l itle be] when theymake the ir m ixtures tenne or twe lve times and they make a

circle of water round about the ir pots and pray, and d ivers

sit by them , and one that reacheth them the ir pots and they

say d ivers th ings over the ir pots many times , and when they

have done , they goe to the ir gods and strowe the ir sacrifice s ,wh ich they th inke are very ho ly, and marke many of them

wh ich s it by in the foreheads, wh ich they take as a great gift .

There come fiftie and sometime an hundred together, to wa shthem in th i s we ll , and to offer to these idol s . They have insome of the se houses the ir ido les stand ing, and one sitteth by

them in warme weatherwith a fanne to blowe winde upon them .

And when they see any company eomm ing,they ring a l itle

be ll wh ich hangeth by them , and many give them the ir a lme s,

but especia lly those wh ich come out of the countrey. Manyof them are blacke and have clawes of bra sse with long nayles ,and some ride upon peacockes and other foules wh ich be evil]


favoured ,with long haukes bils , and some l ike one thing and

some another, but none with a good face . Among the restthere i s one wh ich they make great account of for they say

hee giveth them all things both foode and apparel] , and one

s itteth alwayes by h im with a fanne to make wind towards him .

Here some bee burned to ashes , some scorched in the fire

and throwen into the water, and dogges and foxes doe presently

cate them . The wive s here doe burne with the ir husbands

when they d ie i f they will not, the ir heads be shaven , and

never any account i s made of them afterwards . The people

goe all naked save a l itle cloth bound about the ir m idd le .

The ir women have their necks , armes and earcs decked with

rings of s ilver, copper, tinne , and with round hoopes made

of ivorie, adorned with amber stones and with many agats ,and they are marked with a great spot of red in their fore

head s and a stroke of red up to the crowne , and so it runneththree maner of wayes. In the ir winter, wh ich i s our May, the

men weare qu ilted gownes of cotton l ike to our mattraces

and qu ilted caps l ike to our great grocers morters, with a sl it

to leeke out at, and so tied downe beneath the ir cares . If a

man or woman be sicke and l ike to die , they will lay him before

the ir ido ls all n ight , and that shal l helpe him or make an ende

of him . And if he do not mend that n ight , his friends wil l

come and s it with him a l itle and cry, and afterwards will eary

him to the waters s ide and set him upon a l itle raft made of

reeds , and so let him goe downe the river . When they be

maried, the man and the woman come to the water side , and

there i s an o lde man wh ich they ca l l a Bramane (that i s,a prie st) , a cowe , and a calfe , or a cowe with ca lfe . Then the

man and the woman ,cowe and ca lfe , and the o lde man goe

into the water together, and they g ive the o lde man a wh ite

cloth of foure yards long, and a basket crosse bound withd ivers th ings in it the cloth hee laieth upon the backe of the

cowe , and then he taketh the cowe by the cnde of the ta ile ,and sa ith certa ine wordes and she hath a copper or a bra sse

pot full of water, and the man doeth ho ld his hand bv the olde

mans hand , and the wive s hand by her husbands , and a ll have

the cowe by the taile , and they poure water out of the pot

upon the cowes tai le , and it runneth through all their hands,


and they lade up water with their handes, and then the o lde

man doeth tie him and her together by the ir clothes . W hich

done , they goe round about the cowe and ca lfe , and then they

give somewhat to the poore wh ich be alwayes there, and to

the Bramane or priest they give the cowe and calfe , and

afterward goe to d ivers of the ir idoles and offer money, and

lie downe flat upon the ground and kisse it d ivers times , andthen goe their way. The ir chiefe idole s bee blacke and ev ill

favoured , the ir mouthes monstrous , the ir cares gilded , and

full of j ewels , their teeth and eyes of gold , s ilver, and glasse,some having one th ing in the ir bandes and some another . You

may not come into the houses where they stand with your

shooes on . They have continually lampes b urning before

them .

From Banh ara s I went to Patenaw [Patna] downe the riverof Ganges where in the way we passed many faire townes ,and a countrey very fru itful ] ; and many very great riversdb

r

éw

arité'

r Til t—CI Ganges, and some of them as great as Gange s ,

wh ich cause Ganges to bee of a great breadth , and so broad

that in the time of ra ine you cannot see from one s ide to the

other . These Ind ian s when they bee scorched 1and throwen

into the water, the men swimme with the ir faces downewards ,the women with the ir faces upwards . I thought they t ied

someth ing to them to cause them to doe so but they say no .

There be very many th ieve s in th i s countrey, wh ich be l ike

to the Arabians , for they have no certa ine abode , but are

sometime in one place and somet ime in another . Here the

women bee so decked with si lver and copper that it i s strangeto see they use no shooes by reason of the rings of silver and

copper wh ich they weare on the ir toes . Here at Patanaw they

finde go ld in th i s maner they digge decpc pit s in the earth ,

and wa she the earth in great bolles , and there in they finde

the go ld, and they make the pits round about with bricke ,that the earth fa l l not in . Patenaw i s a very long and a great

towne . In time s past it was a kingdom , but now it i s underZelabdim E chebar , the Great Mogor . The men are ta l l and

slender, and have many old folks among them the house sare simple, made of earth and covered with strawe ; the

1 He is speaking of corpses partly burnt.

24, EAR LY TRAVELS IN IND IA

streetcs are very large . In th i s towne there i s a trade of cotton

and cloth of cotton,much sugar, which they eary from hence

to Benga la and Ind ia , very much opium and other commo

d ities . He that i s chiefe here under the king i s called Tipperdas[Tripura Das] , and i s of great account among the people .

Here in Patenau I saw a d issembling prophet wh ich sate upon

an horse in the market place, and made as though he slept ,and many of the people came and touched h is feete with the i r

hands, and then kissed the ir hands . They tooke h im for a

great man , sure he was a lasie lq left him theresleep ing .

“ A

’I‘hew m m ufitrrIes

~

em

rffifiil'

i'

giv en to

such prating and d issembl ing hypocrites .

From Patanaw I went to Tanda ,

1 wh ich i s in the land of

Gouren [Gaur] . It hath in t imes past bene a kingdom , but

now i s subdued by Zelabdim E chebar . Great trade and

traffique i s here of cotton and of cloth of cotton . The peop le

goe naked, with a l itle cloth bound about the ir waste . It

standeth in the countrey of Bengala . Here be many tigers ,wild bufs, and great store of W ilde foule they are very great

idolaters . Tanda standeth from the river Ganges a league ,because in times past the river, flowing over the bankes, intime of ra ine d id drowne the countrey and many villages , and

so they do remaine . And the old way wh ich the river Ganges

was weent to run rema ineth drie , wh ich i s the occasion that

the citie doeth stand so farre from the water . From Agradowne the river Jemena , and downe the river Ganges , I was

five moneths eomming to Bengala but it may be sailed in

much shorte’

r t ime .

I went from Benga la into the country of Couche ,2 wh ich

1 Tanda, in Malda district, became the capital of Bengal upon the

decadence of the neighbour ing city of Gaur . The old town has beenswept away entirely by changes in the course of the Pagla river.

2 Fitch’s v isit to Kuch Bihar is a most interesting incident, and it ismuch to be deplored that his account of the country is so meagre .

Suckel Counse i . e . theWhite (Sanskrit sukal) Koch (or Kuch), was

perhaps used as one of the titles of the sovereign , though it should benoted that Sir Edward Gait, in his History ofAssam (p . is disposedto regard it as equivalent to Sukladhv aj , a title borne by Silarai , thefamous brother of King Nar Narayan there is, however, the difiicultythat Silarai had di ed a few years before Fitch’s arrival. The statementsabout the propinquity of Cochin China and the importation of pepper



was a k ingdom of it selfe , and the king was a great friend tostrangers . Afterwards it was taken by the king of Patan ,

1

wh ich was the ir ne ighbour, but he d id not enjoy it long, but

was taken by Zelabdim E chebar, wh ich i s king of Agra , De ll i ,and Camba ia . Orixa standeth 6 daies journey from Satagan,

southwestward . In th i s place i s very much rice , and clothmade of cotton , and great store of cloth wh ich i s made of

grasse , which they cal l Yerva2 it i s l ike a silke . They make

good cloth of it , wh ich they send for Ind ia 3and d ivers other

places . To th is haven of Angel i come every yere many sh ips

out of Ind ia,Negapatan , Sumatra , Malacca , and d ivers other

places and lade from thence great store of rice , and much

clo th of cotton wool] , much sugar, and long pepper, great

store of butter, and other victual s for Ind ia . Satagam i s afa ire citie for a citie of the Moores , and very plentifull of all

th ings . Here in Benga la they have every day in one place

or other a great market wh ich they cal l Chandeau , and they

have many great boats which they cal pericose ,4 wherewitha l]

they go from place to place and buy rice and many other

th ings ; these boates have 24 or 2 6 oares to rowe them ;

they be great of burthen, but have no coverture . Here the

Gentiles have the water of Gange s in great estimation , for

having good water neere them , yet they will fetch the water

of Ganges a great way off, and if they have not sufficient to

drinke , they will sprinkle a l itle on them , and then they thinke

themselves we ll . From Satagam I travelled by the countrey

of the king of T ippara or Porto Grande , with whom the

Mogores or Mogen have a lmost continua l] warres . The Mogen

wh ich be of the kingdom of R econ and Rame be stronger then

the king of Tippara , so that Chatigan or Porto Grande i s

oftentime s under the king of Recon .

5

1 The Pathan or Afghan kings of Bengal. Orissa was conquered byone of them in 15 6 8 , and seven years later became part ofAkbar

’

s ter

ritories, though it was not defin itely subjugated until 1 592.

2 Herba cloth, made from rhea or some similar fibre.

3 See note 1 on p . 1 6 .

4 The porges or purgoos of later writers. The word is possiblya corruption of the Port. barea .

5 Porto Grand was the Portuguese name for Chi ttagong. Tippara

was a kingdom now represented by the small state ofHill Tippera. The

Mogen were the Mugs of tod ay, belonging to the western part of

Q

RALPH FITCH, 1 583—9 1 2 7

There i s a country 4 daies journie from Couche or Quicheu

before mentioned ,wh ich i s called Bottanter 1 and the citie

Bottia , the king i s called D ermain the people whereof are

very tall and strong, and there are marchants wh ich come

out of Ch ina , and they say out ofMuscov ia or Tartaric . And

they come to buy muske,cambals ,

2agats, s ilke , pepper, and

saffron l ike the saffron of Persia . The countrey i s very great ,3 moneths journey . There are very h igh mountains in th i s

countrey, and one of them so steep that when a man i s 6 daies

journey off it , he may see it perfectly . Upon these mounta ins

are people wh ich have care s of a spanne long ; if the ir cares

be not long, they ca l l them ape s . They say that when they be

upon the mountaines, they see sh ips in the sea sayling to and

fro but they know not from whence they come, nor whether

they go . There are marchants wh ich come out of the East ,they say, from under the sunne , wh ich i s from Ch ina ,

wh ichhave no beards , and they say there it i s something warme .

But those wh ich come from the other s ide of the mounta ins ,wh ich i s from the north ,

say there it i s very cold . The senorthren merchants are apparelled with woollen cloth and

hats , white hosen close , and bootes wh ich be of Moscov ia or

Tartarie . They report that in the ir countrey they have very

good horses , but they be l itle some m en have foure , fiv e , or

sixe hundred horses and kine they live with m ilke and fleshe .

They cut the ta iles of their kine , and sell them very deere,for they bee in great request , and much e steemed in thosepartes . The ha ire of them i s a yard long, the rumpe i s above

a spanne long they use to hang them for braverie upon the

heades of the ir e lephants they bee much used in Pegu and

Ch ina . They buie and se ll by score s upon the ground . The

people be very swift on foote .

From Chatigan in Bengala , I came to Bacola 3 ; the kingArakan (Fitch

’s Recon Rame is supposed to have been the countryround the present village of Ramu in the southern part of Chi ttagongdi strict.

1 Bhutan. There is no town in it whi ch can be identified as Bottia

though the people are known as Bhotias . Dermain probably represe ntsthe Dharma Raja, the spiritual head of the kingdom.

2 Blankets or coarse wooll en clothes (Sanskr it kambalw) .3 Bakla was the old name ofmuch of the present district ofBakargan j ,

in Eastern Bengal. No town is known of that name, butMr. H. Beve


whereof is a Gentile, a man very we l l d isposed and del ighteth

much to shoot in a gun . His countrey i s very great and

fruitful th store of rice , much cotton cloth , and cloth

of s ilke house s be very fa ire and h igh bu ilded , the

streetcs Ie people naked, except a l itle cloth about the i r

waste . The women weare great store of silver hoopes about

the i r neckes and armes , and the ir legs are ringed with silver

and copper, and rings made of e lephants teeth .

From Bacola I went to Serrepore wh ich standeth upon

the river of Ganges . The king i s ca lled Chondery.

1 They be all

hereabout rebel s against the ir king Zelabdim Echebar ; for

here are so many rivers and ilands, that they flee from one

to another, whereby his horsemen cannot prev a ile again st

them . Great store of cotton cloth i s made here .

Sinnergan2 i s a towne sixe leagues from Serrepore , where

there i s the best and finest cloth made of cotton that i s in all

Ind ia . The chiefe king of all the se countrie s i s ca l led Isacan ,

and he i s chiefe of all the other kings , and i s a great friend

to all Christian s . The houses here , as they be in the most part

of Ind ia, are very l itle , and covered with strawe , and have

a fewe mats round about the wa l s, and the doore to keepe out

the tygers and the foxes . Many of the people are very rich .

Here they will cate no flesh , nor kil l no beast ; they l ive of

rice , m ilke , and fruits . They goe with a l itle cloth before

them , and all the rest of the ir bod ie s i s naked . Great store

of cotton cloth goeth from hence , and much rice , wherewith

they serve all Ind ia , Ceilon,Pegu, Malacca , Sumatra , and

many other places .

I went from Serrepore the 2 8 of November 1 5 86 for Pegu ,

in a sma l l sh ip or fo ist of one Albert Carav allos . And so

ridge , in his manual of the district, suggests that Fitch is referring to theold capital , Kachua , on the west bank of the Titulia river, about twentyfiv e miles south-east of Barisal.

1 Chand Rai , a petty chief whose head-quarters were at Sripur, nearRajabari, at the confluence of the Meghna and the Padma. The latterriver has long since washed away Sripur.

2Sonargaon , the capital of Eastern Bengal , 135 1—1 608, situated fifteen

miles east of Dacca. IsaKhan was an Afghan chief of Khizrpur, nearNarayangan j in Dacca district, who became leader of the Afghansthroughout Eastern Bengal and at one time ruled over a large tract ofcountry.

RALPH FITCH, 1 5 83—9 1 29

passing downe Ganges, and passing by the i sland of Sund iv a ,

1

Porto Grande , or the countrie of T ippera , the kingdom of

R econ and Mogen , leaving them on our left side with a fa ire

wind at northwest , our course was south and by east , wh ich

brought us to the barre of Negra i s in Pegu . If any contrary

wind had come , we had throwen many of our th ings over

boord ,for we were so pestered with people and goods that

there was scant place to l ie in . From Bengala to Pegu i s

90 leagues . We entred the barre of Negra i s , wh ich i s a brave

barre and hath 4 fadomes water where it hath lea st . Three

dayes after we came to Cosm in ,

2 wh ich i s a very pretie towne ,and standeth very pleasantly, very we ll furn i shed with all

th ings . The people be very tal l and wel l d i sposed the

women wh ite , round faced,with l itle eies . The houses are

h igh built , set upon great h igh poste s , and they go up to

them with long ladders for feare of the tygers, wh ich be very

many . The countrey i s very fruitful of all th ings . Here are

very great figs, orenges, cocoes , and other fru its . The land i s

very h igh that we fa l l withall ; but after we be entred the

barre, it i s very lowe and fu l l of rivers, for they goe all too and

fro in boates, wh ich they call paroes ,3and keepe the ir houses

with wife and ch ildren in them .

From the barre of N igra is to the citie of Pegu i s ten daye s

journey by the rivers . Wee went from Cosm in to Pegu in

paroes or boates ; and passing up the rivers wee came to

Medon , wh ich i s a prety towne , where there be a wonderful]

number of paroes, for they keepe the i r house s and the ir

markets in them all upon the water . They rowe too and fro ,

and have a ll the ir marchandizes in thei r boates with a great

sombrero 4or shadow over the ir heads to keepe the sunne

from them , wh ich i s as broad as a great cart wheele made of

the leave s of the coco trees and fig trees , and i s very l ight .

From Medon we went to D ela,

5 wh ich i s a very fa ire towne ,

1 The island of Sandwip, off the coast of Chittagong district.

2 Kusima, the Bassein of to-day,in the Irrawaddy delta.

2 Port. parao, from an Indian word meaning a boat.

4 Port. sumbrez’

ro, an umbrella.

5 Medon cannot be identified . Dela or Dala was the name

of a large district to the west of Rangoon , and it is still applied to thepart of the city which lies across the river. Fitch, however, is referring


and hath a fa ire port into the sea , from whence go many sh ips

to Ma lacca ,Mecca , and many other places . Here are 1 8 or 20

very great and long house s, where they tame and keep many

e lephants of the kings for there about in the wilderncsse they

catch the wilde e lephants . It i s a very fru itful ] countrey.

From D e la we went to Cirion ,

1 wh ich i s a good towne ,and hath

a fa ire porte into the sea , Wh ither come many sh ips from

Mecca , Malacca ,Sumatra, and from d ivers other places . And

there the sh ips sta ie and d i scharge , and send up the ir goodsin paroes to Pegu . From Cirion we went to Macao ,

2 wh ich i s

a pretie towne where we left our boats or paroes, and in themorn ing taking Delingeges,

3 wh ich are a kind of coche s made

of cord s and cloth qui lted , and caried upon a stang [i . c . a pole]betweene 3 or 4 men , we came to Pegu the same day.

Pegu i s a citie very great , strong, and very fa ire , with wa lle s

of stone , and great d itche s round about it . There are two

towne s, the old towne and the newe . In the o lde towne are

al l the marchants strangers, and very many marchants of the

countrey. All the goods are so ld in the olde towne , wh ich i s

very great , and hath many suburbes round about it , and a ll

the house s are made of cane s wh ich they cal l bambos , and bee

covered with strawe . In your house you have a warehouse

wh ich they cal l Godon [godown] , wh ich i s made of bricke toput your goods in for oftentimes they take fire and burnein an houre foure or fiv e hundred houses , so that , if the

Godon were not, you shou ld bee in danger to have al l burned ,

i f any winde should rise , at a trice . In the newe towne i s the

king, and all his nobilitie and gentr ie . It i s a citie v ery great

and populous , and i s made square and with very fa ire walle s ,and a great d itch round about it ful l of water, with many

crocodi les in it it hath twenty gates , and they bee made of

stone , for every square fiv e gates . There are a lso many turrets

to the old capital of the district, now called Twante, situated at the head

of a creek, about sixteen miles south-west of Rangoon .

1 Syriam , on the Pegu river, about ten miles east of Rangoon.

2 Federici says that this place was about twelv e miles from Pegu. Yulesuggests its identification with the pagoda ofMahkan (Mtsston to Ava ,p . 2 1 1

2 Talaing (i. e . Peguan) dalin, a litter. I have to thankMr. C. O. Blagden and Sir R ichard Temple for explaining these Talaing words.

RALPH FITCH, 1 5 83—9 1 3 1

for centinel s to watch ,made of wood , and gilded with golde

very fa ire . The streets are the fa irest that ever I saw, as

stra ight as a l ine from one gate to the other, and so broad

that tenne or twe lve men may ride a front thorow them .

On both s ide s of them at every mans doore i s set a palmer

tree,wh ich i s the nut tree wh ich make a very fa ire shew

and a very commod iou s shadow, so that a man may walke inthe shade all day. The house s be made of wood, and covered

with t ile s . The k ings house i s in the m iddle of the c ity, and

i s wal led and d itched round about and the bu ild ings with in

are made of wood very sumptuously gilded , and great workemansh ip i s upon the forefront , wh ich i s likewise very costlygilded . And the house wherein h is pagode or idole standeth

i s covered with t ile s of s ilver, and all the walles are gilded with

golde . With in the first gate of the kings house i s a great

large roome [i . e . open space] , on both s ide s whereof are house smade for the kings e lephants , wh ich be marve llous great and

fa ire , and are brought up to warres and in service of the king .

And among the re st he hath foure white e lephants , wh ich are

very strange and rare ; for there i s none other king wh ichhath them but he if any other king hath one ,

'

hee will send

unto him for it . When any of these wh ite e lephants i s brought

unto the k ing, all the merchants in the c ity are commanded

to see them , and to give him a present of halfe a ducat , wh ich

doth come to a great summe , for that there are many merchants

in the c ity . After that you have given your present you may

come and see them at your pleasure , a lthough they stand in

the kings house . Th i s king in his t itle i s ca lled the king of the

wh ite e lephants . If any other king have one, and will not sendit him , he will make warre with him for it for he had rather

lose a great part of his kingdome then not to conquere h im .

They do very great service unto these wh ite e lephants every

one of them standeth in an house gilded with golde , and they

doe feede in vesse l s of si lver and gilt . One of them , when he

doth go to the r iver to be washed, a s every day they do , goeth

under a canopy of cloth of golde or of s ilke carried over him

by sixe or e ight men, and e ight or ten men goe before him

p laying on drummes, shawmes, or other instruments and

when he i s washed and commeth out of the river, there i s


a gentleman wh ich doth wash his feet in a s ilver basin wh ich

i s h is office given h im by the king . There i s no such account

made of any blacke elephant , be he never so great . And surely

there be woonderfull fa ire and great , and some be n ine cubites

in he ight . And they do report that the king hath above fiv e

thou sand e lephants of warre , besides many other wh ich be

not taught to fight . Th i s king hath a very large place where in

he taketh the wilde elephants . It standeth about a m ile from

Pegu , bu ilded with a fa ire court with in , and i s in a great grove

or wood ; and there be many huntsmen , wh ich go into the

wildernesse with she e lephants , for without the she they are

not to be taken . And they be taught for that purpose , and

every hunter hath fiv e or sixe of them and they say that they

ano int the she elephants with a certaine o intment , wh ich

when the wild e lephant doth smell , he wil l not leave her .

When they have brought the wilde elephant neere unto the

place , they send word unto the towne , and many horsemen

and footmen come out and cause the she e lephant to enter

into a stra it way wh ich doeth goe to the pa lace , and the she

and he do runne in ,for it i s l ike a wood and when they be in ,

the gate doth shut . Afterward they get out the female and

when the male seeth that he i s left a lone , he weepeth and crieth ,

and runneth aga inst the walles , which be made of so strongtree s that some of them doe breake their teeth with runn ingaga inst them . Then they pricke him with Sharpe canes , and

cause him to go into a stra it house , and there they put a rope

about his m iddle and about his feet , and let him stand there

three or foure dayes without eating or drinking ; and then

they bring a female to him ,with meat and drinke , and with in

few daye s he becommeth tame . The chiefe force of the kingi s inthese e lephants . And when they go into the warres they

set a frame of wood upon the ir backes , bound with great

cordes , where in s it foure or sixe men , which fight with gunnes ,bowes and arrowes, darts and other weapons . And they say

that the ir skinne s are so th icke that a pellet of an harquebushw il l scarse pearce them , except it be in some tender place .

The ir weapons be very badde . They have gunnes , but shoot

very badly in them dart s and swords short without po ints .

The king keepeth a very great state when he s itteth



of a king in golde with a crowne of golde on his head ful l of

great rubies and saphires, and about him there stand foure

ch ildren o f golde . In the second house i s the picture of a man

in s ilver, woonderfull great , as h igh as an house his foot i s

as long as a man , and he i s made sitting, with a crowne on h is

head very rich with stone s . In the th ird house i s the picture

of a man greater then the other, made of brasse, with a rich

crowne on his head . In the fourth and last house doth stand

another, made of brasse, greater then the other, with a crowne

a l so on his head very rich with stone s . In another court notfarre from thi s stand foure other Pagodes or ido les, marvellous

great, of copper, made in the same place where they do standfor they be so great that they be not to be remoov ed . They

stand in foure house s gilded very fa ire , and are themselves

gilded all over save the ir heads , and they shew like a blackemorian [i . e . he lmet] . The ir expences in gildingof the ir image s

are wonderful] . The king hath one wife and above threehundred concubine s , by wh ich they say he hath fourescore or

fourescore and ten ch ildren . He sitteth in judgement almost

every day. They use no speech , but give up the ir supplications

written in the leave s of a tree with the point of an yron bigger

then a bodkin . These leaves are an e lle long, and about

two inche s broad they are a lso double . He which giveth in

h is suppl ication doth stand in a place a l ittle d istance off witha present . If his matter be l iked of, the k ing accepteth of his

present , and granteth his request if his sute be not l iked of,

he returneth with his present , for the k ing will not take it .In Ind ia there are few commod it ie s which serve for Pegu,

except opium of Cambaia , pa inted cloth of S . Thome or of

Masulipatan , and wh ite cloth of Bengala, which i s spent

there in great quant ity . They bring th ither a l so much cotton

yarme red coloured with a root wh ich they ca lled Saia [chayroot or Ind ian madder] , wh ich will never lose his co lour it i s

very we] so lde here , and very much of it commeth yerely to

Pegu . By your mony you lose much . The sh ips wh ich come

from Bengala, S . Thome , and Masulipatan come to the bar

of N igrais and to Cosm in . To Martavan [Martaban] , a portof the sea in the kingdome of Pegu,

come many sh ips from

Malacca laden with sandall , porcelanes, and other wares of

RALPH FITCH, 1 5 83

—9 1 3 5

China , and with camphora of Borneo , and pepper from Achenin Sumatra . To Cirion, a port of Pegu, come sh ips fromMecca with woo llen cloth , scarlets , velvets, opium , and suchl ike . There are in Pegu e ight brokers , whom they cal l Tareghe ,

1

wh ich are bound to sel l your goods at the pricewhich they bewoerth , and you give them for the ir labour two in the hundred

and they be bound to make your debt good, because you sel l

your marchand ise s upon the ir word . If the broker pay younot at h is day, you may take him home , and keepe him in

your house wh ich i s a great shame for him . And i f he payyou not presently, you may take his wife and ch ildren and his

slaves , and binde them at your doore, and set them in the

sunne for that i s the law of the countrey. The ir current

money in these parts i s a k inde of brasse wh ich they ca ll

Gansa ,

2 wherewith you may buy go lde , s ilver, rubies , muske ,and all other th ings . The go lde and s ilver is marchand i se ,and i s worth sometimes more and sometimes lesse , as other

wares be . Th i s brasen money doeth goe by a we ight wh ichthey ca ll a biza 3

and commonly thi s biza after our account

i s worth about ha lfe a crowne or somewhat lesse . The mar

chandise wh ich be in Pegu are golde , silver, rubie s, saphires,spinelles , muske , benjam in [benzo in] or frankincense , longpepper, tinne , leade , copper, laeca (whereof they make hardwaxe ) , rice , and wine made of rice , and some sugar . The

e lephants doe cate the sugar cane s , or e ls they would makevery much . And they consume many canes l ikewise in makingof the ir Varellaes 4 or idole temples , wh ich are in great number,both great and sma l l . They be made round l ike a sugar loafe

some are as h igh as a church , very broad beneath , some a

quarter of a m ile in compa sse with in they be a ll earth done

about with stone . They consume in these Varellaes great

quantity of go lde , for that they be al l g ilded a loft , and many

of them from the top to the bottome and every ten or twe lve

yeeres they must be new gilded , because the ra ine consumeth1 This is a South Indian term for a broker.2 AMalay word meaning bell-metal but lead and other base metalswere frequently used .

2 Generally termed a viss a weight of about 31 lb.

This name for a pagoda is thought to be from aMalay word meaningan idol .


off the golde , for they stand open abroad . If they d id not

consume the ir golde in these vanit ies, it would be very plentiful ]

and good cheape in Pegu .

About two dayes journey from Pegu there i s a Varelle o r

pagode ,wh ich i s the pilgrimage of the Pegue s ; it i s ca lled

Dogonne,1and i s of a woonderfull bignesse , and all gilded from

the foot to the toppe . And there i s an house by it wherein

the Tallipoies2(wh ich are their priests) doe preach . Th i s

house i s fiv e and fifty paces in length , and hath three pawnes3

or wa lks in i t, and forty great pillars gilded ,which stand

betweene the wa lks and it i s open on all s ide s , with a number

of smal l pillars , wh ich be l ikewise gilded ; it i s gilded withgolde within and without . There are house s very fa ire round

about for the pilgrim s to l ie in and many goodly houses for

the Tallipoies to preach in, wh ich are ful l of images both of

men and women, wh ich are all gilded over with golde . It i s

the fa irest place , as I suppose , that i s in the world . It standeth

very h igh , and there are foure wayes to it , wh ich a ll a long are

set with trees of fru its , in such wise that a man may goe in

the shade above two m i les in length . And when the ir fea st

day i s , a man can hardly passe by water or by land for the

great presse of people for they come from all places of the

kingdome of Pegu th ither at the ir feast . In Pegu they have

many Tall ipoies or priests , wh ich preach against all abuse s .

Many men resort unto them . When they enter into the ir

kiack,

4 that i s to say, the ir holy place or temple , at the doore

there i s a great jarre of water with a cocke or a lad le in it , andthere they wash the ir feet and then they enter in , and l ift

up their hands to the ir heads first to the ir preacher, and then

to the sunne, and so s it downe . The Tallipoies go very strangely

appare l led ,with one camboline [see p . 27 ] or thinne cloth

next to the ir body of a browne co lour, another of ye llow

doubled many times upon the ir shoulder, and those two be

girded to them with a broad girdle and they have a skinne

of leather hanging on a string about their necks, whereupon

The well-known Shwe or Golden Dagon , near Rangoon.

2 Talaing tala poe, my lord a form of address to Buddhi st monks.2 Covered walks or colonnades .Talaing kyalc, a temple or an object of worship.

RALPH FITCH,1 5 83—9 1 3 7

they sit , bare headed and bare footed, for none of them

weareth shooes ; with the ir right arme s bare and a great.

broad sombrero or shadow in the ir hands to defend them in

the summer from the sunne , and in the winter fromthe ra ine .

When the Tall ipoies or priests take their orders , first they go

to schoole unti l] they be twenty yere s o lde or more , and then

they come before a Tallipoie appo inted for that purpose ,whom they ca l l Rowli .1 He i s of the ch iefest and most

learned , and he opposeth [i . e . questions] them , and afterward

examineth them many tim es, whether they will leave the ir

friends and the company of a ll women , and take upon them

the habit of a Tallipo ie . If any be content , then he rideth

upon an horse about the street s very richly apparelled, with

drummes and pipes , to shew that he leaveth the riches of the

world to be a Tallipoie . In few dayes after, he i s caried upon

a th ing l ike an horsliter , which they ca l l a serion , upon ten or

twe lve m ens shoulders in the appare l] of a Tallipoie , with pipe s

and drummes and many Tallipoies with him , and a] his friends,and so they go with him to his house , wh ich standeth without

the towne , and there they leave him . Every one of them hath

his house , wh ich i s very l ittle , set upon six or e ight posts , and

they go up to them with a ladder of twe lve or foureteene staves .

The ir houses be for the most part by the hie wayes s ide , and

among the trees , and in the woods . And they go with a great

pot made of wood or fine earth and covered , t ied with a broad

gird le upon the ir shoulder, wh ich commeth under the ir arme ,

wherewith they go to begge the ir v ictual s wh ich they cate ,wh ich i s rice ,

fish , and herbs . They demand noth ing, but

come to the doore , and the people presently doe give them ,

some one th ing, and some another, and they put a ll together

in the ir potte for they say they must cate of the ir a lme s , and

therewith content them se lves . They keepe the ir feasts by

the moone and when i t i s new moone they keepe the ir

greatest feast and then the peop le send rice and other th ings

to that kiack or church of wh ich they be , and there all the

Tallipoies doe meete which be of that church , and cate the

victua l s wh ich are sent them . When the Tallipoies do preach ,

1 Thi s obscure term is discussed in the Iadmi t Antiquary, v ol. xxix ,p. 28, and vol. xxxv , p. 26 8 .

3 8 EARLY TRAVELS IN INDIA

many of the people eary them gifts into the pulpit where they

sit and preach . And there i s one wh ich s itteth by them to

take that which the people bring . It i s d ivided among them .

They have none other ceremonies nor service that I could see ,

but onely preach ing.

I went from Pegu to Jamahey,

1 wh ich i s in the countrey of

the Langejannes, whom we ca l l Jangomes2; it i s fiv e and

twenty dayes journey northeast from Pegu in wh ich journey

I passed many fru itful] and plea sant countreys . The countrey

i s very lowe , and hath many fa ire rivers . The house s are very

bad, made of canes and covered with straw . Heere are many

wilde buffes [buffa loes] and elephants . Jamahey i s a veryfa ire and great towne , with fa ire houses of stone, wel l peopledthe streets are very large , the men very we l l set and strong,with a cloth about them , bare headed and bare footed,

for

in a ll these countreys they weare no shooes . The women be

much fa irer then those of Pegu . Heere in a ll these countreys

they have no wheat . They make some cakes of rice . Hether

to Jamahey come many marchants out of Ch ina , and bringgreat store of muske, go lde , s ilver, and many other th ings of

Ch ina worke . Here i s great store of victual s they have such

plenty that they will not m ilke the buffles, as they doe in a ll

other places . Here i s great store of copper and benjam in .

In the se countreys , when the people be s icke they make a v ow

to offer meat unto the d ive l l , if they e scape and when they

be recovered they make a banket with many p ipe s and

drumm es and other instruments , and dansing a ll the n ight ,and the ir friends come and bring gift s, cocos , figges, arrecaes ,and o ther fruit s , and with great dauncing and rejoycing theyoffer to the d ive l l, and say they g ive the d ive] to eat and driveh im out . Wh en they be dancing and playing, they will cry

and ha llow very loud and in th i s sort they say they driveh im away . And when they be s icke , a Tal lipoy or two every

n ight doth s it by them and s ing, to please the d ive l l that he

should not hurt them . And i f any die, he i s caried upon a

1 Kiang-mai or Zimme, in the north-western part of Siam.

2 Lan-chan is properly Luan Praban , on the Mekong but it is usedhere loosely for all the Laos states. Jangoma was the Portugueseform ofKiang-mai.

RALPH FITCH, 1 583—9 1 3 9

great frame made l ike a tower, with a covering all gilded with

goldemade ofcanes, cariedwith foureteene or sixteenemen ,with

drummes and pipes and other instruments playing before him ,

to a place out of the towne and there i s burned . He i s aecom

panied with a ll his friends and ne ighbours, all men and they

give to the Tall ipoies or priests many mats and cloth and

then they returne to the house and there make a feast for two

daye s and then the wife with all the neighbours wives andher friends go to the place where he was burned, and there

they sit a certa ine time and cry, and gather the pieces of bones

wh ich be left unburned and bury them , and then returne to

the ir house s and make an end of all mourn ing. And the men

and women wh ich be neere of kin do shave the ir heads ;wh ich they do not use except it be for the death of a friend,for they much esteeme of the ir ha ire .

Caplan 1 i s the place where they finde the rubies , saph ires ,and spinelles ; it standeth sixe dayes journey from Av a in

the kingdome of Pegu . There are many great high h i lles out

of wh ich they digge them . None may go to the pits but onely

those wh ich d igge them .

In Pegu, and in all the countreys of Av a , Langejannes ,S iam , and the Bramas ,2 the men wea

‘re bunches or l ittle

round balles in the ir privy members some of them weare

two and some three . They cut the skin and so put them in,

one into one s ide and another into the other s ide wh ich they

do when they be 2 5 or 3 0 yeeres o lde , and at the ir pleasure

they take one or more of them out as they th inke good . When

they be maried the husband i s , for every chi ld wh ich h is wife

hath , to put in one un ti l] he come to three and then no more

for they say the women doe de s ire them . They were invented

because they should not abuse the ma le sexe . For in t imes

past all those countries were so given to that villany, tha t

they were very scarse of people . It was a l so orda ined that

the women should not have past three cubits of cloth in the ir

ne ther clothe s, wh ich they binde about them wh ich are so

1 Kyatpyin , in the RubyMines district, about seventy-fiv e milesNNE .

otAva , and six miles south-east ofMogok.

2 Brama is the Portuguese form of Burma. Fitch uses it both for thecountry and the people.


stra it, that when they go in the streets , they shew one side o f

the leg bare above the knee . The bunchesaforesayd be of d ivers

sorts the least be as big as a l itle wa lnut, and very round

the greatest are as big as a l itle henne s egge . Some are of

brasse and some of s i lver but those of s i lver be for the kingand his noble men . These are gilded and made with great

cunn ing, and ring l ike a l itle bel l . There are some made of

l eade , wh ich they cal l Selwy1 because they ring but l itle ;

and these be of le sser price for the poorer sort . The kingsometimes taketh his out, and g iveth them to his noblemen

as a great g ift and because he hath used them , they esteeme

them greatly . They wil l put one in , and kea le up the place in

seven or e ight dayes .2

The Brama s wh ich be of the k ings countrey (for the kingi s a Brama ) have the ir legs or be ll ies, or some part of the ir

body, a s they thinke good themse lve s , made black withcerta ine th ings wh ich they have ; they use to pricke the

skinne, and to put on it a k inde of an ile 3or blacking, wh ich

doth cont inue alwayes . And th i s i s counted an honour among

them but none may have it but the Brama s wh ich are of the

k ings kinred .

These people weare no beards they pul l out the haire on

the ir face s with l ittle pinson s [pincers] made for that purpose .

Some of them will let 1 6 or 20 ha ire s grow together, some in

one place of his face and some in another, and pulleth out all

the rest for he car ieth his pinson s alwayes with him to pul l

the ha ires out assoone as they appeare . If they see a man

with a beard they wonder at him . They have the ir teeth

blacked , both men and women ; for they say a dogge hath

his teeth wh ite, therefore they will blacke the irs .

The Pegue s , i f they have a sute in the law wh ich i s so doubt

ful l that they cannot we l l determ ine it, put two long cane s

into the water where it i s very decpc and both the partie s

go into the water by the poles , and there s it men to judge ,

1 Talaing seluy, bell-metal or some other alloy.

2 Hakluyt in his edition (1 60 1 ) of The Discoveries of the World, byAntonio Galvano, notes that Fitch brought divers of these bels intoEngland On the practice see Yule (op . cit. , p . 208 it ) .

3 Indigo (Port. anil from Arabic ail-ni l, pronounced art-ni l).



out the towne . And their dayes be ing expired , i f any man

rema ine there , they are evil] used and imprisoned . The

Chinians are very suspitious and doe not trust strangers . It

i s thought that the k ing doth not know that any strangerscome into his countrey. And further it i s cred ibly reportedthat the common people see the ir king very seldome or not

at all , nor may not locke up to that place where he s itteth .

And when he rideth abroad he i s caried upon a great cha ire

or serr ion g ilded very fa ire , where in there i s made a l ittle

house with a latise to looke out at so that he may see them ,

but they may not looke up at him and all the t ime that he

pa sseth by them , they heave up the ir hands to their heads,and lay the ir heads on the ground, and locke not up unt il] he

be passed . The order of Ch ina i s , when they mourne, that

they weare wh ite thread shoe s and hats of straw . The man

doth mourne for h is wife two yeeres the wife for her husband

three yeeres ; the sonne for h is father a yeere , and for h is

mother two yeres . And all the t ime wh ich they mourne they

keepe the dead in the house , the bowel s being taken out and

filled with chownam [chunam] or l ime , and coffined ; and

when the t ime i s expired they carry them out playing and

piping, and burne them . And when they returne they pul l

off the ir mourn ing weeds, and marry at the ir pleasure . Aman

may keepe as many concubines as he will , but one wife onely .

All the Chineans, Japon ians, and Cauchin Chineans do write

right downwards , and they do write with a fine pensill made

of dogs or cats ha ire .

Laban [Labuan i s an iland among the Java s from whence

come the d iamants of the new water . And they finde them in

the rivers ; for the king will not suffer them to d igge the

rocke .

Jamba 1 i s an i land among the Java s a lso, from whence

come d iamants . And the king hath a masse of earth wh ich

i s go lde it groweth in the m iddle of a river, and when the

king doth lacke gold ,they out part of the earth and me lt it ,

whereof commeth golde . Th i s masse of earth doth appeare

but once in a yere wh ich i s when the water is low, and thi s

i s in the moneth ofApril .1 Jambi, in Sumatra , may be meant but it is not an island.

RALPH FITCH,1 583-9 1 43

Bima1 i s another iland among the Javas, where the women

trav ell and labour as our men do in England, and the men

keepe house and go where they will .

The 29 of March 1 588 , I returned from Malacca toMartavan ,

and so to Pegu , where I rema ined the second time until] the

1 7 of September, and then I went to Cosm in, and there tooke

sh ipping ; and passing many dangers by reason of contrary

windes, it pleased God that we arrived in Benga la in November

fo llowing where I stayed for want of passage until] the th ird

of February 1 5 89 , and then I sh ipped my se lfe for Coch in . In

wh ich voyage we endured great extrem ity for lacke of fresh

water for the weather was extreme hote , and we were many

marchants and passengers, and we had very many calmes,and hote weather . Yet i t pleased God that we arrived in

Ceylon the s ixth of March ; where we stayed fiv e dayes to

water, and to furn ish our se lves with other necessary provision .

Th is Ceylon i s a brave i land ,very fru itful] and fa ire

,; but by

reason of continua l ] warres with the king thereof, a ll th ings

are very deare for he will not suffer any thing to be brought

to the castle where the Portugal s be wherefore often t imes

they have great want of victua l s . The ir provision of victua l s

commeth out of Benga la every yere . The k ing i s called Ra ia[Raja] , and i s of great force for he commeth to Colombo ,

wh ich i s the place where the Portuga l s have the ir fort, with

an hundred thousand men, and m any e lephants . But they

be naked people a ll of them yet many of them be good with

the ir pieces, wh ich be muskets . VVl Ien the king ta lketh withany man ,

he standeth upon one legge , and setteth the othe r

foot upon his knee with his sword in h is hand i t i s not the ir

order for the king to sit but to stand . His apparel ] i s a fine

pa inted cloth made of cotton wool ] about h is m idd le ; h is

ha ire i s long and bound up with a l itt le fine cloth about his

head ; a ll the rest of h is body i s naked . His guard are a

thousand men ,wh ich stand round about h im , and he in the

m iddle ; and when he marcheth ,many of them goe before

him, and the rest come after h im . They are of the race of the

Chingalayes [S ingalese] , wh ich they say are the best kinde of

all the Malabars . The ir care s are very large for the greater1 Possibly the state of that name in the island of Sumabawa.

44 EAR LY TRAVELS IN IND IA

they a re , the more honourable they are accounted . Some of

them a re a spanne long . The wood wh ich they burne i s

c inamom wood , and it sme lleth very sweet . There i s grea tstore of rubie s, saphires, and spinelles in thi s i land the best

kinde ofa ll be here but the kingwill not suffer the inhabitants

to d igge for them , le st h is enem ie s should knowe of them , and

make warres aga inst him , and so drive h im out of h is countrey

for them . They have no horses in all the countrey. The

e lephants be not so great as those of Pegu ,which be monstrous

huge but they say all other e lephants do feare them , and

none dare fight with them , though they be very sma ll . The ir

women have a cloth bound about them from the ir m iddle tothe ir knee , and all the rest i s bare . All of them be blacke and

but l ittle , both men and women . The ir houses are very l ittle,made of the branche s of the pa lmer or coco-tree , and coveredwith the leaves of the same tree .

The eleventh of March we sa iled from Ceylon , and so

doubled the cape of Comori . Not far from thence, betweene

Ceylon and the ma ine land of Negapatan , they fish for pearle s .And there i s fished every yere very much wh ich doth servea l l Ind ia , Camba ia , and Bengala . It is not so orient as thepearle ofBaharim in the gulfe of Persia . From Cape de Comori

we pa ssed by Coul am [Qu ilon] , wh ich i s a fort of the Portuga l sfrom whence commeth great store of pepper, wh ich commeth

for Portugal] , for oftentimes there ladeth one of the caracks

of Portuga l] . Thus pass ing the coast , we arrived in Cochin

the 22 of March ,where we found the weather warme, but

scarsity of victua l s for here groweth ne ither corne nor rice ,and the greatest part commeth from Bengala . They have here

very bad water, for the river i s farre off. Th i s bad water

causeth many of the people to be l ike lepers, and many of

them have the ir legs swo llen as bigge as a man in the wa ste,and many of them are scant able to go .

1 These people herebe Malabars, and of the race of the Na ires of Ca l icut and

they d iffer much from the other Malabars . These have the irheads very ful l of ha ire , and bound up with a string and theredoth appeare a bush without the band wherewith it i s bound .

The men be ta l l and strong, and good archers with a long bow

and a long arrow,wh ich i s the ir best weapon yet there be

1 The reference is to Cochin-leg or elephantiasis.


some cal ivers [l ight muskets] among them , but they hand le

them badly .

Heere groweth the pepper and it springeth up by a tree

or a po le , and i s l ike our ivy berry, but someth ing longer, l ikethe wheat care and at the first the bunche s are greene , and

as they waxe ripe they cut them off and dry them . The leafe

i s much le sser then the ivy leafe and th inner . All the inhabi

tants here have very l ittle houses covered with the leaves of

the coco-trees . The men be of a reasonable stature ; the

women l itle a ll blacke , with a cloth bound about the ir m iddle

hanging downe to the ir hammes a ll the rest of the ir bod ie s

be naked . They have horrible great cares , with many rings

set with pearles and stones in them . The king goeth incached ,

1

as they do a ll . He doth not rema ine in a place above fiv e or

s ixe dayes . He hath many house s, but they be but l itle h is

guard i s but sma ll he remoov eth from one house to another

accord ing to the ir order. All the pepper of Cal icut and coursecinamom groweth here in th i s countrey. The best cinamom

doth come from Ceylon , and i s pi lled from fine yoong trees .Here are very many pa lmer or coco trees , wh ich i s the ir chiefefood for it i s the ir meat and drinke , and yee ldeth many other

necessary th ings, as I have declared before .

The Na ires wh ich be under the king of Samorin,

1 wh ich beMalabars , have alwayes wars with the Portugal s . The kinghath alwayes peace with them but his people goe to the sea

to robbe and stea le . The ir chiefe capta ine i s ca lled Cog i Al l ihe hath three castle s under h im . When the Portuga ls eompla ine to the king, he sayth he doth not send them out but

he consenteth that they go . They range all the coast fromCeylon to Goa , and go by foure or fiv e parowes or boats

together and have in every one of them fifty or threescore

men , and boord presently . They do much harme on that

coast , and take every yere many fo i sts and boats of the

Portugal s . Many of these people be Moores . Th i s kingscountrey beginneth twe lve league s from Coch in , and reachethneere unto Goa . I rema ined in Coch in until] the second of

November, wh ich was e ight moneth s for that there was nopassage that went away in al l that t ime . If I had come two

1 Encaged,i. e . hidden from view in a litter.

2 Zamorin was the title of the King of Calicut.


dayes sooner, I had found a passage presently . From CochinI went to Goa , where I rema ined three dayes . From Cochinto Goa i s an hundred league s . From Goa I went to Chaul ,wh ich i s three score league s , where I rema ined three and

twenty dayes and there making my provis ion of th ings

necessary for the sh ippe , from thence I departed to Ormus ;where I stayed for a passage to Balsara fifty dayes . FromGoa to Ormus i s foure hundred league s .

Here I thought good, before I make an end of th i s my booke ,to declare some th ings wh ich Ind ia and the countrey farther

eastward do bring forth .

1

The pepper groweth in many parts of Ind ia, e specially about

Coch in and much of it doeth grow in the fie ld s among the

bushes without any labour, and when it i s ripe they go and

gather it . The shrubbe i s l ike unto our ivy tree and if it

d id not run about some tree or po le , it would fa l l downe and

rot . When they first gather it, it i s greene and then they layit in the sun , and it becommeth blacke . The ginger groweth

l ike unto our garlike, and the root i s the ginger . It i s to befound in many part s of Ind ia . The cloves doe come from the

i le s of the Moluccoes, wh ich be d ivers ilands . The ir tree i s

l ike to our bay tree . The nutmegs and maces grow together,and come from the i le of Banda . The tree i s l ike to our

wa lnut tree , but somewhat le sser . The wh ite sando] i s wood

very sweet and in great request among the Ind ian s for they

grinde it with a l itle water, and anoynt the ir bodie s therewith .

It commeth from the i sle of Timor . Camphora i s a prec ious

th ing among the Ind ian s, and i s solde dearer then golde .

I th inke none of it commeth for Christendome . That wh ich

i s compounded commeth from Ch ina but that wh ich groweth

in canes, and i s the best , commeth from the great i sle ofBorneo .

Lignum a loes commeth from Cauchinchina . The benjam in

commeth out of the countreys of Siam and Jangomes . The

long pepper groweth in Bengala,in Pegu , and in the ilands

of the Java s . The muske commeth out of Tartaric , and i smade after th i s order, by report of the marchants wh ich bringit to Pegu to sel l . In Tartaric there i s a l ittle beast l ike untoa yong roe , wh ich they take in snares , and beat him to death

with the blood after that they cut out the bones , and beat1 This section is largely copied from Federici.


the flesh with the blood very small , and fill the skin with it

and hereof commeth the muske . Of the amber [ambergristhey ho lde d ivers opin ions ; but most men say it commeth

out of the sea , and that they finde i t upon the shore s s ide . The

rubies , saph ires, and sp ine lle s are found in Pegu . The d iamants

are found in d ivers places , as in Bisnagar,1 in Agra ,

in De ll i,

2

and in the ilands of the Javas . The best pearle s come from

the i land of Baharim in the Persian sea , the woorser from the

Piscaria 2 neere the i sle of Ceylon , and from Aynam [Ha i-nan]a great i land on the southermost coast of Ch ina . Spod ium ‘1

and many other kinde s of drugs come from Cambaia .

Now to returne to my voyage . From Ormus I went toBalsara or Ba sora , and from Basora to Babylon and we

passed the most part of the way by the strength of men ,by

ha ll ing the boat up the river with a long cord . From BabylonI came by land to Mosul , wh ich standeth nere to Nin ive ,wh ich i s a ll ru inated and destroyed it standeth fast by theriver of Tigris . From Mosul I went to Merd in

,wh ich i s in the

countrey of the Armen ians but now there dwe l l in that place

a people wh ich they ca l l Cord ies , or Curd i [Kurds] . FromMerdin [Mard in] I went to Orfa ,

wh ich i s a very fa ire towne ,

and it hath a goodly founta ine ful of fish where the Moores

holdmanygreat ceremon ies and opin ions concerningAbraham

for they say he d id once dwe l l there . From thence I went toBir, and so passed the river of Euphrate s . From B ir I went

to Aleppo ; where I stayed certa ine moneths for company,and then I went to Tripol is where find ing Engl ish sh ipping,

I came with a prosperous voyage to London ,where by Gods

ass istance I safely arrived the 29 of April 1 5 9 1 , having bene

e ight yeeres out of my nat ive countrey.

1 Vijayanagar, the great Hindu kingdom which once covered the

whole of the Indian peninsula south of the Kistna.

2 Federici says that a certain kind of di amond comes from infra terradel Deli and Jourdain was told at Agra that the best sorts are

growne in the countrye of Delly (Journal , p. There seems to beno foundation for the statement.

2 The Portuguese term for the pearl fishery on the coast of Tinnevelly,already described under Ceylon .

‘1 Finch seems to mean tabashi’

r, a substance found in the stems ofbamboos andmuch used byIndians as amedicine. Federici (in Hakluyt

’

s

translation) calls it the spodiom which congeleth in certaine canes

1599—1 606

JOHN MILDENHALL

NEARLY twenty years after the visit of Ralph F itch and his

compan ions to the court of the Great Mogul , another Engl ishman presented h imself there, craving privi leges of trade on

behalf of h imself and his fellow-countrymen . Th i s wasJohn Mildenha ll or Midnall , whose experiences are narratedin the two documents printed below, the first of wh ich i s asummary of his journey from London to Kandahar, wh i le thesecond i s a letter (addressed to the Richard Staper a lreadymentioned on p . 1 ) giving an account of his transactions inInd ia and of his return journey as far as Kazvin in Persia .

OfMi ldenhall ’s previous career practically nothing i s known ,

except that , l ike Fitch , he was a trader in the Levant . Fromh is letter to Staper and subsequent references in the CourtMinutes of the East Ind ia Company, it may be inferred thathe was at one time in the serv ice of that merchant—perhapsapprenticed to him in the first instance . That in making thepresent venture he had no specia l m ission , lea st of all fromQueen Elizabeth (as has been often asserted) , i s evident enoughfrom his own narrative . Although in India he did his best toplay the part of a messenger from h is sovere ign ,

th i s wasclearly a mere pretext , for the purpose of ga in ing more easilythe concession s he was seeking whi le the fact that he spentsix months at Constantinople engaged in trade , took threeyears over his journey from Aleppo to Lahore , and was equallyle i sure ly over h is return to England, i s a further proof that hemade the exped it ion on hi s own account . Moreover, we learnfrom a document in the British Museum (Lansdowne MSS . ,

no . 241 , ff. 7 5 , 7 8 ) that in March 1 6 00 Mildenha ll was contemplating a venture to Ca iro , but then changed h is plan s anddecided to go to Aleppo . Th i s suggests that hi s journey toInd ia was an afterthought, prompted ,

perhaps , by the rece iptat Constantinople of the news of the attempt made in the

autumn of 1 59 9 to launch an East Ind ia Company in IIondon .

Though th i s scheme had fa i led for the moment , owing to theunwil lingness of Queen Elizabeth to jeopard ize the success ofthe negotiation s then on foot for peace with Spain , there wasevery probabil ity that it would become ere long an establ ishedfact ; and if Mildenha l l cou ld in the interim secure a grant oftrad ing privi leges in Ind ia , he m ight expect a handsome

reward for his pains .



influence was considerable , but al soAkbar’s principal advisers .

The opposition of the latter may wel l have been due to an

unwill ingness to risk a breach with the Portugue se , o f whosepower at sea they were ful ly conscious but Mildenhal l setsit down partly to bribery on the part of the Jesuits and partlyto an acceptance of their contention that the rea l object ofthe Engl ish was to capture some of the Ind ian port s . He

represents h imself as triumphantly refuting th i s charge and

overcom ing the scruples of the Emperor, by undertaking thathis sovereign would send an ambassador, with rich presents ,to reside at the imperia l court, where he would be , in effect

, a

hostage for the good behaviour of his fel low-countrymen .

Thereupon , we are told , his demands were granted inful l .Passing over his letter from Kazvin , in wh ich these events

are re lated , the nextwe hear of our traveller is that , at a meetingof the Comm ittee s [D irectors] of the Ea st Ind ia Company,he ld on June 2 1 , 1 60 8 , letters were read ,

addressed by him to

Mr . Staper , enumerating the privilege s he had obtained and

offering these , and h is own service s, in return for a paymentof £1 500 . Evidently he had not yet reached England, for itwas dec ided to adjourn the consideration of his propo sal suntil his arriva l e ither in th is country or the Netherlands . In

May 1 6 09 the matter was aga in brought forward and wasreferred to a specia l comm ittee , though at the same time h is

demands were pronounced to be unrea sonable and he h imselfwas thought unfit to be employed except as a mere factor .Evidently his concessions were considered to be of sma l l va luewhi le the Company had a further motive for decl in ing to

purchase them on extravagant term s , inasmuch as they wereexpecting to rece ive at any moment news of the success of them ission of William Hawkins , who had been d ispatched to

Surat in 1 6 0 7 with letters from King James to the Great Mogul .However, Mildenha l l had another string to his bow . Towardsthe end of July 1 6 0 9 the Company learnt with some a larm thathe had presented a petition to the King, declaring that he hadspent ten years in trave l and had obta ined , at a cost of threethousand pounds privileges of trade in the dom in ion s ofthe Great Mogul , and praying that , as the East Ind ia Companywould pay no attention to his cla ims, he and his cc-adventurersm ight be perm itted to enjoy the sa id privileges . Th is petitionhad been referred by the Lord. Trea surer to Sir Wa lter Copeand three merchants , of whom at least two were friends ofMildenhall . The Company at once appo inted four representativ es to confer with the referees , and apparently nothing came

of the petition . A few month s later there was some idea of

the Company send ing Mildenha l l to the East as a factor, buton November 1 8 , 1 6 09 , it was decided that he was for d ivers

MlLDENHALL’

S TOMB

JOHN MILDENHALL,1 59 9—1 6 0 6 5 1

respects not fittinge to be ymployed in the service of the

Compan ieFor the rest ofMildenhall ’s career we have to depend chiefly

on references in the correspondence of the Company’ s factors

and v, in Kerridge’

s letter-book in the Bri tish Museum (Add itional MSS .,

no . &c . From these we learn that , some

time before April 1 6 1 1 , he made a second exped it ion to the

East,carrying with him a quantity of goods be longing to

Staper and other merchants,intended for sale in Persia .

Mildenha l l i s stated to have betrayed his trust and to havefled with the goods, intend ing to make his way once aga in to

Ind ia . Two Engl ishmen, named Richard Steel and Richard

Newman,were sent in pursu it . They overtook the fugit ive

near the confine s of Persia and forced him to return with themto Ispahan ,

where he surrendered goods and money to the

value of and rece ived a ful l d i scharge . Being now free ,

he resumed his journey to Ind ia and Stee l , who had quarre l ledwith Newman

,undertook to bear him company . At Lahore

Mildenha ll fe ll s ick, and Stee l went on a lone to the court ofthe Emperor, then at Ajmer, in Rajputana . By slow stagesMilden ha l l reached Agra , whence he proceeded to Ajmer ,arriving in that town early in April 1 6 14 .

He was st il l very sick . Purcha s (P i lgrimage, ed . 1 6 26 , p . 5 2 8 )says that he had learned (it i s reported ) the art of poyson ing,

by wh ich he made away three other Engl ishmen in Persia,to

make h imse lf master of the who le stock but (I know not bywhat m eans) himselfe tasted of the same cup and was exceedingly swe l led , but continued his l ife many moneth s withant idote s The story, wh ich i s evidently based upon With ington ’ s a ssertions (given later in the present vo lume ) , i s scarcelya l ike ly one , and Mildenhall ’s i llness was probably due to

natura l cause s . However, after l ingering some time ,he d ied

in June 1 6 1 4 . As he be longed to the old fa ith ,h is body was

conveyed to Agra and interred in the Roman Cathol ic cemeterythere . The tombstone marking the spot was d i scovered in

1 90 9 by Mr . E . A. H . Blunt , who has prefixed a photographof it to h is Christian Tombs and Monuments in the Uni tedProvinces . It i s in good preservat ion , and the fo llowing inscription in Portuguese i s st il l pla inly legible : Joa dc Mendenal,Ingles , moreo cos 1 [ d]e Junkou One may say withconfidence that it i s the o ldest Engl ish monument in India ,

and a tablet with an Engl ish inscription has now been placedupon it by the orders of the loca l government .

Just before his death Mildenha l l made a will,leaving his

property to two ch i ldren he had had in Persia by an Ind ianwoman during h is first exped it ion . As executor he appo inteda Frenchman named Augustin , who had accompan ied him in

E 2


his second journey and had undertaken to marry his daughterand bring up h is son . To him ,

a l so ,he bequeathed his papers ,

includ ing a d iary wh ich would now be of the greatest intere stunfortunate ly, i t was burnt by the executor together with there st of the documents , immed iate ly after Mildenhall ’s death .

There i s reason to bel ieve , by the way, that th i s Frenchman

was none other than the Austin of Bordeaux whose name

i s often a ssociated with the decoration of the Taj Maha l (sethe Journal of the Royal Asiatic S oci ety, April 1 9 1 0 , and the

Journal of the Panj abHistorical S oci ety, v ol . iv, no . Meanwh i le , at the instigation of Steel , the East Ind ia Company

’sfactors at Surat had d i spatched one of the ir number

,Thoma s

Kerridge (afterwards President at Surat , 1 6 1 6—21 and 1 6 25to lay cla im to Mildenhall ’s goods on behalf of his employers .Kerridge reached Ajmer on the very day of the fug it ive

’ sdeath , wh ich was at once followed by the sequestration of the

e state on beha lf of the imperia l exchequer, in accordance withthe preva i l ing practice in the case of a l iens dying in the

country . Then ensued a struggle between Kerridge and the

executor, each striving to obta in a grant of the estate fromthe Emperor . Kerridge had in truth a weak case , be ing unableto produce any authority from those on who se beha lf he wassupposed to be acting,

and having aga inst him the d i scharge

given by Newman wh ile his adversary was supported by theJesu it Fathers

,whose sympath ies were natura lly with the

decea sed . Kerridge bribed heavily, but without resu lt , forthe Emperor, after hearing both s ides , concluded that ne itherhad sufficient right thereto and decided to appropriate the

e state h imself. Neverthe less,Kerridge persevered ,

and in the

end succeeded in recovering most of the money, wh ich wasdu ly transm itted to England for d istribution amongst Mildenha l l ’s cred itors .The two documents here printed are taken from Purchas

H i s P i lgrimes , part i , book i i i , chap . i , 3 . They were foundby Purchas among the papers of Richard Hakluyt , who mayhave obta ined them from Staper . In the foregoing accountofMildenhall ’s career I have drawn free ly on an article of myown publ ished in The Gentleman’

s Magazine of August 1 90 6 ,supplementing th i s from later information .

THE twe lfth of February, in the yeere of our Lord God 1 599 ,I, John Mildenha l l of London ,

merchant , tooke upon me a

voyage from London towards the East-Ind ies, in the good

sh ip called the Hector of London, Richard Parsons being

JOHN MILDENHALL, 1 599—1 6 0 6 53

ma ster, which carried a present to the Grand Seigneur1 in

the same voyage . The seven and twent ieth ofApril, 1 599 , wearrived at Zante, where I frighted a satea [Ita l . saettia, a swiftsa il ing vessel] and went into the i sland of Cio [Scio] , fromthence to Smyrna, and from thence to Constantinople, where

I arrived the n ine and twentieth of October, 1 599 and there

I sta ied about my merchandize t il l the first of May, 1 6 00 ,

Sir Henry L illo beeing then Embassador ; upon wh ich day

I passed from Constantinople to Scanderone [Iskanderun ,

now Alexandretta] in Asia, where, in company of a chaus 2

and some sixe other Turkes , I tooke my voyage for Aleppooverland and arrived in Aleppo the foure and twentieth dayof the sa id May in safetie, without any trouble or molestation

by the way, and there abode two and fortic dayes, find ingthere Master Richard Coulthrust for Consul ] . And the seventh

of July, 1 6 00 , I departed from Aleppo, in compan ie with many

other nations, as Armen ians, Persians, Turkes, and d ivers

others, to the number of sixe hundred people in our carrav an ,

and onely of Engl ish Master John Cartwright, Preacher ;3

from whence we went to Bir, wh ich i s with in three daye s

journey and stands upon the edge of the river Euphrate s .

From thence we went to Urfa ,wh ich i s fiv e dayes journey,

wh ich we found very hot . From thence we went to Caraem it[D iarbekr] , wh ich i s foure dayes journey . From thence to

Bitel is, a c ity under the government of a nation called the

Courdes [Kurds] yet under the subject ion of Constantinople ,wh ich i s seven daye s journy and from thence to Van , wh ich

i s three dayes journy from Bitelis a c ity of great strength ,

and by the s ide of the ca stle i s a great lake of sa lt water,navigable, and i s in compa sse n ine dayes journey about , wh ich

I my se lfe have rowed round about . And once a yeere, at

the eomming down of the snow waters from the mounta ines,

1 The Sul tan of Turkey. The present was an organ bui lt by ThomasDallam, who was sent out in charge of it. See his j ournal, publishedby the Hakl uyt Society in 1893 .

2 Turkish chaush, a minor official employed in a variety of ways, suchas taking charge of a caravan .

2 In 1 6 1 1 Cartwright published an account of his experiences underthe title of The Preacher

’

s Travels. See also Purchas His Pilgrimcs,part i, lib. ix. cap. 4.


there i s abundance of fish, wh ich come of themselves to one

end of the lake wh ich I may compare to our herring-time

at Yermouth , where the countrey-people doe resort from d ivers

places and catch the sa id fish in great abundance , wh ich theysa lt and dry and keepe them a ll the yeare for the ir food the

fish are as big as pilcherds . From thence we went to Nacshian ,

1

wh ich i s sixe dayes journey and from Nacshian to Chiulfa l ,

which i s ha lfe a dayes journey and there we stayed e ighteene

daye s . From thence we went to Sultan ia [Sultan ieh] , and

from thence to Casbin [Kazvin] in Persia , wh ich i s fifteene

daye s journey, and there we abode thirty dayes . From thenceto Com [Kum] , wh ich i s three dayes journey ; from thencewe went to Cashan [Ka shan] , wh ich was seven dayes journey .

From thence Master Cartwright departed from us and went

to Spauhoan [Ispahan] , the chiefe citie in Persia . FromCashan to

,Yesd, wh ich i s tenne dayes journey . From thence

I went to Curman [Kerman] , wh ich i s tenne dayes journey ;and from thence to S igistam ,

2 which i s foureteene daies

journey ; and from thence to Candahar, which i s al so foure

teene dayes journey .

CASRIN , the th ird day of October, 1 6 0 6 .

Worshipfull Sir,myduty remembred . Not having any other

o f more auncient love then your se lfe , I have thought good to

remember the man ifold curtes ie s rece ived , and partly to requite

them with the first newes of the successe of th i s my voyage

unto the court of the Great King of Mogor and Camba ia .

Atmyarriva l] in Lahora the of 1 6 03 , I d ispatched

a poste for the Kings court, with my letters to His Majest ic

that I m ight have h is free leave to come unto h im and treat

o f such bus inesse as I had to doe with him from my Prince

who foorthwith answered my letters and wrote to the C over

nour of Lahora to use mee with al l honour and curtesie and to

send a guarde of horse and foote with me to accompanie me

1 Nakchi van, an ancient town in Erivan . Julfa , Mildenhall’

s nextstepping-place, is about twenty-six miles farther south, where the roadto Tabriz crosses the Aras river.2 Sagistan , the old name of Sistan in Eastern Persia .



the ir opin ion in th i s matter, they flatly answered him that

our nat ion were a ll theev es and that I was a spye, sent thither

for no other purpose to have friendsh ip with His Majestic but

that afterward our men m ight come th ither and get some of

his ports, and so put His Majest ic to much trouble sayingwithall that they had e leven yeares served His Majest ic and

were bound by the ir bread and salt that they had eaten to

speake the truth , a lthough it were aga inst Christ ians . With

these and many more such speeche s the King and h is Councell

were all flat aga in st mee and my demands, but made no shew

thereof to me in any respect but I knew it by friends wh ichI had in his court . Afterward they caused fiv e commande

ments to bee drawne and sent them mee, with a ll th ings that

I had written , saving they had left out the tak ing of the sh ips

and the ports of the Portuga ls ; wh ich when I had read ,I

presently went to the court and made demand of the other

art icles . The King answered that hee would againe speakewith his Councell and make answere .

In th i s manner re sted my businesse , and every day I went

to the court, and in every e ighteene or twentie dayes I put

up Ars [Hind . arz] or pet it ions and st il l he put mee off with

good words and prom i sed that th i s day and tomorrow I should

have them . In th i s manner see ing my se lfe delayed , and

being at exceed ing great expense s of e ighteene or twentie

servants (horsemen and foot), I withdrew my selfe from goingto the court, in so much that in th irtic dayes I went not . At

length the King,remembr ing me , sent to ca l l for me . At my

eomm ing, he a sked the cause why I came not as I was wont .

I answered that I had come into his countrey only upon the

great renowme of his excellencie and had wasted fiv e yeares

in trav aile , and could not obta ine so much as a commande

ment at his hands wh ich was who lly for his profit and noth ingfor his losse add ing that if I had a sked some greater reward

of h im , hee would much more have denyed me . With thathe pre sently called for garment s for me of the Christianfash ion very rich and good, and willed me not to be sad,

because every th ing that I would have should be accomplished

to m ine owne content .So with these sweet words I passed sixe monethes more .

JOHN MILDENHALL,1 599—1 6 0 6 5 7

And then,seeing noth ing accomplished,

I was exceed ingwearie of my l ingring, and could do noth ing and the rather

for that I was out of money . I shoul d have declared before

how the Je su ites day and n ight sought how to work my displeasure . First , they had given to the two ch iefest Counsellorsthat the King had at the least fiv e hundred pounds sterlinga piece, that they should not in any wise consent to these

demands of m ine ; so that, when I came to present them ,

they would not accept of any th ing at my hands, a lthough I

offered them very largely and where I had any friendsh ip,they would by al l meanes seeke to d isgrace me . But God ever

kept me in good reputation with all men . Moreover, whereas

I had h ired in Aleppo an Armen ian named Seffur [Safar] , to

whom I gave twentie duckets the moneth , wh ich served me

very we l l for m ine interpreter foure yeares, now, eomm ingneere to the po int of my spec ial] businesse, the Jesu ites had

soone wrought with him a lso in such sort that he quarre lled

with me and went h is way ; whereby I was destitute of a

drugman1and my selfe could speake l ittle or noth ing . Now

in what case I was in these remote countries without friends ,money, and an interpreter, wisemen may judge . Yet afterward

I got a schoolemaster, and in my house day and n ight I so

stud ied the Persian tongue that in sixe monethes space I could

speake it something reasonably . Then I went in great dis

contentment to the King and gave h im to understand how

the Je su ites had dea lt with me in a ll po ints , and desired H is

Majesties l icence to depart for m ine owne countrey, where Im ight have redresse for m ine injuries rece ived and withall

told him how small it would stand with so great a Prince shonour as His Majestic had report to be to delay me so many

yeares on ly upon the reports of two Jesu ites , who I would

prove were not h is friend s nor cared not for h is profit nor

honour and desired a day of hearing,that now I my selfe

m ight make pla ine unto His Majest ic (wh ich for want of a

drugman before I could not doe ) the great abuses of these

Jesu ites in th i s his court beseech ing you [him aga ine to

grant mee l icence to depart , and that I m ight not bee keptany longer with delayes . At these words the Kingwasmooved

1 Arabic tarj umdn (an interpreter) , whence dragoman


aga inst the Jesuites , and promi sed that upon the Sunday

fo l lowing I should bee heard, and that the Jesuites should bepresent .

Th i s speech I had with the King upon the Wednesday .

Comm ing before the place of Councell the Sunday fo llowing,

there were met a ll the great State s of the court to heare the

controversie betweene us . At the fir st the King called me

and demanded what injurie s I had rece ived of the Jesu ite s .

I answered that they had abused my Prince and countrey,

most falsly ca ll ing us all theev es and i f they had beene of

another sort and ca l l ing, I wou ld have made them cate the ir

words or I would have lost my l ife in the quarre l] . Secondly,in saying that under co lour of marchand ise wee would invade

your countrey and take some of your forts and put Your

Majest ic to great trouble . Now, that Your Majestic may

understand the untruth of these mens fa lse suggestions,know you al l that Her Majestic hath her ambassadour leiger

in Constantinople, and ev eric three yeeres most common ly

doth send a new and ca l l home the old ; and at the first

eomm ing of every ambassadour shee sendeth not them emptie,

but with a great and princely present accord ing whereunto

Her Highnesse intent i s to deale with Your Majest ic . Th i s

profit of rich presents and honour l ike to redound to Your

Majest ic by having league of am it ie and entercoursc with

Christian Princes, and to have the ir ambassadours le igers in

your court, these men by the ir craftie practices would deprive

you of. And our ambassadours be ing resident as pledges in

your court, what dare any of our nat ion doe aga inst YourHighnesse or any of your subjects Upon these and other

such l ike speeches of m ine, the King turned to his noble s and

sa id that a ll that I sa id was reason and so they all an swered .

After th i s I demanded of the Jesu ite s before the King : In

the se twe lve yeeres space that you have served the King,how

many ambassadours and howmany presents have you procured

to the benefit of His Majest ic With that the Kings e ldest

sonne 1 stood out and sa id unto them (nam ing them ) that it

was most true that in a e leven or twe lve yeares not one came ,

e ither upon ambassage or upon any other profit unto His

Prince Salim, afterwards the Emperor Jahangir .

JOHN MILDENHALL, 1 599—1 60 6 59

Majestic . Hereupon the King was very merrie and laughed

at the Jesuites, not having one word to an swer . Then I sa id

If it plea se Your Majest ic , I wil l not onely procure an ambas

sadour but a l so a present at my safe returne aga ine into your

countrie . D ivers other demands and quest ions were at that

t ime propounded by the King and his noble s unto me and

I answered them a ll in such sort as the King ca lled h isVice-Roy1

(wh ich before was by the Jesuites bribe smade mygreat enemy)and command ing [sic] h im that whatsoever priv i ledges or

commandements I would have hee should presently write

them , scale them , and g ive them me without any more de lay

or quest ion . And so with in th irtic daye s after I had them

s igned to my owh e contentment and (as I hope ) to the profit

of my nation . Afterwards I went and presented them unto

the Prince his e ldest sonne , and demanded of him the l ike

commandements wh ich he mo st willingly granted, and

shortly after were de l ivered unto me . And so departing from

the court , I brought them with me into Persia ; wh ich are

here in Casbin with my se lfe , readie to doe you any service .

And I would have come my se lfe when I wrote th i s letter,save that there were two Ital ian marchants in Agra

2 that

knew of a ll my proceed ings whom I do'

ubted (as I had good

cause ) lea st they would doe mee some harme in Bagdet or

some other places, they a lwayes be ing enem ies to our nation,

that they should find any new trade th i s way, as to you it i s

we l l knowne . And with in foure moneths I meane to depart

by the way of Moscov ia where arriving,I will not fa ile but

satisfic you at large of a ll matters .

1 Mr. Vincent Smith (Akbar, p. 294) suggests that this was Aziz Koka(Khan Azam) .

2 Sir E .Maclagan thinks that one of these was J0 50 Battista Vechiete .

1 608—13

WILLIAM HAWKINS

AT the time of the e stabl ishment of the East Ind ia Company(1 6 00 ) and for the next few years , England was at war withthe un ited kingdoms of Spa in and Portuga l and it was largelyfor th is reason that the fleet s of the F irst and Second Voyagesmade no attempt to visit the coasts of Ind ia itse lf, where thePortuguese were known to be in strong force , but went insteadto the port s of Java , Sumatra , and the Far East . By the time ,

however, that a Th ird Voyage was under preparation,hostil ities

had been term inated by the Treaty of London (Augustand there was some hope that the Portuguese would not

offer active opposition to the extension of Engl ish trade to

the rea lm of the Great Mogu l . Not that the negotiationspreced ing the treaty had afforded much ground for confidencein th is respect . The Span ish comm issioners had , in fact ,pressed hard for a recogn it ion of the i llega l ity of Engl ish tradein the Ind ies

,both E ast and West but the utmost that the

Engl ish negotiators woul d offer was that commerce with place sactua lly occupied by KingPh i l ip

’s subjects should be forbidden ,

prov ided that no attempt were made to exclude the Engl ishfrom trad ing with independent countrie s . Th i s proposa lprov ing unacceptable , matters were left as before, the wholesubject be ing ignored in the treaty .

In decid ing to put to the proof the intention s of the Portu

guese , the Comm ittees of the East Ind ia Company werelargely influenced by the consideration that the markets of

the Far E ast afforded l ittle opening for Engl ish goods , wh ichm ight , however, find ready sa le in Ind ia itse lf or at an Arabianport frequented by Ind ian traders . The latter seemed the safera lternat ive , as offering le ss opportun ity or just ification for

Portugue se interference . When ,therefore , the instructions

for the Th ird Voyage 1 were drafted ,in March 1 6 0 7 , it was

la id down that the fleet shou ld make in the first instance forthe i sland of Sokotra , to glean information and obta in the

services of a pilot . Then ,if the season perm itted, a visit was

to be pa id to Aden , to see whether trade could be opened upthere and a factory established . If a sufficient cargo could beobtained

, the Hector was to be sent home d irect wh ile the

1 For these, and the royal commission for the venture, see The FirstLetter Book, pp. 1 1 1, 1 14.

WILLIAMHAWKINS,mos- 1 3 6 1

other two vessel s were to proceed to Bantam , call ing,if time

perm itted ,on the coa st of Gujarat to inqu ire into the po ss i

bil ity of‘a mayntenance of a trade in tho se parts heereafter

in saffetie from the daunger of the Portinga lls or other enymies ,endev ouring alsoe to learne whether the Kinge of Cambayaor Suratt or any ofhis haven s be in subjection to the Portugalls,and what haven s of his are not Should it prove , however ,that the monsoon would not perm it of the fleet go ing to Aden ,

a ll three sh ips were to repa ir to the Gujarat coa st there , ifsuch a course appeared safe , the Hector and the Consent wereto be left to open up trade , for wh ich purpose a letter wasprov ided from King Jame s to the Great Mogul , sol ic it ing the

grant of such l ibertie of traffique and priv i ledges as shal l beresonable both for the ir secur itie and proffitt In the event ofa favourable reception , one sh ip was to rema in at Surat tolade a cargo for England , wh ile the other was to proceed to

Aden to carry out the origina l plan . In any case , the D ragon ,

the flagsh ip of the Genera l ’ or commander of the fleet ,Will iam Kee l ing,

was to go on to Bantam as soon as possible .

The Lieutenant-Genera l of the fleet and captain of the

Hector (in wh ich vesse l , by the way, Mildenha l l had voyagedto the Levant in 1 59 9 ) was William Hawkins , whose narrat ivewe are now considering . Of his previous h i story we know buttwo facts—first, that he had been in the West Ind ies , and

secondly, that he had spent some time in the Levant and waswe l l acqua inted with Turkish . The first of these two factsmay have been Mr . Noe l Sa insbury

’

s reason for suggesting(in the index to his Calendar of S tate Papers , E ast I ndi es ,1 5 1 3—1 6 1 6 ) the poss ibil ity of h is identity with the Will iamHawkins who was a nephew of the famous Sir John Hawkin sand acted as second in command in Fenton ’s abortive exped it ion of 1 5 82—3—a conjecture adopted a s a certa inty bySir Clements Markham in his work on The Hawkins

’Voyages .

In rea l ity (as noted by Sir John Laughton in the D ictionaryof N ational Biography, what l ittle evidence exists pointsrather the other way and the on ly fact in his fam ily h i storyof wh ich we can be sure i s that he had a brother Charles .Possibly the genera l impression that Hawkins was a sa ilor byprofess ion a bluff sea-capta in as one modern writer ca l l shim—accounts for the ready acceptance of th i s theory . Such ,

of course , was not the case the position of commander of avesse l in those days d id not nece ssarily imply an expert knowledge of navigat ion— that was the business of the ma ster— and

no argument can be based thereon . In a ll probabil ity Hawkin shad been a Levant merchant , l ike so many of the East Ind iaCompany’s servants at th i s t ime . Evidently it was his acquaintance with the Turkish language and h is experience of Easternways that procured him his employment in the present


exped ition , for he was expressly des ignated as the person whowas to del iver the roya l letters to the Governor of Aden or

(if ava ilable , for he m ight be go ing home d irect from Aden withh is ship) to the Great Mogul ,1 and to take charge of the nego

tiations in e ither ca se . In order that he m ight appear w ithbecom ing splendour he was furn ished with scarlet apparel , h iscloak be ing l ined with taffeta and embro idered with si lver lacewh ile su itable presents of plate and broadcloth to the va lueof £1 3 3 were provided , with a stipulation that anyth ingrece ived in return was to be cons idered the property of theCompany .

The vessels started on the ir voyage early in MarchThe Consent quickly lost company and never rejo ined . The

other two met with baffl ing winds near the equator and wereforced to seek supplies at S ierra Leone , with the result thatthey d id not reach Table Bay unt il the m idd le of December .The ir next port of ca l l was St . August ine

’s Bay (Madagascar) ,whence they proceeded to Sokotra , arriving there in April 1 6 0 8 ,more than a year from the commencement of the voyage . Anattempt to get to Aden was fo iled by contrary wind s , and itwas then dec ided that the Dragon should proceed d irect toBantam , wh ile the Hector (with a pinnace wh ich had been puttogether at Sokotra ) should make the venture to Surat .

Kee l ing sa iled accord ingly on June 24 , and Hawkins departedon August 4 . His vesse l—the first to d i splay the Engl ish flagon the coast of Ind ia—anchored at the entrance to the TaptiR iver on August 24 .

Surat , s ituated on the left bank of that river, about 1 4 m ilesfrom its mouth , was now one of the ch ief ports of Ind ia , and

the centre of trade with the R ed Sea . The harbour of its morenortherly riva l , Cambay, was fast s ilting up , and sea-go ing sh ipsof any size could no longer lade there , but had to embark the ir

goods from l ighters at Gogha , on the oppos ite s ide of the Gulf

1 For these letters see The First Letter Book, pp. 105 , 106 . The one

intended for the Great Mogul was addressed to the Emperor Akbar,in ignorance of the fact that he had been dead for some time.

2 Purchas prints two narratives of the voyage, by Keeling and Finchre spectively. Sir Clements Markham , in his Voyages of S ir JamesLancaster , & c. , has summarized three manuscripts now in the IndiaOfiice , one of which is an abstract of Keeling

’s j ournal ; and besidesthese the India Office possesses two fragments, one be ing the first leafof Keeling

’s j ournal and the other a portion of a journal kept on boardthe Hector. The British Museum has two manuscripts , v iz . an incom

plete diary kept by Anthony Marlow (Titus , B viii , fl . 252—279 ) andwhat seems to be a copy (possibly holograph) of Hawkins’s own j ournalas far as Surat (Egerton The latter has been printed in The

Hawkins’

Voyages .



roya l letters to del iver to the Emperor ; but he refused to

pay for the goods he had bought (except at his own price ) and ,

accord ing to Hawkins , at the in stigation of a Jesuit he plottedto have him murdered on the way. All the time of Hawkins ’ sstay in Surat he was troubled by the threats and intrigue s ofthe Portuguese , who ,

as he a sserts , made severa l attempts toa ssass inate h im .

However, on February 1, 1 6 0 9 , Hawkins got safely away

from Surat , leaving Finch in charge of the remaining stock of

merchand i se ; and on April 1 6 he reached Agra . He hadmeant to keep his arriva l secret for a while but the news soonspread that an ambassador from England was in the city, andJahangir , who perhaps remembered the scene in his father’sCourt a few years earl ier, when Mildenhal l prom ised so confi

dently that h is sovereign would d ispatch an envoy with richpresents , was all eagerness to see the new-comer ; and Hawkinswas accord ingly hurried into his presence . He had noth ingbut broadcloth to offer by way of gift , for Mukarrab Khanhad taken possession of the articles sent out for that purposebut notwithstand ing th i s , he had an exce llent reception fromthe Emperor, who , find ing that the Engl ishman cou ld speakTurkish , held frequent conversations with him about the

countrie s of the West . So pleased was Jahangi r with his

visitor that he pressed him to rema in as a resident ambassador,prom ising in that case to perm it Engl ish trade with his portson favourable terms . To th i s Hawkins read ily agreed whereupon he was made capta in of four hundred horse , with a

handsome a llowance , was married to an Armen ian ma iden ,

and took his place among the grandee s of the court . Accord ingto the Jesu its , he now assumed the garb of a Muhammadan

noble and Jourdain adds that in his howse he u sed a ltogetherthe custome of the Moores or Mahometan s , both in his meateand drinke and other customes , and wou ld seeme to bee d is

content if all men did not the l ikeMeanwh ile , his enem ie s had not been idle . The Jesu its at

court did the ir best to d isgrace h im ; wh ile the Portugueseauthorit ies at Goa st irred up Mukarrab Khan and otherpersons of influence in Gujarat to represent the serious injurywh ich the trade of that prov ince wou ld suffer if the Engl ishwere a llowed to ga in a footing in Ind ia . Natura lly, many of

the courtiers, env ying the favour with wh ich Hawkin s wasregarded by the Emperor , jo ined wi ll ingly in these attemptsto shake his position and his hopes were beginn ing to decl inewhen ,

at the end of October 1 6 09 , he was apprised , by lettersfrom Finch ,

that an Engl ish sh ip , the Ascension , had reachedInd ian waters and was daily expected at Surat . Th i s wasexcellent news , for , as Hawkins at once guessed , the vesse lwas bringing a fresh supply of presents for the Great Mogul .

WILLIAM HAWKINS , 1 6 0 8—1 3 6 5

He hastened to Court with the intell igence , begging thata farman (order) m ight be granted for the establishment of

a factory at Surat , and that he m ight be al lowed to carry th i sdown h imse lf. The latter request was refused ; but the

farman was at once made out and d ispatched to Surat . Beforeit could arrive

,however, t id ings reached Agra that the

Ascension had struck a sandbank and had become a wreck, andthat her crew had landed in the ir boats at Gandevi , proceed ingthence to Surat .1 Alarmed at the advent of so many Engl ishmen , the loca l authorities had insisted on the ir taking up the irquarters in a vi llage outside the c ity, where the ir conduct wasanyth ing but cred itable to the ir nat ion . Hawkin s appearsto have represented to the Emperor that th i s exclusion wasa grievance ; whereupon another farman was i ssued ,

d irectingthat the Engl ishmen should be wel l treated and that assistanceshould be given towards recovering the cargo of the wreckedvesse l. Ev idently Jahangi r was hoping that the presents hehad been led to expect m ight st il l be forthcom ing ; i n th i s ,however, he was d isappo inted , and the influence of Hawkinscommenced to d im in ish in consequence .

Early in December a number of the surv ivors from the

Ascension arrived at Agra and were presented to the Emperorby Hawkins . The ir d isorderly behaviour lent colour to the

representations of the Portuguese as to the undesirabil ity of

adm itting such a nation to the Gujarat port s and it i s clearthat the ambassador’s posit ion was not improved by the iradvent, though he was stil l treated with respect and considerat ion . Covert , who left Agra in January 1 6 1 0 , says thatHawkins was then ‘

in great cred it with the King,be ing

a llowed one hundred ruckees [rupees] a day,wh ich i s ten

pound sterling, and i s intitul ed by the name of a Can [Khan] ,wh ich i s a knight , and keepeth company with the greate stnoblemen be longing to the King and he seemeth very will ingto doe his country goodTowards the end of March 1 6 1 0 Mukarrab Khan arrived

from Gujarat , bringing a large array of presents for the

Emperor, includ ing a number of European articles , amongwh ich Hawkin s recogn ized some of his own goods . Accordingto the text , Mukarrab Khan had been reca lled ln consequenceof compla ints made aga inst his adm in i stration , and his goodshad been seized by Jahangir

’ s orders but there i s no h intof th i s in the Emperor’s own memo irs .2 Soon after, however,

1 Detail s are given in The Journal of John Jourdain, where wi ll alsobe found Jourdain ’

s account of his j ourney to court and much otherinformation bearing on the present subject. Robert Covert’s True and

Almost Incredible Report (1 6 12) should also be consulted.

2 The Tazuk-i-Jahangiri , v ol. i , p. 1 6 7 . It may be noted that thereis no allusion to Hawkins or his embassy in this work.

F


Mukarrab Khan d id fall into d isgrace for a time , owing to a

serious accusation brought aga inst him and Hawkins feltsafe in pressing him to pay what was st il l due for the broadcloth he had bought . The account in the text may be com

pared w ith that given by Jourda in , who man ifestly thoughtthe attitude of Hawkins unwise . According to him MukarrabKhan was will ing to pay the greater part of the debt , butcontended for the rem i ssion of the rest , on the ground thatthe origina l price was too h igh Hawkins , however, demandedthe ful l amount and threatened to compla in to the Emperor .Khwaja Ab1

'

1] Hasan , the Kings chiefe Vizir,’endeavoured

to persuade the Engl ishman to accept the money offered , butin vain . The compla int was duly made , and Jahangir angrilyordered Ab l

'

i ] Hasan to see the debt d ischarged whereuponthe latter pa id Hawkin s the amount Mukarrab Khan had

previously tendered , and added threat s wh ich effectua l lydeterred him from applying aga in to the Emperor so by hisobstinacy he had ga ined nothing but the i l l-will ofAbfil Hasan ,

who took care to make him fee l it s effect by docking the paydue to him from the roya l treasury .

The prospects of the Engl ish were now far from bright . Arich present arrived from Goa accompan ied by a letter compla in ing that another European nation shoul d be a llowed to

endanger the friendsh ip that had so long existed betweenPortuga l and the Mogu l wh i le the effect of th i s was enhancedby the declaration of certa in Surat m erchants (then at court )that any encouragement of the Engl ish would mean the ru inof the trade of Gujarat, owing to the reprisal s threatened bythe Portuguese . Moreover, Jahangir had long enterta inedthe idea of sending Mukarrab Khan to Goa , and his actua ldeparture on th i s errand had only been deferred unt il it shouldbe known that the long-expected V iceroy had arrived fromPortuga l and woul d welcome the presence of such an em issary .

The letter now received settled both points , and mentionedalso that a merchant at Goa had for sale a particul arly fineruby, a mode l of wh ich was sent . The Emperor was of courseeager to acqu ire th i s gem , and accord ingly Mukarrab Khan ,

now restored to favour, was ordered to proceed on his m iss ion .

He represented , however, that it was necessary that he shouldbe able to assure the Viceroy that the Engl ish would be definitely excluded from trade in India and th is prom i se Jahangirat once gave .

Hawkin s wa ited until the envoy was wel l on his way, and

then applied afresh to the Emperor, with the result that thelatter changed his mind and declared that the Engl i sh shouldbe freely admitted but on hearing of th is , Mukarrab Khanwrote that it would be useless in that case for him to proceedto Goa, and thereupon the promi sed farman was withheld , in

WILLIAM HAWKINS,1 6 0 8—1 3 6 7

spite of all the entreaties of Hawkins . Another mortification

for the Engl ishman was his exclusion from the place of honourhe had h itherto enjoyed at court . 1 Th i s he a scribes to the

ma l ice of Abal Hasan . The latter, however, wou ld not havedared to take such a step without the Emperor’ s sanction ,

and the rea l reason was probably that given by Jourda in ,

wh ich i s as fo llows . From t ime to t ime Jahangi r made

attempts to absta in from his usua l indu lgence in strongdrink

,and in one of these fits of temperance he ordered that

none of his courtiers shou ld come into his presence smell ingof l iquor . Hawkins

, who had a weakness in that d irect ion ,

offended aga inst th i s regu lation , and in consequence he wasone day denounced in the presence of the court whereatthe Kinge pauzed a l ittle space and , consideringe that he wasa stranger, he bid him goe to h is howse , and when hee came

next , he shou ld not drinke . Soe , beeing d isgraced in publ ique ,he could not be suffrcd to come into his accustomed placemeere the Kinge wh ich was the cause that he went not soc

often to courte (Journal of John Jourdain , p . EvidentlyJahangir was by th i s t ime t ired of his troublesome visitor, andan appea l from Hawkins e ither to e stabl ish me as formerlyor give me leave to depart produced on ly an immed iate orderfor h is pa ssports to be made ready . He then applied for an

answer to the letter he had brought from King James, but

th i s was contemptuously refused .

The few Engl ishmen rema in ing in Ind ia now began to makep lans for the ir departure . Finch

,who had jo ined Hawkin s

early in 1 6 1 0 but was now at Lahore , decided to go home

overland . Jourdain , who had reached Agra in February 1 6 1 1 ,left aga in towards the end of July for the coast , accompan iedby three other Engl ishmen . At the ir farewe l l aud ience theypresented Jahangir with a peece of gould of our Kings quoyne ,wh ich he looked earnestlie upon and putt itt in his pockett(Jourdain , p . Hawkins h imse lf was in a d ifficulty

, as

he had his wife to consider,whose friends objected strongly to

her qu itt ing Ind ia . He dec ided to app ly to the Je su it s (whomhe had so persistently reviled) and to beg them to procurea pass from the Viceroy to enable h im to proceed by way of

Cambay to Goa (to wh ich place his wife’s friends would a llow

her to accompany him ) , hoping then to obta in a pa ssage toLisbon . Th i s the Fathers will ingly agreed to effect and so

he cont inued his preparations for departure .

1 Covert on quitting Agra gave the Emperor a small whistle of gold,weighing almost an ounce, set with sparks of rubies which hee tookeand whistleled therewith almost an houre. Also I gave him the pictureof St. _Johns head out in amber and gold, which he also received verygratiously. The whistle hee gave to one of his great women, and the

picture to Sultan Carcone, his yongest sonneF 2


However, the end was not yet . In the early summer of 1 6 1 1K hwaja Abal Hasan was sent to the Deccan

,and Gh iyas Beg,

father of the celebrated Nar Jahan (whom Jahangir had juste spoused ) , was made Wazi r in h is place . His son

, knownlater as Asaf Khan

,was a l so in great favour and a s he was

0 11 very friend ly terms with Hawkins , the envoy began to

bu i ld fresh hopes upon th i s change of m in i sters , particularlyas he had learned that an Engl ish fleet , under Sir HenryMiddleton , was on its way to the Gujarat coast . The se vessel sreached the bar of Surat on September 2 6 , and as soon as

the news arrived at court , Hawkins presented h imself beforeJahangir, with a handsome ruby ring by way of offering, andonce more requested a farman for the e stabl ishment of Engl ishtrade at Surat . The Emperor, probably in expectation of the

curiosities l ikely to be brought by the sh ips , at once orderedthe desired document to be drawn up but here one of h is

ch ief favourites interposed ,representing that th i s was in flat

contrad ict ion to the prom i ses made to the Portuguese and

would enta i l the utter overthrow of the trade of Gujarat .Thereupon Jahangir retracted his concess ion , at the same time

assuringHawkins that i f he would rema in in India , he shouldrece ive in ful l the a llowance previou sly assigned to him . The

Engl ishman , however, replied with d ign ity that he could not

rema in i f his fe llow-countrymen were refused the l iberty of

commerce wh ich had been prom ised to them and ,a fter

another ineffectua l attempt to procure an an swer to the letterhe had brought , he qu itted Agra early in November 1 6 1 1 .

He and his wife got safe ly to Cambay and from thence , inthe following January, managed to reach Middleton

’s fleet ,bringingwith them goods to the value of about Havingbeen fina lly refused by Mukarrab Khan ,

in V iew of the menace sof the Portuguese , perm ission to e stabl ish a factory at Surat ,the Engl ish departed on February 1 1 , 1 6 1 2 , for the R ed Sea ,

where Middleton found Capta in Saris with a fresh fleet fromEngland ,

including Hawkin s’s old sh ip the Hector . The

Ind ian vesse l s trad ing to Mokha and Aden were now he ld upand forced to exchange the ir goods for Engl ish commod it ies ,and finally those belonging to D iu and Surat were required to

pay a heavy ransom , as a pun i shment for the action of the

Gujarat official s in exclud ing the Engl ish at the d ictation of

the Portugue se . These measures had a great effect in Ind ia ,

showing as they did that it was as dangerous to injure the one

nation as to defy the other and wh en , a l ittle later, Best andDownton demonstrated that the ir countrymen were as powerfulat sea as the Portuguese , the Gujarat seaports were duly openedto E ngl ish trade .

Having fini shed his business in the Red Sea,Middleton

departed in August 1 6 1 2 for Sumatra and Java . Hawkins


and his household were on board the Trade’s Increase, wh ich ,

after runn ing aground near Tiku (in Sumatra ) , reachedBantam four days before Christmas . There they found the

Hector, the Solomon , and the Thomas, all preparing to startfor England . Hawkins and his wife embarked on the lastnamed, and the vesse l s sa iled in January 1 6 1 3 . The Hector

and Thomas reached the Cape of Good Hope inApril , and aftera month ’s respite the voyage was re sumed on the 2 1 st of

May. Next day the two sh ips lost company, and of the restof the voyage we know but l ittle . S ickness broke out on boardthe Thomas , with the result that most of the crew d ied wh i leat one time the vessel was in danger of be ing plundered bycerta in Newfoundland men —probably rough traders temptedby the sight of a rich ly laden sh ip weakly manned . Fortu

nately,th i s danger was averted by the appearance of the Pearl,

an interloping vesse l homeward bound from the East . Her

capta in not on ly rescued the Thomas from the danger thatthreatened her , but a lso supplied her with much needed

provisions . With th i s assistance she staggered home , arrivingsome time in the autumn of 1 6 1 3 but Hawkin s d id not see

his native land ,for it was his fate to dye on the Irish shoare

in his returne homewards (Purchas His P i lgrimage, p .

When , and exactly where , th i s happened we are not to ld .

H is widow came on to London in the Thomas . Besides hercla im to her late husband ’s property, she was reputed to havemany va luable jewe l s and these considerations probably hada share in lead ing to her second marriage , early in 1 6 1 4 , to

Gabrie l Towerson , who had been capta in of the Hector in the

recent voyage . There was some haggl ing with the Ea st Ind iaCompany over the settlement of Hawkins’s accounts . The

Comm ittee s who exam ined the se reported that they includedheavy charge s for housekeeping , presents ,

‘goeinge to the

campe with 6 0 horse ,’and so on ; and that , after a l low ing

h is ful l salary of £200 a year up to the day of his death , with£300 for the e xpense of bringing his househo ld down to the

coast , there st ill rema ined a ba lance due from his e state of £6 00 .

However, the Company, cons idering that the widow was

a straunger and that l ibera l treatment of her m ight havea good effect in Ind ia

, agreed to forgo a ll cla im s ; wh ile inadd it ion they presented her with a wedding gift of 200 jacobuses(about £240 ) as a token of there love In 1 6 1 7 Mr . and

Mrs . Towerson obta ined perm i ssion from the Company to

proceed to Ind ia in a private capacity, hop ing to improvethe ir fortunes by the aid of her re lative s . From the journa lof Sir Thomas Roe (who was much vexed by the ir vagaries )we learn that the se hope s were d isappo inted . Towersonh im se lf returned to England with the amba ssador in 1 6 1 9 ,

leaving his wife with her friends at Agra ,where , a couple of


years later, we find her pestering the Company’s factors for

ma intenance . Her second hu sband had ev idently no intentionof rejo in ing her, for in 1 6 20 he obta ined employment from the

Company as a principa l factor for the Molucca s . Three yearslater, wh ile holding th i s post , he was put to death by theDutch in what i s termed the Massacre of AmboynaThe narrative here reprinted from Purchas Hi s Pi lgrimes

(part i , book i i i , chap . 7 ) represents Hawkins’s own report to

the East Ind ia Company . The reverend gentleman tell s us ,in his companion work the Pi lgrimage (p . that thetrave ller’s booke or large journa l] , written by h imselfe, wascommun icated to me by the Right Worshipfull Sir Thoma sSm ith (the Governor of the Company) ; and e lsewhere hedescribes it as written at sea-lea sure , very volum inous , in a

hundred sheets of paper Th i s account Purchas ed ited free ly,om itting, as he frankly tell s us, many advices of the authour

touch ing forts, Ind ian factories , wh ich he regarded as

not so fitting every eye Unfortunately, the manuscript i s

no longer extant , and we are unable therefore to assess thevalue of what was thus excised .

Hawkins ’s story Shoul d be read in conjunction with the

narrative ofWilliam Finch ,wh ich supplements it in manyways .It i s a characterist ic production and gives a vivid idea of the

writer—enterprising and resourcefu l, but somewhat arrogantand blustering . Upon hi s contemporaries he made an impress ion not a ltogether favourable . Finch quarrelled with h imJourdain ,

as we have seen , gives rather a hostil e account of hisbehaviour, and declares that his promi ses weare of l ittle force ,for he was very fickle in his resolucion , as alsoe in his re l igion

(Journal, p . and R oe , though he d id not know himpersonal ly, wrote of him For Hawkings, I fynd him a vaynefoole (Brit ish Museum ,

Add] . MSS . , no . 6 1 1 5,f. But,

at a ll events, we owe to him a most va luable account of theCourt of the Emperor Jahangir, second only to that given byR oe h imself wh ile his picturesque account of his adventure shas an interest wh ich i s all its own .

A'

r my arriva l] unto the bar of Surat , be ing the foure and

twentieth ofAugust , 1 6 0 8 , I presently sent unto Surat Francis

Buck,merchant , with two others , to make knowne unto the

Gov ernour 1 that the King of England had sent me as h is

cmbassadour unto his king,with h is letter and present . I

rece ived the Gov ernours answere , both by them and three

1 His name appears to have beenMirza Nfi ruddin.



a present g iven him, with great gravity and outward shew of

kindnesse he enterta ined me , bidd ing me most heartily

we lcome , and that the countrey was at my command . Aftercomplements done , and entring into the ma ine affa ires of mybusinesse, acqua inting him wherefore my eomm ing was for

the se parts , he answered me that these my affa ires d id not

concerne h im, because they were sea-faring causes , wh ich

d id be long unto Mocrebchan , unto whom hee prom ised me

to d ispatch a foot-man unto Cambaya and would write inmy behalfe , both for the un lad ing of my shippe, as a lso con

cern ing a factorie . In the meane wh ile , he appo inted me to

lodge in a merchants house that understood the Turkish,

be ing at that t ime my trouch-man [interpreter (see p . 57 )the captaine of that shippe wh ich Sir Edward Michelbornetooke .

1

It was twentie daies ere the answer came , by reason of the

great waters and ra ine s that men could not passe . In th i s

t ime the merchants , many of them very friendly, fea sted me ,

when it was fa ire weather that I could get out of doores for

there fel l a great ra ine , continu ing a lmost the t ime the

messengers were absent, who at the end of twenty da ies

brought answer from Mocrebchan with l icence to land my

goods and buy and se l l for th i s present voyage , but for a future

trade and setl ing of a factor ie he could not doe it without the

Kings commaundement, wh ich he thought woul d be effected,

i f I would take the pa ines of two moneths trave l] to del iver

my kings letter . And further, he wrote unto his Chiefe

Customer that a ll whatsoever I brought should be kept inthe custome-house til l his brother, Sheck Abder Rach im[Sha ikh Abdurrahim] , came , who shoul d make all the hast

that poss ibly cou ld bee , for to chuse such goods as were fittingfor the King (the se excuse s of taking goods of a l l men for the

King are for the ir owne private ga ine) . Upon th i s answere

I made all the ha st I cou ld in easing our shippe of her heavy

burthen of lead and i ron ,wh ich of necessitie must be landed .

1 Thi s was in 1 605 , during an interloping voyage , for whi ch Michelborne had obtained a licence from James I. Hi s hi gh-handed proceedings with the native vessels he met much alarmed the East India Com

pany.

WILLIAM HAWKINS,1 6 0 8—1 3 7 3

The goods be ing landed and kept in the Customers power till

the eomm ing of th i s great man ,perce iving the time precious

and my sh ip not able long to stay, I thought it conven ient to

send for three chests of money, and with that to buy com

modities of the same sorts that were vend ible at Priaman and

Bantam ,

1 wh ich the Guzerats carry yearely th ither, makinggreat benefit thereof. I began to buy aga inst the will of all

the merchants in the towne , whose grumbling was very much ,

and compla in ing unto the Governour and Customer of the

leave that was granted me in buying those commod it ies ,wh ich wou ld cut the ir owne throates at Priaman and Bantam ,

they not suspecting that I would buy commod it ie s for those

parts , but onely for England .

At the end of th i s businesse th i s great man came, who gaveme l icence to sh ip it before the sh ipping of wh ich I ca lled

a councel] , wh ich were the merchants I had and those that

I thought fitt ing for the businesse I pretended [i . e . intended] ,demand ing every ones opin ion accord ing to his place what

should be thought conven ient for the de l ivery ofHis Majestie s

letter, and the e stabl ish ing of a trade . So genera lly it was

agreed and concluded that for the effecting of these wa ightyaffa ires it ne ither would nor could be accomplished by any

but by myselfe , by rea son of my experience in my former

trave l s and language as a lso I was knowne to a ll to be the

man that was sent as cmbassadour about these affa ires .

After it was concluded, and I contented to stay, I made what

hast I cou ld in d ispatch ing away the ship , and to ship the

goods . Th i s done , I ca lled Master Marlow and a ll the company

that was on shore before mee , acqua int ing them with mypretence [intention] , and how they should rece ive for the ir

commander Master Marlow,will ing them that they obey and

reverence him in that kind as they did me . Th is done , I broughtthem to the water s ide and ,

see ing them imbarke them se lves,I bad them farewell .

The next day, go ing about my affa ires to the great mans

brother,I met with some tenne or twe lve of our men , of the

better sort of them ,very much frighted,

te ll ingme the heaviest

1 Priaman , a pepper port on the west coast of Sumatra. Bantam, on

the north-east coast of Java.


newe s (as I thought ) that ever came unto me , of the takingof the barkes by a Portugal frigat or two, and all goods andmen taken , onely they e scaped .

1 I demanding in what manner

they were taken and whether they did not fight , the ir answer

was no M[aster] Marlow would not suffer them ,for that the

Portuga ls were our friends, and Bucke, on the other s ide, wentto the Portuga l] without a pawne [hostage] , and there he

betrayed us, for he never came unto us after . Indeed , Buckewent upon the oath and fa ithful ] prom ise of the Capta ine , but

was never suffered to returne . I presently sent a letter unto

the Capta ine Major, that he release my men and goods, for

that we were Engl ishmen , and that our kings had peace and

am ity together, and that we were sent unto the Mogolscountrey by our king, and with his letter unto the Mogo l for

his subjects to trade in his countrey, and with His Majesties

commi ssion for the government of his subjects , and I made

no que st ion but in de l ivering backe His Majest ies subjects andgoods, that it would be we l l taken at his kings hands i f the

contrary, it would be a meanes of breach . At the rece it of

mylettcr, the proud rascal ] braved so much , as the messenger

to ld me , most vilely abusing His Majest ic , tearm ing him Kingof Fi shermen , and of an i laud of no import, and a fart for h is

comm ission , scorn ing to send me any answer .

It was my chance the next day to meete with a captaine

of one of the Portuga l frigats, who came about businesse ,sent by the Captaine Major . The businesse , as I understood ,

was that the Gov ernour should send me as prisoner unto him ,

for that we were Hol landers . I , understand ing what he was ,tooke occasion to speake with him of the abuses offered the

King of England and his subjects . His answere was that these

sea s belonged unto the King of Portuga l] , and none ought to

come here without h is l icense . I to ld him that the King of

Englands l icense was as good as the King of Spaines, and as

free for his subjects as for the King of Spaines, and he that

sa ith the contrary i s a traytor and a villa ine, and so tel your

Our two barks taken by the Portugals, and thi rtic men in them.

This not fighting was upbrayded to our men by the Indians with muchdisgrace, since recovered with interest by our sea-fights with the

Portugals.’

(Marginal note byPurchas. )


great capta ine that in abusing the King of England he i s a

base villa ine and a traytor to his king, and that I willmainta ine

it with my sword ,i f he dare come on shore . I send ing him a

cha llenge, the Mores, perce iving I was much mooved,caused

the Portuga l to depart . Th i s Portuga l, some two honre s after,came to my house , prom is ing me that he wou ld procure the

l ibertie of my men and good s, so that I would be l ibera l] unto

him . I enterta ined him kindly and prom i sed him much , but

before he departed the towne my men and goods were sentfor Goa .

I had my goods readie some fiv e dayes before I could be

cleare and have leave , for they would not let them be sh ipped

until] thi s great man came , wh ich was the th ird of October ;and two dayes after, the sh ip set sayle , I rema in ing with one

merchant , William Finch , who was s icke the greater part ofh is time and not able to st irre abroad to doe any businesse

the rest were two servants , a cookc and my boy. The se were

the compan ie I had to defend our se lve s from so many enem ies ,wh ich lay da ily lurking to destroy us, a im ing at me for the

stopping of my passage to the Great Mogol ; but God preserved m e , and in spight of them a ll I tooke heart and reso lutionto goe forwards on my trave l s . After the departure of the

sh ip , I understood that my goods and men were betrayed untothe Portuga l by Mocreb-chan and h is fol lowers ; for it was

a p lot la id by the Jesuite 1and Mocreb-chan to protract t ime

til l the frigats came to the bar , and then to d i spatch me,for

til l then th i s dogge Moereb-chan his brother came not, and

the eomming of these fr igats was in such secrecy that, t il l

they had taken us, we heard no newe s of them . After thedeparture ofmy sh ip I was so m i sused that it was unsufferable ,but so long as my sh ip was at the bar I was flattered withall .But howsoever, we l l used or i l l , it was not for mee to take

thought for any th ing, although rema in ing in an heathencountrey,

inv ironed with so many enem ies, who da ily d id

noth ing e l se but plot to murther me and cosen me of my

goods , as hereafter you sha l l understand . First,m isused by

Mocreb-chan as to have possession of my goods, taking whathe pleased and leaving what he plea sed , giving me such a price

1 This was FatherManoel Pinheiro (see p .


as h is owh e barbarous conscience afforded , that from th irtic

fiv e would g ive but e ighteene , not regard ing h is brothers bi] ,who had full authoritie from him ; and how d ifficult i t was

to get money from his chiefe servant , after the t ime expired ,

as it i s best knowne to us who tooke the pa ine s in rece ivinga sma l l part thereof before his eomm ing to Surat and after

h is eomming I was barred of all , a lthough he outwardly dis

sembled and flattered with me a lmost for three moneths, feed ingme with fa ire prom ise s of payment and other kindnesses .In the meane t ime he came to my house three t imes, sweepingme cleane of al l th ings that were good so that , when he saw

that I had no more good th ings left , he l ikewise by little and

l ittle degraded me of his good lookes . Almost all th i s t ime

Will iam Finch was extreame s icke of the fluxe [dysentery] , but,thankes be to God,

'

recov ered past all hope . I , on the other

side , could not peepe out of doores for feare of the Portugal s,who in troops lay lurk ing in by-waycs to g ive me a ssault tomurther me , th i s bee ing at the time that the armada 1 was

there .

The first plot la id aga inst me was I was invited by Hogio

Nazam [Khwaja Nizam] to the fraughting of his sh ip for

Mocha , as the custome i s they make at the fraughting of the ir

sh ips great fea sts for a ll the pr incipallest of the towne . It

was my good hap at that t ime , a great capta ine belonging to

the Vice-Roy of Guzerat , resident in Amadav ar [Ahmadabad] ,be ing sent about affa ires unto Surat, was l ikewise invited toth i s feast, wh ich was kept at the water side and meere unto

it the Portuga l s had two frigats of the ir armada , wh ich came

to rece ive the ir tribute of the sh ippes that were to depart, as

a l so refreshment . Out of these frigats there came three

gallant fe llowes to the tent where I was, and some fortic

followers, Portuga ls , scattering themselves a long the sea side

ready to give an a ssault when the word shou ld be g iven .

These three gal lants that came to the tents, armed with coat s

of buffe downe to the knee s, the ir rapiers and pistol s by the irs ide s

, demaunded for the Engl i sh captaine upon the hearingof wh ich I aro se pre sently and to ld them that I was the man ,

1 The Portuguese fleet of frigates trading between Goa and Cambay(see p.


and perce iving an alteration in them I la id hand on myweapon . The Captaine Mogo l perce iving treason towards me ,

both he and h is followers drew the ir weapon s and ,i f the

Portuga l s had not been the swifter, both they and the ir

scattered crew (in retiring to the i r frigats) had come short

home . Another time they came to assault me in my house

with a friar, some thirty or fortic of them . The friars eomm ingwas to an imate the sould iers and to give them absolution .

But I was alwa ies wary,having a strong housewith good doores .

Many troopes at other t imes lay lurking for me and m ine in

the streetcs , in that kind that I was forced to goe to the

Gov ernour to compla ine that I was not able to goe about mybusinesse for the Portugal s eomm ing armed into the citie to

murther me wh ich was not a custome at other t ime s for anyPortuga l s to come armed

,as now they did . He presently sent

word to the Portugal s that, if they came into the city armed

againe , at the ir owne perils be it . AtMocreb-chan h is eomm ing,

with a Jesuite named Padre Pine iro in his company (who

profered Mocreb-chan fortic thousand rial s of e ight 1 to sendme to Daman , as I understood by certaine advise given me

by Hassun Al ly 2and Ally Pommory), I went to visit him ,

giving him a present , besides the present his brother had ;and for a time , as I have above written , I had many kindoutward shewes of him ,

t il] the t ime that I demanded mymoney . After that his d issembl ing was past and he to ld me

plainely that he would not give mee twentie mamad ies per

vare ,

3 but would de l iver me backe my cloath . Upon wh ichdeal ings I d issembled as we] as I could with h im

, intreatingleave for Agra to the King, tell ing h im that William Finchwas the man that I left as my chiefe in th i s place , and in what

kind soever his pleasure was to deale with me , he was the man

to rece ive e ither money or ware upon wh ich answer he gaveme his l icense and letter to the King, prom i sing me fortic

horsemen to goe w ith me . wh ich hee did not accomplish . After

l icense rece ived , the Father put into Mocreb-chan h is head

1 The rial of eightwas worth about 43 . 6d.

2 Khwaja Hasan Ali , afterwards Shahbandar of Surat.a Vare is probably a misprint for yard The mahmudi was a

small silver coin (equivalent to about 1 1d. or 12d. English), which wasstill the favourite currency in Gujarat, side by side with the rupee.


that it was not good to letme passe , for that I would compla ineof him unto the King . Th i s he plotted with Mocreb-chan tooverthrow my journey, wh ich he could not doe because I came

from a k ing but he sa id that he would not let me have any

force to goe with me . And what e l se hee would have h im to

doc, e ither with my trench-man [see p . 7 2] and coachman,

to poyson or murther me, i f one should fa ile , the o ther to doeit . Th i s invention was put into Mocreb-chans head by theFather, but God for His mercie sake afterward d iscoveredthese plots, and the counsel] of th i s Jesuite tooke not place .

Before the plotting of th is , the Jesuite and I fel l out in the

presence of Mocreb-chan for vile speaches made by h im of

our king and nat ion to bee vassal s unto the King of Portugal]wh ich words I cou ld not brooke , in so much that , i f I couldhave had my will, the Father had never spoken more, but I

was prevented .

Now find ing William Finch in good hea lth , newly recovered ,

I left a ll th ings touch ing the trade of merchand izing in his

power, g iving h im my remembrance and order what he Shoulddoe in my absence . So I began to take up sould iers to conduct

mee , being denyed ofMocrebchan , be side s shot and bow-men

that I h ired . Formybetter safety I went to one of Chanchannah is capta ines to let me have fortic or fiftie horsemen to conduct

me to Chanchanna, be ing then Vice-roy of Decan , resident in

Bramport [Burhanpur] , who did to his power a ll that I

demanded, giving me va l iant horsemen , Pattans [Pathans] ,a people very much feared in these parts for i f I had not

done it , I had beene over-throwne . For the Portugalls of

Daman had wrought with an ancient friend of the irs, a Raga

[Raja] , who was absolute lord of a province (betweene Daman ,

Guzerat and Decan ) ca lled Cruly,

1 to be readie with two

hundred horsemen to stay my passage but I went so strongand wel l provided, that they durst not incounter with us so

l ikewise that t ime I e scaped .

Then at Dayta,

2another province or princedome , my

1 This has been identified as the district roundKaroli, fourmiles south~

east of Salher (for whi ch see Finch’s narrative) .2 Dhaita , on the Surpin i R iver. The province referred to is Baglan ,

a mountainous district to the south of the Tapti , whi ch still maintained



The e ighteenth of the sa id moneth, thankes be to God,I

came in safetie to Bramport, and the next day I went to the

court to visit Chanchanna , be ing then Lord General ] and

Vice-Roy ofDecan , giving h im a present , who kindly tooke i tand after three houres conference with him

, he made me a

great feast , and be ing risen from the table , invested me with

two clokes , one of fine woollen , and another of cloth of gold ,

giving mee his most k ind letter of favour to the King, wh ichav ayled much . That done , he imbraced me, and so we

departed . The language that we spoke was Turkish ,wh ich

he spake very we l l . I remayned in Bramport unto the second

of March t il l then I could not end my businesses of mon ies

that I brought by exchange , staying l ikewise for a carrav an .

Having taken new sould iers , I followed my voyage or journey

to Agra , where after much labour, toyle , and many dangers

I arrived in safety the s ixteenth of April] , 1 6 0 9 .

Be ing in the citie , and seeking out for an house in a very

secret manner, not ice was given the King that I was come,

but not to bee found . He presently charged both horsemen

and footmen in many troupes not to leave before I was found ,

command ing his Kn ight Marsha ll to accompany mee with

great state to the court , as an embassador of a king ought to

be ; wh ich he did with a great tra ine , making such extra

ord inary haste that I adm ired [i . e . wondered] much ,for I

could scarce obtayne t ime to apparel] my se lfe in my best

attyre . In fine I was brought before the King . I came with

a slight present , having noth ing but cloth , and that not

esteemed ; for what I had for the King Mocreb-chan tookefrom me , wherwith I acqua inted His Majest ic . After saluta

tion done , with a most kinde and sm il ing countenance he

bade me most heartily welcome ; upon wh ich speech I did

my obeysance and dutie againe . Having His Majest ies letter

in my hand, he ca lled me to come neere unto him , stretch ingdowne his hand from the seate roya l] , where he sate in great

maje st ic someth ingh igh for to be scene of the people rece iv ingvery kind ly the letter of me . Viewing the letter a prettie

whi le,both the scale and the manner of the making of it up,

he ca lled for an old Jesuite 1 that was there present to reade it .1 Probably Father “

Xavier (see p.

JAHANGIR



It grew late , and having had some smal l conference with

the King at that t ime , he commanded that I shou ld da ily be

brought into h is presence , and gave a capta ine named Hons

haberchan 1 charge that I should lodge at his house till a house

were found conven ient for m e , and when I needed anyth ingof the King, that he should bee my sol icitor . Accord ing to

command I resorted to the court , where I had daily conference

with the King. Both n ight and day his del ight was very much

to ta lke with mee , both of the affaires of England and other

countries , as a lso many demands of the West Ind ies, whereof

hee had not ice long before , be ing in doubt if there were any

such place t il l he had'

spoken with me , who had beene in the

countrey.

Many dayes and weekes being past and I now in great

favour with the King, to the griefe of all m ine enem ies, espyingmy t ime , I demanded for his commandement or comm i ssion

with capitulat ions for the establ ish ing of our factory to be in

m ine owne power . His answere was whether I wou ld remayne

with h im in his court . I replyed ,til l sh ipping came ; then my

de s ire was to goe home with the answere ofHis Majest ies letter .

Hee replyed againe that his meaning was a longer time , for he

meant to send an embassador to the King of England at the

eomm ing of the next sh ipping, and that I should stay withhim unti l] some other bee sent from my king to remayne in

my place, saying th i s Thy staying would be h ighly for the

benefit of thy nat ion and that he would g ive me good

ma intenance , and my be ing heere in his presence would beethe cause to right all wrongs that should be offered unto mynat ion and further, what I should see benefic ia l] for them ,

upon my pet it ion made , hee would grant ; swearing by hisfathers sou le that, i f I wou ld remayne with him , he would

grant me a rticle s for our factorie to my heart s desire , and

woul d never goe from his word . I replyed againe, that I

wou ld consider of it . Thu s da i ly inticing me to stay with h im ,

alleaging as i s above written, and that I should doe service

both to my natura l] king and to him ,and l ikewise he would

1 Probably Khfishkhabar Khan , the title given by Jahangir to theman who brought him the news of the defeat of his rebel son Khusrau(Tazuk, v ol . i , p.

WILLIAM HAWKINS , 1 6 0 8—1 3 83

a llow me by the yeare three thousand and two hundred

pounds sterling1 for my first

, and so yeerely hee prom ised

mee to augment my l iving til l I came to a thousand horse .

So my first should be foure hundred horse for the nobilitie

of Ind ia have the ir t itle s by the number of the i r horses , that

i s to say,from fortic to twe lve thou sand , wh ich pay belongeth

to princes and h is sonnes . I trust ing upon h is prom i se , and

see ing it was benefic ia l ] both to my nat ion and my selfe ,beeing d ispossessed of that benefit wh ich I should have reaped

i f I had gone to Bantam , and that after halfe a doozen yeeres,

Your Worsh ips would send another man of sort in my place ,

in the meane t ime I Should feather my neast, and doe you

service and further perce iving great injuries offered us, by

reason the King i s so farre from the port s ; for a ll wh ich

causes above specified , I did not thinke it am i sse to yeeld

unto h is request . Then , because my name was someth inghard for h is pronuntiation ,

hee cal led me by the name of

Engl i sh Chan , that i s to say,Engl i sh lord , but in Persia it

[i . e . Khan] i s the title for a Duke ; and th i s went currant

throughout the countrey.

Now your Worsh ips sha l l understand that I being now in

the h ighe st of my favours , the Jesu ites and Portuga lls slept

not, but by a ll meane s sought my overthrow and , to say the

truth , the principa l] Mahumetans neere the King envyed much

that a Christ ian should bee so n igh unto him . The Jesuite

Peniero be ing withMocrebchan , and the Jesu ites here , I th inkedid l ittle regard the ir masse s and church matters for studyinghow to overthrow my affa ire s advice being gone to Goa by

the Jesu ite s here , I meane in Agra , and to Padre Pene iro at

Surat or Cambaya , hee working with Mocrebchan to be the

Portugal s a ssi stance , and the Vice-Roy send ing him a great

present , together with many toyes [i . e . curiosit ies] unto the

King with his letter . These presents and many more prom i ses

wrought so much with Mocrebchan that he writeth his pet it ion1 The Jesuit accounts give Hawkins’s stipend as rupees, which

would amount to about the sum here stated. Equal credit cannot beaccorded to their statement that the Englishman gave the Emperorpresentsworth gold pieces, four-fifths ofwhich sumwas representedby a single gem. (Du Jarric, v ol . iii , p. The gold piecewas doubtlessthe Venetian sequin (see p .

8 L EARLY TRAVELS IN IND IA

unto the King, send ing it together with the present, advertisingthe King that the suffring of the Engl ish in h is land would bethe cause o f the losse of his owne countrie s neere the sea-coasts ,a s Suratt, Cambaya , and such l ike , and that in any case he

entertaine me not, for that his ancient friends the Portugallsmurmured h igh ly at it, and that the fame i s spread amongst

the Portugalls that I was genera l] of ten thousand horsemen,

readie to give the a ssault upon D iu when our sh ipping came .

1

The Vice-Royes letter l ikewise was in thi s kind . The Kings

answere was that he had but one Engl ish-man in h is court,and him they needed not to feare , for hee hath not pretended

any such matter, for I would have given him l iving neere the

sea parts but he refused it, taking it neere me heere . Th i s

was the Kings answere upon wh ich answere the Portugalls

were l ike madde dogges, labouring to workc my passage out

of the world . So I told the King what dangers I had passed ,

and the present danger wherein I was, my boy, Stephen

Grav ener , in stantly depart ing th i s world , my man, Nichola s

Ufflet,2extreame s icke , and th i s was all my Engl ish company,

my se lfe beginn ing to fa l l downe too . The King presently

cal led the Jesuites and told them that if I dyed by any extra

o rd inary casualtie , that they should all rue for it . Th i s past ,the King was very earnest with me to take a wh ite mayden

out of his palace who would give her all things necessary,with slave s, and he would prom i se mee shee s hould turne

Christ ian , and by th i s meanes my meates and drinkes should

be looked unto by them , and I should l ive without feare .

In regard she was a Moore , I refused ; but i f so bee there

could bee a Christian found ,I would accept it . At wh ich my

speech I l ittle thought a Christ ians daughter could bee found .

So the King cal led to memorie one Mubarique Sha [Mubarak

1 Du Jarric (v ol . iii, p. 196 ) repeats the allegation that Hawkinsproposed to the Emperor the blockade by land of the Portuguese settlement atDiu, promising the help of fourteen ships to cut off relief from the

sea .

1 Uffiet returned to England with Hawkins, and then came out again

in Downton’s fleet. In 1 6 17 we find him in Java , and two years later hedied on board one of the vessels of Sir Thomas Dale’s fleet. An accounthe appears to have written ofAgra and the chief routes thither is referredto on a later page.



came there , newe s came that the Ascention was cast away

and her men saved, but not suffered to come into the citie of

Surat . Of that l ikewise I told the King, who seemed to be

very much d iscontented with that great captaine Mocrebchan , my enemy, and gave me another commandement for

the ir good usage and meanes to be wrought to save the goods ,if it were possible . These two commandements came almost

together, to the great joy of William Finch and the rest ,adm iring much at the se th ings .

And now continu ing these great favours with the King,

be ing continually in his sight , for the one ha lfe of foure and

twentie honres serving him day and n ight , I wanted not the

greater part of h is noble s that were Mahumetans to be m ineenem ies , for it went aga inst the ir hearts that a Christ ianshould be so great and neere the King and the more , becau se

the King had prom i sed to make his brothers ch ildren Christian s,wh ich two yeares after my com ing he performed , command ingthem to be made Christians .1 Awh ile after came some of the

Ascentions company unto me (whom I cou ld have wished of

better behaviour, a th ing pryed into by the King) . In a ll

th is t ime I could not get my debts ofMocrebchan , t il] at length

he was sent for up to the King to answere for many faults and

tyrann ical] injust ice wh ich he d id to all people in those parts,many a man being undone by h im , who petit ioned to the Kingfor just ice . Now th i s dogge to make his peace sent many

bribe s to the Kings sonnes and noblemen that were neere the

King, who laboured in his behalfe . After newes came that

Mocrebchan was approached neere , the King presently sent to

attach a ll his goods , wh ich were in that abundance that the

Kingwas two moneths in viewing of them , every day a l lottinga certa ine quantitie to be brought before me [him and

what he thought fitting for his owne turne he kept , and the

re st del ivered againe to Mocrebchan . In the viewing of these

goods there came those peeces and costlet and head-peece ,with other presents that he tooke fi om me for the King of

mine own e , not suffering mee to bring them my se lfe at

the sight whereof I was so bold to te l l the King what was

m ine . After the King had viewed the se goods , a very great1 See the account of thi s given by Finch.

WILLIAM HAWKINS,1 6 0 8—1 3 87

compla int was made by a Ban ian [Hindu trader] , how thatMocrebchan had taken his daughter, saying she was for the

King ; wh ich was his excuse , deflowr ing her himselfe , and

afterwards gave her to a Brammen [Brahm in] belonging to

Mocrebchan . The man who gave not ice of th i s ch ild protested

her to passe all that ever he saw for beautie . The matter be ingexamined , and the offence done by Mocrebchan found to be

true , hee was comm itted to prison in the power of a greatnobleman , and commandement was given that the Brammene

h is privy members should be cut off.

1

Before th i s happened to Mocrebchan , I went to visite him

d ivers t imes , who made me veric fa ire prom ises that he would

dea le very kind ly with mee and be my friend, and that I shou ld

have my right . Now be ing in th i s d isgrace , his friends da i ly

soll iciting for him , at length got him cleere , with commande

m ent that he pay every man his right , and that no more

comp la ints be made of him if he loved his l ife . So Mocrebchan

by the Kings command pa id every one h is due e xcepting me ,

whom he would not pay but de l iver me my cloath , whereof

I was desirous and to make (if it were poss ible) by fa ire meanes

an end with h im but he put m e off the more , de laying time

till his departure , wh ich was shortly after . For the King had

restored him his old place aga ine , and he was to goe for Goa

about a fa ire ballace ruby 2and other rare th ings prom ised

the King .

All my going and send ing to Mocrebchan for my money or

cloath was in va ine , I be ing abused so base ly by him that I

was forced to demaund justice of the King, who commanded

that the money be brought before him but for a ll the Kings

commaund he d id as he l isted , and , doe what I could , he cut

me off twe lve thousand and fiv e hundred mamadies . For the

greatest man in th i s kingdome was his friend , and many others

1 According to the Thank (v ol . i , p . the complaint was made bya widow woman ,

whose daughter had been done to death in Mukarrab’

s

Khan’s house at Cambay. On inv estigation it was found that the out

rage had been perpetrated by one oi Mukarrab Khan ’s attendants, whowas thereupon put to death and an allowance granted to the complainant while Mukarrab Khan himself had his pay reduced by one half.

2 Really a rose-red spine] . Balass is said to mean Badalchshi , fromBadakhshan , the ir place of origin .


holding on his s ide, murmuring to the King the suffering of

Engl ish to come into his countrey, for that we were a nation

that , if we once set foot , we would take his countrey from h im .

The King called me to make answere to that they sa id . I

answered His Majest ic that , i f any such matter were , I would

answer it with my l ife , and that we were not so base a nation

as these m ine enem ies reported all th i s was because I

demaunded my due and yet cannot get it . At th i s t ime those

that were neere favourites and neerest unto the King, whom

I da ily visited and kept in withall , spake in my behalfe and

the King, hold ing on my s ide , commanded that no more such

wrongs be offred me . So I th inking to use my best in the

recovery of thi s , intreting the head Vizir that he would be

meanes that I receive not so great a losse , he answered me in

a threatning manner, that i f I did open my mouth anymore

hee would make me to pay an hundred thousand mamadies,

wh ich the King had lost in his customes by entertain ing mee ,

and no man durst adventure by reason of the Portugall . So

by th i s meanes I was forced to hold my tongue , for I know

th i s money was swallowed by both these dogges . Now

Mocrebchan be ing commaunded in publicke that by such a

day he be ready to depart for Guzerat , and so for Goa ,

1and

then come and take his leave , as the custome i s in th i s

meane t ime three of the principallest merchants of Surat were

sent for by the Kings commaundement and come to the court

about affa ires where in the King or his Vizir had imployed

them ,being then pre sent there when Mocrebchan was taking

his leave , th i s be ing a plot la id both by the Portuga l s , Mocreb

chan, and the Vizir, for some six daies before a letter came

unto the King from the Portuga l] Vice-roy, with a present of

many rare th ings . The contents of th i s letter were , how h igh ly

the King of Portugal] tooke in i ll part the enterta in ing of the

Engl ish , he being ofan ancient am itie , with other complements

and withall , how that a merchant was there arrived with a very

1 Mukarrab Khan had been dispatched on thi s mission as early as

September 1 6 07 , but had halted at Cambay to await news of the arrivalat Goa of the expected Viceroy, the Conde de Feyra. The death of the

latter and the disputes over the admission of the English had furtherdelayed matters, and nothing had been done at the time of MukarrabKhan’s return to court. (Du Jarric, v ol . iii , pp. 192,



a fter, g iving a sma ll matter to the writer of that day, for therei s noth ing that pa sseth but it i s written , and writers appointedby turnes , so that the Father nor I cou ld passe any businesse ,

but when we would we had notice . So the Jesuite presently

sent away the most speedy messenger that could be gotten ,

with his letter to Padre Pine iro and Mocreb-chan , advert isingthem of all that had passed . At the receit of wh ich they

con sulted amongst them selve s not to goe forward on the ir

voyage for Goa ti l] I were overthrown aga ine . WhereforeMocreb-chan wrote his pet ition unto the King, and letters

unto his friend the head Vizir, how it stood not with the Kings

honour to send him , i f he performed not what he prom isedthe Portuga l, and that his voyage would be ov erthrowne , if

he did not call in the commandement he had given the

Engl ishman . Upon the rece iving and reading of th is , theKing

'went againe from his word , esteem ing a few toye s wh ichthe Fathers had prom ised him more then his honour .Now bee ing desirous to see the ful l i ssue of th i s , I went to

Hogio Jahan ,

1 Lord Genera l of the Kings Pa lace (the secondman in place in the kingdome ) , intreating him that he wouldstand my friend . He very kindly presently went unto the

King, tell ing him that I was very heavy and d iscontent that

Abda l] Hassan would not del iver me my commandement ,wh ich His Majestic had graunted me . The King answeredh im (I be ing present and very neere him ) , saying, it was truethat the commandement i s sealed , and ready to be de l ivered

h im but upon letters rece ived from Mocreb-chan and better

con sideration by me had on these my affa ire s in my ports in

Guzerat , I thought it fitting not to let him have it . Thus was

I tossed and tumbled in the kind of a rich merchant adv entur

ing all he had in one bottome , and by casualtie of stormes or

pirate s lo st it al l at once . So that on the other side , concern ingmy l iving, I was so crossed that many times th i sAbda l ] Hassan

h is answere would be unto me I knowe we] enough you standnot in such need ,

for your master beareth your charges , and

the King knew not what he did in g iving to you ,from whom

1 Khwaja Jahan,the title given to DostMuhammad ofKabul , whose

daughter Jahangir had married . He was much employed by the

Emperor in superintending architectural work atAgra and Lahore.

WILLIAM HAWKINS, 1 6 0 8—1 3 9 1

he should receive .

1 My answer was that it was the Kings

pleasure and none of my request , and see ing it i s His Maje st ies

g ift , I had no rea son to loose it . So that from time to t ime

he bad mee have pat ience and he would find out a good l ivingfor me . Thus was I da ll ied withall by th i s m ine cnem ic , in so

much that in all the t ime I served in court I could not get a

l iving that would yeeld any th ing, g iving me my l iving st il l

in places where out-lawes raigned . On ly once at Lahor, byan e specia l] commandement from the King but I was soon

deprived of it , and a ll that I rece ived from the beginn ing was

not ful ly three hundred pounds, a great part whereof was

spent upon charges of men sent to the lordsh ips . When that

I saw that the l iving wh ich the King absolutely gave me was

taken from me , I was then pa st all hopes for before, at the

newe s of the arriva l] of sh ipping, I had great hope that the

King would performe former grants , in hope of rare things

that should come from England . But when I made arse

[see p . 5 6 ] or petition unto the King concern ing my l iving,

he turned me over to Abda l Hassan , who not onely den ied me

my l iving, but a lso gave order that I be suffered no more

to enter with in the red rayles , wh ich i s a place of honour

where a ll my t ime I was placed very neere unto the King,

in wh ich place there were but fiv e men in the kingdom e

before me .

Now perce iving that al l my affa ires were ov erthrowne , I

determ ined with the councell of those that were meere me to

reso lve whereto to trust , e ither to be well in or we l l out .

Upon th i s resolution I had my petit ion made ready, by wh ich

I made known unto the King how Abda l ] Hassan had dea lt

with m e , having him selfe eaten what H is Majestic gave me

and how that my charges of so long time (being by HisMajest ic

des ired to stay in his court, upon the fa ithful] prom ise s he made

me ) were so much that it wou ld be my utter overthrow ;

therefore I besought H is Majestic that he would consider mycause , e ither to establish me as formerly, or g ive me leave todepart . His answere was that he gave me leave ,

command ing

1 Accordi ng to Jourda in , Khwaja Abal Hasan told Hawkins that,beeingc a marchannt, he might plye his marchandizinge and not

looke for any thinge att the Kings hands


his safe conduct to bee made mee to passe free ly without

molestation throughout his kingdomes . When th i s commande

ment was made , as the custome i s, I came to doe my obeysance

and to take my leav e, ,

intreating for an answere of my kingsletter . Abdal] Hassan , eomming unto me from the King, in a

disdainfull manner utterly denyed me, saying that it was notthe custome of so great a monarch to write in the kind of a

letter unto a pett ie prince or gov ernour . I answered him that

the King knew more of the mightinesse of the King of Englandthen to be a petty gov ernour . We ll , th i s was m ine answere ,

together with my leave taken .

I went home to my house , studying with all my endeavours

to get all my goods and debts together, and to buy com

modities with those mon ie s that were remayn ing, using all

the speed I could to cleere my se lfe of the countrey,staying

on ly for Nichola s Ufflet to come from Lahor with a rema inder

of ind ico that was in William Finche s power, who determ inedto goe overland , be ing past all hopes for ever imbarking our

se lve s at Surat ; wh ich course I a l so would will ingly havetaken , but that (as it i s well knowne) for some causes I couldnot travel] thorow Turkic, and especially with a woman so

I was forced to currie favour with the Jesu ites to get mee a

safe conduct or seguro from the Vice-Roy to goe for Goa , andso to Portuga l] , and from thence to England , thinking (as theopin ion of others was) that , the Vice-Roy giving his secure

1

royal] , there wou ld be no danger for me . But when my wifes

mother and kindred saw that Iwas to carryher away, suspectingthat they should never see her any more , they did so d ista steme in these my travel s that I was forced to yeeld unto them

that my wife go no further then Goa , because i t was Ind ia ,

and that they could goe and come and visit her , and that,i f at any time I meant to goe for Portuga l] , or any other-where ,that I leave her that portion that the custome of Portugal]

i s to leave to their wives when they dye unto wh ich I was

forced to yeeld , to give them content to prevent all mischiefes .

But knowing that , if my wife would goe with me , all would

bee of no effect , I effected with the Jesuite to send for two

secures , the one concern ing my qu iet be ing and free libertie1 Port. seguro (as just above), assurance



sent to the wars of Decan .

1 Now one Gaihbeig,

2 be ing the

Kings chiefe trea surer (a man that in outward shew made

much of me and was alwayes will ing to pleasure me when I

had occasion to use h im ) , was made ch iefe Vizir, and his

daughter marryed with the King, being his chiefe queene or

paramor . Th i s Vizirs sonne and myselfe were great friends ,he having beene often at my house , and was now exalted to

h igh d ignit ie s by the King . Perce iving th i s a lteration , and

be ing certified of the eomm ing of Sh ipping by certa ine advise

sundry wayes, knowing the custome of these Moore s that

without gifts and bribes noth ing would e ither goe forward

or bee accomplished,I sent my broker to seeke out for jewel s

fitting for the Kings s ister2and new paramour, and l ikewise

for th i s new Vizir and his sonne .

Now after they had my gifts, they begann e on all sides to

sol ic ite my cause ; at wh ich time newes came to Agra by

Ban ian s of D iu how that of D iu three Engl ish sh ips were

scene , and three dayes after other newes came that they were

at the barre of Surat . Upon whi ch newes the Great Vizir

a sked me what toy I had for the King . I shewed him a ruby

ring that I had gotten , at the sight of wh ich he bade me

make readie to goe with him at court time and he would makemy pet it ion to the King, and told me that the King was

alreadie wonne . So once more eomm ing before His Greatnesse ,and my petit ion be ing read , he presently granted mee the

e stabl ish ing of our factorie , and that the Engl ish come and

free ly trade for Surat will ing the Vizir that with all e xped it ion my commandement be made ; upon wh ich grant the

Vizir made. s igne unto mee to make obeysance , wh ich I did

accord ing to the custome . But now what followed Agreat

1 There is nothing in the Tazulc to support these accusations, and

the fact that Abi'

il Hasan was put in charge of the province of the

Deccan shows that the Emperor was not really displeased with him.

2 Ghiyas Beg, Itimaduddaula . Hi s daughter, Nar Mahal (betterknown by her later title of Nfir Jahan ) was married to the Emperorin May 1 6 1 1 . Her brother shared in the family honours by receivingthe title of Itikad Khan . He is familiar to readers of Sir Thomas Roe ’sj ournal by hi s later style ofAsaf Khan ,

bestowed upon him in March1 6 14.

2 Probably Shakarunnisa Begam , to whom Jahangir was much

attached.

WILLIAM HAWKINS, 1 6 0 8—1 3 9 5

nobleman and neerest favourite of the King, being the dearest

friend that Mocrebchan and l ikewise Abdal ] Hassan had ,

brought up together from the ir ch ildhood , and page s together

unto the King,began to make a speech unto the King, saying

that the granting of th i s would be the utter overthrow of h is

sea coasts and peop le , as His Majest ic had beene inform ed

by petition from d ivers of his subjects and besides , that i t

stood not with His Majest ies honour to contrad ict that wh ich

he had granted to his ancient friends the Portuga ls , and

whosoever laboured for the Engli sh knew not what he d id

i f knowing, hee was not His Majesties friend . Upon the speech

of th i s nobleman my businesse once againe was qu ite over

throwne , and all my time and presents lost the King answer

ing that , for my nation , hee would not grant trade at the sea

ports , for the inconven ience that d ivers time s had beenescanned upon but, for my selfe , if I would remayne in his

service , he would command that what he had a llowed me

should be given me to my content wh ich I denyed , unlesse

the Engl ish should com e unto h is ports accord ing to prom i se ,and , as for my particular ma intenance ,

my King would not

see me want . Then des iring againe answere of the Kings

letter , he consulted awh ile with his Vizirs and then sent me

his denyall . So I tooke my leave , and departed from Agra

the second of November, 1 6 1 1 , be ing of a thousand thoughts

what course I were best to take for I stil l had a doubt of

the Portugalls that for lucre of my goods they wou ld poysonme . Againe , on the other s ide , it was dangerou s by rea son

of the warres to trave l] thorow Decan unto Masulipatan . By

land , by rea son of the Turke s, I cou ld not goe and to stay

I wou ld not amongst these faithlesse infidels .

I arrived at Cambaya the la st of December, where

I had certa ine newes of the Engl ish sh ips that were at Surat .

Immed iately I sent a footman untb the sh ips with my letter,with certa ine advice , affirmed for a truth by the Fathers of

Cambaya unto me , that the Vice-R oy had in a readinesse

prepared to depart from Goa foure great sh ips , with certaine

gal l ies and frigats, for to come upon them , and treasons plottedagainst Sir Henry Middletons person of wh ich newes I was

1 This date appears to be a little too late see Jourdain , p . 188 .


wished by the Fathers to advise Sir Henry ; wh ich I found

a fterward to bee but the ir pol ic ie to put him in feare , and so

to depart ; and withal l I wished them to be we l l advised .

And as for me , my sh i fts were to goe home by the way of the

Portugalls , for so I had prom i sed mywife and her brother, who

at that present was with me , and to delude him and the Fatherstil l I had not ice for certaine that I m ight freely get aboord

without feare , wh ich I was a ssured to know at the returne of

my letter . In the meane time I did all that I could to d i spatch

her brother away who with in two dayes after departed for

Agra, not suspecting that I had any intent for the sh ips .

Nicholas Uffiet now departing from mee to survey the way,

beeing two dayes journey on his way, met with Captaine

Will iam 1 Sharpeigh , Master Fraine and Hugh Greete , sent by

Sir Henry to Cambaya unto mee , which was no sma l l joyuntomee . So understand ing of the place (wh ich was m iraculouslyfound out by Sir Henry Middleton, and never knowne to any

o f the countrey) ,2 I adm ired and gave God thankes i for i f

thi s place had not beene found ,it had beene imposs ible for

mee to have gotten aboord with my goods . Wherefore makingall the haste that I could in d ispatch ing my selfe away , I

departed from Cambaya the e ighteenth of January, 1 6 1 1 [1 6 1 2 ]and came unto the sh ips the s ix and twentieth of the sa id

moneth , where I was most k ind ly received by Sir HenryMiddleton .

From th i s place we departed the e leventh of February, 1 6 1 1

[1 6 1 2 ] and arrived at Dabul [Dabhol] the s ixteenth of the same

in wh ich place we tooke a Portugal] sh ip and frigat , out of

wh ich we tooke some quantitie of goods . And from thence

we departed the fift of March , 1 6 1 1 [1 6 1 2] for the R ed Sea ,

with an intent to revenge us of the wrongs ofiered us, both by

Turkes and Mogols at wh ich place wee arrived the th ird of

April] , 1 6 1 2 . Here we found three Engl ish sh ips the i r

Genera l] was Captaine John Saris .3 Having d i spatched our

businesse in the Red Sea , wee set sayle from thence the

1 Amistake forAl exander.2 Thi s refers to the discovery of a safe anchorage in Swally Hole

for which see Jourdain’

s narrative, pp. xxxv i , 1 7 7 , &c.

3 See The Voyage of John Saris , Hakluyt Society, 1900 .



A briefe discourse of the strength, wealth, and government with

some customes of the GreatMogol, which I have both scene and

gathered by his chiefe officers and over-seers of all his estate.

First,I begin with h is princes, dukes , marque sses , earles,

V i scounts , baron s , knights , e squ ires , gentlemen , and yeomen .

As Christ ian princes use the ir degrees by t itles , so they have

the ir degrees and t itles by the ir number of horse s unlesse

it bee those that the King most favoureth , whom he honoureth

with the t itle of Chan and Immirza [Mirza] . None have thet itle of Sultan but his sonnes . Chan in the Persian language

i s as much as a duke . Imm irza i s the t itle for the Kings

brothers ch ildren . They that be of the fame of twelve thousand

horsemen be long to the King, and his mother,1 and e ldest

sonne ,2 and one more , who i s of the bloud royal] of Uzbeck,

named Chan Azam .

3 Dukes be nine thousand fame , mar

quesses fiv e thousand fame , earles three thousand , V i scounts

two thousand , barons a thousand ,knight s foure hundred ,

esqu i res an hundred , gentlemen fifty, yeomen from twentie

downwards .‘1 All they that have these numbers of horsemen

are called mansibdars,5or men of l ivings or lordsh ips . Of

these there be three thousand , that i s to say ; foure be of

twe lve thousand horse a-piece , and they be the King, his

mother, Sul tan Pervi s , Prince , and Chan Azam . Of n ine

thousand horsemen there bee three , that i s to say, Sultan

Chorem ,

6 the Kings th ird sonne , Chanchanna , and Ke l ich Chan

[Ki lij Khan] . Of fiv e thousand there bee e ighteene , named

Hasufl Chan , Chan Ichan, Abdula Chan , Raga Manging,

R ay Durga , Raga Sursing, Ramada s R echuv a, Raga Ba ssu ,

Em irel Umera , Mahabet Chan ,Chan Dowran , Sedris Chan ,

1 Maryam-zamani. She was a daughter ofRaja BihariMa] .2 As shown below, Hawkins means Sultan Parwiz , who was Jahangir

’s

second son . Khusrau, the eldest, was at this time a prisoner, owing to hisrebell ion .

2 Aziz Koka , KhanAzam, a foster-brother ofAkbar, in whose reign hehad been a conspicuous figure. The allegation about his descent froma chi ef of the Uzbeg Tartars is not borne out by other evidence .

‘1 Thi s comparison with Engli sh degrees is rather fanciful , and the

enumeration of the various grades is incomplete.

5 Mansab, an office or rank am, the holder thereof.1 Khurram, afterwards the Emperor Shah Jahan.

WILLIAM HAWKINS, 1 6 0 8

—1 3 9 9

Hogio BeyMirza ,Mirza Caz i , Ettebar Chan , Abulfet Dekenny,

Je lam Cully Chan , She ik Fer id . Of three thousand there bee

two and twentie, to wit , ChanAlem ,Im irza E reg, Imirza Darab ,

Hogio Jahan , Hogio Abda l Hassan ,Mirza Gayshey , Mirza

Shemchad in ,Mirza Chadul la , Seffer Chan ,

Kazmy Chan ,

Mirza Ch in Ke l ich , Sa if Chan , Lalla Bersingd ia ,Mirza Zeady,

Mirza Ally E cberchuly, Terbiat Chan ,Mirza Laschary,

MirzaCharucogly, Mirza Rustem ,

Ally Merdon Badur, Tasbey Chan ,

Abulbey.

1 The re st bee from two thousand downward s t il l

you come to twentie horses , two thou sand n ine hundred and

fiftie . Of horsemen that rece ive paymonethly,from sixe horse

to one , there be fiv e thousand ; these bee ca lled hadd ies

[ahadi ] . Of such officers and men as belong to the court and

campe there bee thirtic sixe thousand, to say, porters , gunners ,watermen , lackeyes, horse-keepers, elephant-keepers , sma l l

Shot , frasses [farrash] or tent men , cookes , l ight bearers,gard iners, keepers of all kind of beasts . Ai l these be payd

monethly out of the Kings treasurie whose wages be from

ten to three rupias . All h is captaines are to mainta ine at a

seven-n ights warn ing from twelve thousand to twentie horse ,all horsemen three lecke s [lakhs] , wh ich i s three hundred

thousand horsemen , which of the incomes of their lordships

a l lowed them they must maintayne .

The Kings yeerely income of his crowne land i s fiftie crou

[kror] of rup ias .2 Every crou i s an hundred leckes , and every

leck i s an hundred thousand rupiae .

1 Apart from misprints, these two lists appear to be both incompleteand incorrect. The persons named are probably (i) Asaf Khan (JafarBeg), Khan Jahan Lodi , Abdullah Khan , Raja Man Singh of Jaipur,Ray Darga , Raja Sarsing of Jodhpur, Ram Das Kachhwaha , RajaBaso, the Amirulumara (Sharif Khan ) , Mahabat Khan , Khan Dauran ,

Idris Khan Khwaja Beg Mirza Safawi, Mirza Kasim Itibar

Khan , Abfilfath Dekhani , Jahap gir Kul i Khan Shaikh FaridBukhari (ii ) KhanAlam, Mirza Iraj (Shahnawaz Khan), Mirza Darab,Khwaja Jahan , Khwaja Abfil Hasan , Mirza Ghiyas Beg, Mirza Shamsuddin , Mirza Sadullah , Zafar Khan , Kazmi Khan Mirza Chin Kil ij ,Saif Khan Barha ,

Lala Bir Singh Deo of Orchha , Mirza zahid Mir zaAl i Akbar Kuli , Tarbiyat Khan , Mirza Lashkari , Mirza Shahr ukhOglu Mirza Rustam, Al i Mardan Khan Bahadur, Tash Beg Khan,

Abfil bi Uzbeg.

2 At 28 . 3d. the rupee, this would equal 56 } mill ions of pounds sterling.

Edward Thomas, in his Revenue Resources of theMaghal Empire (p .

H 2


The compasse of h is countrey i s two yeares travel ] with

carravan , to say, from Candahar to Agra ,from Soughtare

1 in

Bengala to Agra , from Cabu l to Agra , from Decan to Agra ,

from Surat to Agra ,from Tatta in Sindc to Agra . Agra i s in

a manner inthe heart of all his kingdomes .

His empire i s d ivided into fiv e great kingdom es . The first

named Pengab [Panjab] , whereof Lahor i s the chiefe seate ; thesecond i s Benga la , the chiefe seate Sonargham [Sonargaon]the th ird i s Ma lva [Malwa] , the ch iefe seate i s Ugam

[Ujja in] the fourth i s Decan , the chiefe seate Bramport

[Burhanpur] the fifth i s Guzerat , the chiefe seat i s Amadav ar

[Ahmadabad] . The chiefe c itie or seate royal] of the Kings

of Ind ia i s cal led Del ly, where hee i s e stabl ished king, and there

al l the rites touch ing his coronation are performed .

There are sixe e spec ial ] ca stles , to say, Agra , Guallier

[Gwal ior] , Nerver, Ratamboore , Hassier , R oughtaz .

2 In every

one of these castles he hath his treasure kept .In all his empire there are three arch-enem ies o r rebels ,

wh ich with all his forces cannot be cal led in , to say, AmberryChapu 3 in Decan in Guzerat the sonne of Muzafer that was

king (his name i s Bahador) of Malva , Raga Rahana .

5

His sonnes be fiv e , to say, Sultan Coussero , Sultan Pervis ,Sultan Chorem , Sultan Shar iar, and Sultan Bath .

6 Hee hath

accepts this statement as authoritative, with the reservation thatHawkins must have meant it to include receipts from all sources, notmerely from land revenue. It should be noted, howev er, that Salbank,writing from Agra in 1 6 17 , declared that Hawkins had exaggerated theamount (Letters Received, v ol . v i , p . The impression likely to be

made on the Engli shmen of that day by such figures may be gauged

by the fact that the public revenue in England was then only aboutper annum.

1 Possibly meant for Kiyara Sundar, near Sonargaon . Roe mentionsthis place as the easternmost limit of the empire.

2 The last four are Narwar (now in Gwalior State) , Ranthambhor

(in Jaipur) ,Asir (near Burhanpur) , and Rohtas (in the Shahabad district;Bihar).

2 Malik Ambar, for whom see p . 1 30 . Chapu is possibly a misreading of some form of Habashi (Abyssin ian) .

4 Bahadur, son ofMuzaffar Shah III , the lastking ofGujarat.5 The Raja Rana ofUdaipur (Amar Singh).2 Jahangir

’ s sons were Khusrau , Parwiz , Khurram , Shahryar , andJahandar. Terry call s the last named Takht, and .possibly Bath is


1 0 2 EARLY TRAVELS IN IND IA

0 ] s i lver, as followeth .

Inprim is , of rupias Ecbcry, thirtecne crou (every crou i s an

hundred leckes and every leck an hundred thousand rupia s) , i s

one thousand three hundred lecke s . Of another sort of coine

of Sel im Sha ,

1 th i s king, of an hundred toles a piece, there are

fiftie thousand piece s . Of fiftie toles a piece there i s one lecke .

Of thirtic toles a piece there are fort ic thousand pieces . Of

twentie to les a piece there are thirt ic thousand pieces . Of

ten toles a piece there are twentie thousand piece s . Of fiv e

toles a piece there are fiv e and twentie thousand pieces . Of

a certa ine money that i s cal led savoy, 2 wh ich i s a tole 31, of

these there are two leckes . Of jagar ies,3 whereof fiv e make

s ixe toles , there i s one lecke . More should have been coyned

of th i s stampe , but the contrary was commanded .

Here followeth of hi s j ewells of a ll sorts .

Imprim i s , of d iamante s 1 1 battman the se be rough , of all

sorts and s i zes , great and small , but no lesse then 2 caratts .

The battman 4 i s fifty fiv e pound wa ight , wh ich maketh eightie

two pounds 12 weight Engl ish .

5 Of ballace rubies l ittle and

great , good and bad , there are single two thousand pieces .

Of pearle of a ll sorts there are twelve battmans . Of rubies of

a ll sorts there are two battmans . Of emeraudes of all sorts ,fiv e battmans . Of eshime,

6 wh ich stone comm eth from

Catha ia [China] , one battman . Of stones of Emen ,

7 whi ch i s

a red stone , there are fiv e thousand pieces . Of all other sorts ,as coral] , topasse s, etc . , there i s an infin ite number .

1 Jahangir’

s birth-name was Salim, after Shaikh Salim, the hermit ofFatehpur Sikri, who had prophesied his birth.

2 Rupees called sawai , an excess of one fourth.

’

3 Jahangiri rupees , fiv e of which (as Uffiet confirms) were worth sixordinary rupees. Roe values them at 2s . 7d. each . This account of

Jahangir’

s coins should be compared with that given in the Tuzuh, v ol . 1,p . 10 .

"1 The batman, a Turki sh weight, is here used for the Indian maund

(cf. p . Finch employs the term in the same way (Letters Received,v ol. i , p.

5 For the total weight of the diamonds.Jade (Persian yashm).

7 Cornelian (yamani ) .

WILLIAM HAWKINS, 1 6 0 8—1 3 1 0 3

Herefolloweth of the j ewels wrought in gold.

Of swords of Alma ine [German] blades , with the h i lts andscabberds set with d ivers sorts of rich stones of the richest sort,there are two thousand and two hundred . Of two sorts of

pon iards there bee two thousand . Of sadd le drummes , wh ich

they use in the ir hawking , of these there are very rich one s

of gold set with stones , fiv e hundred . Of brooches for the i r

heads [i . e . the sarp esh] , Where into their feathers be put, thesebe very rich , and of them there are two thousand . Of saddle s

of gold and s ilver set with stone s there are one thousand .

Of teukes 1 there be fiv e and twentie th i s i s a great launce

covered with gold and the fluke set with stones , and these ,instead of the ir colours , are carryed when the King goeth to

the warres of these there are fiv e and twentie . Of kittasoles

[Port . qui tasol, a sunshade] of state , for to shaddow him , there

bee twentie . None in his empire dareth in any sort have any

of these carryed for h is shadow but himselfe of these , I say,

there are twentie . Of chaires of estate there bee fiv e , to say,

three of si lver and two of gold and of other sort s of chaire s

there bee an hundred of silver and go ld in all an hundred

and fiv e . Of rich gla sses there bee two hundred . Of vases for

wine very fa ire and rich , set with jewel s , there are an hundred .

Of drinking cuppes fiv e hundred , but fiftie very rich , that i s to

say, made of one piece of ballace ruby, and al so of emerods

[emera lds] , of eshim , of Turki sh stone [turquo ises] , and of

other sorts of stone s . Of cha ine s of pearle , and cha ines of a ll

sorts of prec i ou s stones , and ringes with jewel s of rich d iamants ,ballace rubie s , rubie s , and old emerods , there i s an infin ite

number, wh ich only the keeper thereof knoweth . Of all sorts

of plate , as d ishes , cups , ba son s, pots , beakers of silver wrought ,there are two thousand battmans . Of gold wrought , there

are one thousand battmans .

Herefolloweth of all sorts of beasts .

Of horse s there are twe lve thousand whereof there bee of

Persian horses foure thousand , of Turkie horses six thousand ,

1 Turkish log or togh, a flag or standard. Blochmann gives an illustra~

tion of one in his translation of the .~1 77n-l-Akbarl .


and of Kism ire [Kashmir] two thousand ; a ll are twe lvethousand . Of e lephants there be twe lve thousand , whereof

fiv e thousand bee teeth e lephants and seven thousand of shee

ones and yong ones wh ich are twelve thousand . Of camel s

there be two thousand . Of oxen for the cart and all other

services there bee tenne thousand . Of moyles [mul es] therebe one thousand . Of deere l ike buckes, for game and sport ,there be three thousand . Of ounces [see p . 1 7 ] for game there

be foure hundred . Of dogges for hunting, as grey-hounds and

other, there be foure hundred . Of l ion s tame there are an

hundred . Of buffalaes there be fiv e hundred . Of all sorts of

hawkes there bee foure thousand . Of pidgeons for sport of

flying there bee ten thousand . Of all sorts of s inging birds

there be foure thousand . Of armour of all sorts, at an houres

warn ing, in a readinesse to arme fiv e and twentie thousandmen .

His da ily expences for his owne person, that i s to say, for

feed ing of his cattel l of all sorts, and amongst them some few

e lephants roya l] , and all other expences particularly, as

apparel] , victua ls , and other petty expences for his house ,amount s to fiftie thousand rupia s a day. The expences da ily

for h is women by the day i s th irtie thousand rupia s .1

All th i s wr itten concern ing his treasure , expences, and

monethly pay i s in hi s court or castle ofAgra and every one

of the castles above nom in ated have the ir severa l] treasure,e spec ia lly Lahor, wh ich was not mentioned .

The custome of th i s Mogol] Emperour i s to take possessionof his noblemens treasure when they dye , and to bestow on

his [the ir] ch ildren What he pleaseth but common ly he

dea leth we ll with them , possessing them with the ir fathers

land, d ivid ing it amongst them ; and unto the e ldest sonnehe hath a very great respect, who in t ime rece iveth the ful l

1 Jourdain says (p. 1 64) The Kinge is at greate charge in expence

of hi s howse and for his beasts, as horses, camelle, dromedaries, coaches,and elaphannts. It was crediblie reported to Captaine Hawkins in mypresence by the Kings purveyour for his beasts, that every daie in theyeare he spent in meate for them ripeas, which is rialls of

eight. His wives, there slaves, and hi s concubines doe spend him an

infinite deale ofmoney, incredible to bee believed, and therefore I omittitt.

’



unlesse'

the ir excuse bee the better . And so i t i s with all things

e l se in that kind , that every man striveth to bring his quantitiein good l iking, a lthough hee spend of h is owne .

W hen hee rideth on progresse or hunting, the compasse of

his tents may bee as much as the compasse of London and

more and I may say that of all sorts of people that fol low

the campe there are two hundred thousand, for hee i s provided

as for a citie . Th i s king i s thought to be the greatest emperour

of the East for wea lth , land, and force of men , as a lso for

horses , elephants, came l s , and dromedaries . As for e lephants

of h is owne and of his nobles , there are fortic thousand , of

wh ich the one halfe are trayned elephants for the warre and

these e lephants of all beast s are the most understand ing .

I thought good here to set downe th i s one th ing, wh ich was

reported to me for a certa inty, although it seemed very strange .

An e lephant having journyed very hard , being on his travel ] ,was mi sused by his commander ; and one day finding the

fe llow asleepe by him , but out of his reach , having greene

cane s brought him to eate , spl it the end of one of them with

his teeth , and taking the other end of the cane with his smowt ,reached it toward the head of the fellow, who be ing fast asleepe

and his turbant fal len from hi s head (the use of Ind ia beingto wear the ir ha ire long l ike women ) he tooke hold with the

cane on his ha ire , wreath ing it there in and withall ha ling him

unto him until ] he brought him within the compasse of h is

snowt ; he then presently kil led him . Many other strange

th ings are done by e lephants .

He hath a l so infin ite numbers of dromedaries, wh ich are

very swift , to come with great speed to give a ssault to any

citie as th i s kings father did , so that the enem ies thought he

had beene in Agra when he was at Amadav ar, and he came

from Agra thi ther in n ine da ies upon these dromedaries with

twe lve thousand choyce men ,Chan-channa be ing then his

general] . The day being appointed for the batte l] , on a suddaine

newe s came of the Kings arrival] , wh ich strucke such a present

feare into the Guzerats that at that tim e they were over

throwne and -conquered .

1 Th i s king hath d im in i shed h is

ch iefe captaines , wh ich were Rasbootes [Rajputs] or Gentiles,1 This was in the autumn of 157 3 .

W ILLIAM HAWKINS , 1 6 0 8—1 3 1 0 7

and natural] Ind ians, and hath preferred the Mahumetans

(weak spirited men , void of resolution ) in such sort that

what th i s mans father, cal led Ecber Padasha , got of the

Decans, th i s king, Sel im Sha , beginneth to loose . He hath

a few good captaines yet rema ining, whom his father h igh ly

esteemed , a lthough they be out of favour with him , because

that upon his rebell ion aga in st his father they wou ld not

a ss ist him , considering his intent was naught , for he meant to

have shortned his fathers daies and before h is time to have

come to the crowne . And to that purpose be ing in Attabasc ,

1

the rega l] seate of a kingdome called Porub, hee arose with

e ighty thousand horse , intending to take Agra and to have

possession of the treasury, his father be ing then at the warres

of Decan who, understanding of his sonnes pretence , left his

conquering there and made hast to come home to save his

owne . Before the Kings departure to the warres, hee gave

order to his sonne to goe with h is forces upon Arauna [seep . that great rebel] in Malva ; who eomm ing to parle

with th is rebe l] , he told the Prince that there was noth ing to

bee gotten by h im but blowes, and it were better for him , now

h is father was atDecan, to goe upon Agra and possesse himselfe

of his fathers treasure and make himselfe king, for there was

no man able to resist h im . The Prince followed his counse l]

and would have prosecuted it but h is fathers hast before (upon

notice given ) prevented his purpose ; at whose arriva l] at

Agra hee presently sent unto his sonne , that he make choyce

e ither to come and fa l l at his feete and be at his mercy to doe

with h im as he pleased , or to fit himselfe for the battell and

fight it out . He , we l l considering the valour of h is father,thought it meetest to subm it himselfe and stand to his fathers

mercy ; who , after affronts shewed him and imprisonment ,wa s soone re lea sed and pardoned by reason of many friends ,h is mother, s isters , and others .2

Th i s Sel im Pada sha be ing in his rebel l ion , h is father dis

possessed him and procla imed be ire apparant his e lde st sonne

1 Ilahabas, the old name for Allahabad . Porub (Hind. Purb, the

cast was the country east and north of the Ganges, including Oudhand part of Bihar.

2 This account of Salim’

s rebellion contains several inaccuracies.


Cossero ,

1 be ing e ldest sonne to Selimsha for h is owne sonnes

[Mue and Dan iyal] , younger brothers to Sel im ,were all

dead in Decan and Guzerat . Yet shortly after h is father dyed,who in h is death-bed had mercy on Sel im ,

possessing him

againe . But Cossero, who was procla imed beire apparant,

stomached his father, and rose with great troopes, yet was

not able to indure after the losse of many thousand men on

both s ides , but was taken and rema ineth st il l in prison in the

Kings pallace , yet blinde , as all men report, and was so

com maunded to be blinded by his father .2 So since that

time , being now eight yeares after, he had comm anded to

put all his sonnes confederate s to death , with sundry kindsof death , some to bee hanged, some spitted, some to have

the ir heads chopped off, and some to bee torne by elephants .

Since wh ich t ime hee hath raigned in qu iet , but i l l beloved of

the greater part of his subjects, who stand greatly in feareof h im . His custome i s every yeare to be out two moneths on

hunt ing, as i s before specified . W hen he meaneth to begin his

journey, if eomm ing forth of hi s pallace hee get up on a horse,it i s a signe that he goeth for thewarres but if he get up upon

an e lephant or pa lankine , it wil l bee but an hunting voyage .

My selfe , in the time that I was one of his courtiers, have

seene many crue l] deed s done by him . Five t ime s a weeke hecommaundeth his brave e lephants to fight before him and

in the t ime of the ir fighting, e ither eomm ing or going out,

many times men are ki ll ed or dangerously hurt by the see lephants . But if any be grievously hurt wh ich m ight very

we l l escape, yet nev erthelesse that man i s cast into the river,himselfe commaunding it, saying d ispatch him ,

for as longas he l iveth he will doe noth ing e lse but curse me, and therefore

it i s better that he dye presently . I have seene many in th i s

kind . Againe , hee de l ighteth to -see men executed himselfe

and torne in peeces with e lephants . He put to death in myt ime his secretary, onely upon suspic ion that Chan-channashould write unto the Decan king who , be ing sent for and

exam ined about th i s matter den ied it whereupon the King,

1 Khusrau. The statement that Akbar recogni zed him as his heiris incorrect.

2 See Finch’s account.



return ing one fourth part of h is l iving that he had before , to

ma inta ine him in h is trav ell . He being departed and fourteene

moneth s on h is travel ] , was not yet come home ; but newe s

came of him that the King of Persia had the l ike d i sh and for

p itties sake hath sent it him ; who at mydeparture was on h is

way homeward .

Likewise in my time it happened that a Pattan , a man of

good stature , came to one of the Kings sonnes , named Sultan

Pervis , to intreat him to bestow somewhat on him ,by pet i

t ion de l ivered to one of the Princes ch iefe men ; at the

del ivery whereof the Prince caused him to come neere

and demand ing of him whether hee woul d serve him , he

answered no,for he thought that the Prince would not grant

h im so much as he wou ld a ske . The Prince , see ing h im to be a

pretty fe l low and meanely apparel led , sm iled , demand ing what

would content him . Hee told him pla inly that hee wou ld

ne ither serve his father nor him under a thousand rupias a day,

wh ich i s 1 00 pound sterl ing . The Prince asked what was

in h im that he demanded so much . He replyed make trya l l

of me with all sorts of weapons , e ither on horsebacke or

on foote and for my sufficient command in the warres , if

I do not performe as much as I speake , let mee dye for it .

The houre being come for the Prince to go to hi s father, he

gave over his talk , command ing theman to be forth eomm ing .

At n ight the Kings custome being to drinke , the Prince,perce iving h is father to be merry, told him of thi s man . So

the King commaunded him to be brought before him . Now

wh ile he was sent for , a wilde lyon was brought in , a very

great one , strongly cha ined , and led by a dozen men and

keepers ; and wh il e the King was V iewing th i s lyon , the

Pattan came in , at whose sight the Prince presently re

membred his father . The King demand ing of th i s Pattan

whence he was, and of what parentage , and what valour was

in him that he should demand so much wages, hi s answer was

that the King should make trya] of him . That I wil l , sa ith

the King goe wrastle and buffet with th i s lyon . The Pattans

answere was that thi s was a wil d beast, and to goe barely

upon him without weapon would be no trial] of his man

hood . The King, not regard ing his speech , commanded him

WILLIAM HAWKINS , 1 6 0 8—1 3 1 1 1

to buckle with the l ion who did so , wrastl ing and buffetingwith the lyon a pretty wh ile and then the lyon , being loo se

from his keepers , but not from h is cha ines, got the poore man

with in his clawes and tore h is body in many parts, and with

his pawes tore the one ha lfe of his face so that th i s va l iant

man was killed by th i s wilde beast .1 The King, not yet con

tented , but desirous to see more sport, sent for ten men that

were of his horse-men in pay, be ing that n ight on the watch

for it i s the custome of all those that rece ive pay or l iving from

the King to watch once a weeke , none excepted , i f they be wel l

and in the citie . These men , one after another, were to buffet

with the lyon who were all grievously wounded , and it cost

three of them the ir l ives . The King continued three moneths

in th i s va ine when he was in his humors, for whose pleasure sake

manymen lo st the ir l ives and many were grievously wounded .

So that ever after, until] my eomm ing away, some fifteene

young lyons were made tame and played one with another

before the King, frisking betweene men s legs and no man

hurt in a long t ime .

Likewise he cannot abide that any man should have any

precious stone of value , for i t i s death if he know it not

at that present t ime , and that he hath the refusa l] thereof.

His jeweller, a Bann ian , named Herranand [Hira Nand] ,had bought a d iamond of three mettegals,

2 wh ich cost

one hundred thousand rupia s ; wh ich was not so close ly

done but newes came to the King . Herranand l ikewisewas befriended , bee ing presently acqua inted therewith who ,

before the King sent for him , came unto him and cha llenged

the King that he had often prom ised h im that he would

come to h is house . The King answered that it was true .

Herranand therefore replyed that now was the t ime , for

that he had a fa ire present to be stow upon His Majestie,for that he had bought a stone of such a weight . The

King sm i led and sa id thy lucke was good to prevent

me . So preparation was made , and to the Bannians househe went . By th i s means the King hath ingrossed all fa ire

stones , that no man can buy from fiv e carats upwards with

1 This anecdote is also told by Jourdain (p.

2 Arabic mlthkal, a weight of about 73 grains.


out h is leavc 1 for he hath the refusal ] of a ll , and giveth not

by a third part so much as the i r value . There was a d iamant

cutter ofmy acqua intance that was sent for to cut a d iamant

o f three mettegals and a halfe, who demanded a sma l l foule

d iamant to make powder, wherewith to cut the other d ia

mant . They brought him a chest , as he sa id , of three spanncslong and a spanne and ha lf broad , and a spanne and halfedeepe , ful l of d iamants of all s izes and sorts yet could he find

never any one for his purpose, but one of five rotties, wh ich

was not very foule neither .

He i s exceed ing rich in d iamants and all other precious

stones , and usual ly weareth every day a fa ire d iamant of

great price and that wh ich he weareth th i s day,til l his time

be come about to weare it againe he weareth not the same

that i s to say, all his fa ire jewel s are d ivided into a certa ine

quantitie or proportion to weare every day. He al so wear

eth a cha ine of pearle , very fa ire and great, and another

cha ine of emera lds and ballace rubie s . Hee hath another

jewel] that commeth round about his turbant, ful l of fa ire

d iamants and rubies . It i s not much to bee wondered that

he i s so rich in jewe l s and in gold and s ilver, when he hath

heaped together the treasure and jewel s of so many kings ashis forefathers have conquered , who l ikewise were a longtime in gathering them together, and all came to his hand s .

Againe , al l the money and jewel s wh ich his nobles heape to

gether, when they die come all unto him , who giveth what

he l isteth to the noblemens wives and ch i ldren and th i s i s

done to al l them that rece ive pay or l iving from the King .

India i s rich in si lver, for all nat ions bring coyne and carry

away commodit ies for the same ; and th i s coyne i s buried

in Ind ia and goeth not out ; so it i s thought that once in

twentie yeeres it commeth into the Kings power . All the lands

in his monarch ie are at his d i sposing, who giveth and takethat his pleasure .

2 If I have lands at Lahor, being sent unto

1 Jourdain (p. 1 64) says the same, but adds that dealings took placesecretly.

2 Those lands which are let pay to the king two thirds of the profit ;and of those which he giveth in fee, one third remaineth to the King.

In all the world is not more fertile land then in some great parts of hi sdominions . ’ (Marginal note. )


1 1 4, EARLY TRAVELS IN IND IA

a ll h is dominions without great forces , for they are all become

rebel s .There i s one great Ragane [see p . 1 00 ] betwixt Agra and

Amadav ar , who commandeth as much land as a good kingdome , and al l the forces the Mogol hath cannot bring h im in ,

for his forces are upon the mountaines . He i s twentie thousandstrong in horse , and fiftie thousand strong in foote . And many

of these rebel s are in all his dom in ions but th i s i s one of the

greatest . There are many ri sen at Candahar, Cabul , Moldun

[Mu ltan] , and Sinde , and in the kingdome of Boloch [Balkh]Bengala l ikewise , Decan , and Guzerat are ful l , so that a man

can travel] no way for out-lawes . The ir government i s insuch a barbarous kind , and cruel] exacting upon the clownes

,

wh ich causeth them to be so headstrong . The fau lt i s in the

chiefe , for a man cannot continue halfe a yeere in his l ivingbut i t i s taken from him and given unto another or e l se theKing taketh it for himselfe (if it be rich ground and l ikely to

yeeld much ) , making exchange for a worse place or as he i s

befriended of the Vizir . By th i s meanes he racketh the pooreto get from them what he can , who stil l th inketh every houreto be put out of his place . But there are many who continuea long t ime in one place , and if they rema ine but sixe yeeres

the ir wealth wh ich they ga ine i s infin ite , i f it be a th ing of

any sort . The custome i s , they are a l lowed so much l iving tomaintaine that port wh ich the King hath given them that

i s to say, they are a l lowed twentie rupias of ev erie horseby the moneth , and two rupia s by the moneth for every horsefame , for the maintenance of the ir table . As thus a cap

ta ine that hath fiv e thousand horse to maintaine in the warres

hath l ikewise of fame other fiv e thousand , wh ich he i s not tomaintaine in the warres, but onely for his table , al lowed upon

every horse by the moneth two rupias, and the other fiv ethousand ,

twenty rupias by the moneth and th i s i s the paywh ich the greater part of them are a llowed .

1

Now here I meane to speake a l ittle of h is manners and cus

tomes in the court . First , in the morning about the breake of

day he i s at his beades, with his face turned to the west-ward .

T he manner of his praying, when he i s in Agra , i s in a private

1 Roe (Embassy, p. 1 10 ) gives the rate as £25 per annum per horse.

WILLIAM HAWKINS,1 6 0 8—1 3 1 1 5

fa ire roome , upon a good ly jet stone ,1 having onely a Persian

lamb-skinne under him ; having a lso some e ight cha ines of

beads , every one of them contain ing foure hundred . The

beads are of rich pearle , ballace rubye s , d iamonds , rubyes ,emeralds , l ignum a loes , eshem , and cora l] . At the upper end of

th i s jet stone the picture s of Our Lady and Christ are placed ,

graven in stone ; so he turneth over his beads , and sa ith

three thousand two hundred words , according to the number

of his beads , and then h is prayer i s ended . After he hath

done , he sheweth himselfe to the people , rece iving the ir

sa lames 2 or good morrowes ; unto whom multitudes resort

every morn ing for th i s purpose . Th i s done , hee sleepeth two

houres more , and then dineth and passeth his time with his

women , and at noone hee sheweth h im selfe to the people aga ine ,

s itt ing til l three of the clocke ,viewing and see ing his past imes

and sport s made by men , and fighting of many sorts of beasts,

every day sundry kinds of pastimes . Then at three of the

clocke , a ll the nobles in genera l] (that be in Agra and are we ll )resort unto the court , the King comm ingforth in open aud ience ,

s itting in his seat-roya l] , and every man standing in his degreebefore him , his ch iefest sort of the noble s standing with in a

red rayle, and the rest without . They are all placed by h is

L ieutenant-Genera l] . Th i s red rayle i s three steppes h igherthen the place where the rest stand ; and with in th i s red

rayle I was placed , amongst the ch iefest of a ll . The rest areplaced by officers, and they likewise be with in another very

spacious place rayled and without that rayle stand all sorts

of horsemen and soul d iers that belong unto his captaines,

and al l other commers . At the se rayle s there are many doores

kept by many porters , who have wh ite rods to keepe men in

order . In the m iddest of the place , right before the King,

standeth one of his sher iffes, together wi th h is master hangman , who i s accompan ied with forty hangmen wearing on

the ir heads a certa ine qu i lted cap , d ifferent from a ll others,

with an hatchet on the ir shoulders and others with all sorts

of wh ips be ing there , readie to doe what the King commandeth .

1 The famous black (slate) throne stil l to be seen atAgra on the terraceof the fort. An account of it is giv en in the T itanic, v ol . i , p . 1 7 7 .

2 Salutations (Arabic saldm, peace


The King heareth all causes in th i s place , and stayeth some

two honres every day (these Kings of India sit da ily in justice every day, and on the Tuesdayes doe the i r execution s ) .Then he departeth towards his private place of prayer . His

prayer beeing ended , foure or fiv e sorts of very wel l dressed

and roa sted meats are brought him , of wh ich , as hee pleaseth ,

he eateth a bit to stay h is stomacke ,drinking once of his

strong drinke . Then hee commeth forth into a private roome ,

where none can come but such a s himselfe nom inateth (for

two yeeres together I was one of his attendants here ) . In

th i s p lace he drinketh other fiv e cupful s , wh ich i s the

port ion that the physician s a lot h im . Th i s done , he

eateth opium , and then he ariseth ; and be ing in the

he ight of his drinke he layeth him downe to sleepe , everyman departing to his owne home . And after he hath

slept two houres, they awake him'

and bring his supper

to him ; at wh ich t ime he i s not able to feed himselfe ,

but i t i s thrust into his mouth by others ; and th i s i s

about one of the clocke , and then he sleepeth the rest of

the n ight .

Now in the space of these fiv e cups he doth many idle

th ings ; and whatsoever he doth , e ither without or with in ,

drunken or sober, he hath writers who by turnes set downe

everyth ing in writing wh ich he doth , so that there i s

noth ing passeth in his l ifet ime wh ich i s not noted , no ,

not so much as h is go ing to the necessary, and how often

he l ieth with his women , and with whom ; and all th i s i s

done unto th i s end,that when he d ieth these writ ings of a ]

his act ion s and speeches wh ich are worthy to be set downem ight be recorded in the chron icles . At my being with him

he made his brothers ch ildren Christians the doing whereof

was not for any zea le he had to Christianitie , as the Fathersand all Christ ian s thought , but upon the prophecie of certa in

learned Genti les, who told him that the sonnes of his body

should be d i sinherited and the ch il dren of his brother should

ra igne and therefore he did it to make these ch ildren hateful l to all Moores, as Chr i stians are od ious in the ir s ight , and

that they beeing once Christ ians, when any such matter should

happen , they should find no subjects . But God i s omn ipotent



spread with silke and go ld carpets and hangings in the princi

pa l] places, rich as rich ve lvet imbroydered with go ld ,pearle ,

and precious stones can make it . Within it fiv e cha in s

of estate are placed,most rich to behold,

where at his pleasurethe King s itteth . There are l ikewise private roomes made

for his Queenes, most rich , where they sit and see a ll , but

a re not seene . So round about th i s tent the compasse of a ll

may bee some fiv e acres of ground . Every principa l ] nobleman maketh his roome and decketh it l ikewise every man ,

accord ing to his abil ity, striveth who may adorne his roome

riche st . The King, where he doth affect, commeth to h is

n oble-men s rooms, and i s most sumptuou sly feasted there ,and at h is departure i s presented with the rarest jewel s and

toye s that they can find ; but because he wil l not rece iveany th ing at that t ime as a present, he commandeth his

Treasurer to pay what his praysers valew them to bee worth

wh ich are v alewed at halfe the price . Every o ne and all of

h is nobles provide toyes and rare th ings to give him at th i s

feast ; so commonly at th i s feast every man his estate i s

augmented . Two daies of th i s fea st the better sort of the

women come to take the pleasure thereof ; and th i s fea st

beginneth at the beginn ing of the moone of March . The other

feast 1 i s some foure moneths a fter, wh ich i s ca lled the feast

of his birth-day. Th i s day every man striveth who may be

the riche st in appare l] and jewel s . After many sports and

pastimes performed in his pa lace , he goeth to h is mothers hou se

with a ll the better sort of h is nobles , where every man .pre

senteth a jewe l] unto h is mother, according to his e state .

After the bancket i s ended , the King goeth into a very fa ire

roome , where a ballance of beaten gold i s hanged, with one

sca le emptie for h im to sit in , the other sca le being fil led with

d ivers th ings , that i s to say, s ilver, gold , d ivers sorts of

gra ins a l it tle , and so of every kind of mettall a l ittle ,and with all sorts of precious stones some .

~ In fine , he

we igheth h imselfe with these th ings , wh ich the next dayare given to the poore , and all may be va lued to be worth

1 Both festivals are fully described in Roe’s journal (see the Embassy,pp . 252, Jahangir kept both lunar and solar birthdays, the latterat the beginning of September.

WILLIAM HAWKINS , 1 6 08—1 3 1 1 9

ten thousand pounds . Th is day, before he goeth unto his

mothers house , every man bringeth him his present, wh ich

i s thought to be ten times more worth then that wh ich he

giveth to the poore . Th i s done, every man departeth untohis home .

Hi s custome i s that when you petition him for any th ing,

you must not come empty handed , but give him some toy or

other, whether you write or no . By the gift you give himhe knoweth that you would demand some th ing of him ;

so after enqu iry i s made ,if he seeth it conven ient , he

granteth it .The custome of the Ind ians i s to burne thei r dead, as you

have read in other authors , and at the ir burn ing many of

the ir wives will burnc with them ,because they will bee regis

tred in their bookes for famous and most modest and lovingwive s, who , leaving all worldly affa ires, content themselvesto l ive no longer then their husbands . I have seene many

proper women brought before the King, whom (by his com

mandment ) none may burne without his leave and sight of

them I meane those of Agra . When any of these commeth ,

hee doth perswade them with many prom i ses of gifts and

l iving if they will l ive , but in my time no perswasion cou ld

prev a ile , but burne they would . The King, seeing that all

wou ld not serve , giveth his leave for her to be carried to the

fire , where she burneth herselfe al ive with her dead hus

band .

Likewise his customs i s , when any great noble-man hath

been absent from h im two or three yeares, if they come in favour

and have performed wel l , hee rece iveth them in manner and

forme following . First , the noble-man stayeth at the gate

of the pallace t il l the Vizir and Lieutenant-Genera l] and

Kn ight Martial] come to accompany him unto the King .

Then he i s brought to the gate of the outermost rayles,whereof I have spoken before, where hee standeth in the

V iew of the King,in the m iddest betweene these two nobles .

Then he toucheth the ground with his hand and al so with

his head ,very grave ly, and doth thus three t imes . Th i s

done , he kneeleth downe touching the ground with his forehead ; which be ing once done , he i s carried forward towards


the lu ng, and in the m idway he i s made to do e th i s reverence

aga ine . Then he commeth to the doore of the red rayles , do ingthe l ike reverence the th ird time and having thus done , he

commeth with in the red rayle s and doth it once more upon the

carpets . Then the King commandeth him to come up the

sta ire s or ladder of seav en steppes that he may embrace him ;

where the King most lovingly embraccth him before all the

people , whereby they shal l take notice that he i s in the Kings

favour . The King having done th is, he then comm eth downe ,and i s placed by the Lieutenant-General] according to h is

degree . Now i f he come in d isgrace, through exclamations

made aga inst him , he hath none of these honours from the

King, but i s placed in his place t il l he come to his trya l l .

Th i s King i s very much adored of the heathen comm inalty,

in somuch that they will spread the ir bodies all upon the

ground, rubbing the earth with the ir faces on both s ides .

They use many other fopperies and superstit ion s, which

I om it, leav ing them for other travellers whi ch shal l come

from thence hereafter .

After I had written th i s , there came into my memory

another feast, solemnized at his fathers funeral] , wh ich i s

kept at his sepulchre , 1 where l ikewise himselfe , with all his

posterity, meane to be buried . Upon th i s day there i s great

store of victuals dressed , and much m oney given to the poore .

Th i s sepul chre may be counted one of the rarest monuments

of the world . It hath beene th i s foureteene yeares a bu ild ing,and it is thought it will not be fin ished these seav en yeares

more,2 in end ing gate s and wall s and other needful l th ingsfor the beaut ifying and setting of it forth . The least that

worke there da i ly are three thousand people ; but thusmuch I will say, that one of our worke-men will d ispatch

more then three"

of them . The sepulchre i s some thr ee

quarters of a m i le about , made square . It hath seav en

he ights bu i lt, every height narrower then the other, til l you

come to the top where his herse i s . At the outermost gate

1 Akbar’s famous tomb at Sikandra, about six m iles NW. of Agra(cf. Finch

’s account) .2 The mausoleum and south gate were fini shed A. H. 102 ] (A. D . 1 6 12

but the remaining gates probably took some years to complete .


1 608—1 1

WILLIAM FINCH

MUCH of what has been a lready sa id concern ing Capta inHawkin s and h is experience s will serve a lso as an introductionto the narrative of his colleague , Will iam Finch . Not that thelatter account i s in any way a repetit ion of the same story inother words on the contrary, it dea l s principa lly withexperiences in wh ich Hawkin s had no share , and it s ch ieffeature i s the topograph ica l information gleaned by the

writer e ither in his own journeyings or by d il igent inqu iryfrom others . Its interest in th i s respect it woul d be d ifficultto exaggerate . Purcha s says of it that it i s suppl ied in

substance with more accurate observations of men ,beasts,

plants , c ities , deserts, castles, bu ildings , regions , re l igions ,then a lmost any other ; as a lso of wa ies, wares , warres

’.

Based upon a careful ly kept journa l and giving a detaileddescription of a large extent of the country

,it i s a most

va luable contribut ion to our knowledge of the dom in ions ofthe Great Mogul in the early years of the seventeenth century .

It has,however, to a large extent been lost sight of in the ma ss

of Purcha s’ s unwieldy co llection , and much of the informationit conta ins i s known ch iefly at secondhand from the works oftwo slightly later authors , viz . Johannes de Laet , who , in hisD e Imp erl o Magni Mogolis ava iled h im self free ly of

the materia l s provided by Finch ,and Thoma s Herbert

, whocopied De Laet in the second ed it ion (1 6 3 8 ) of h is account ofh is own trave l s . The fact that Herbert had actua lly made

a voyage to India and Persia has perhaps assisted to g ive theimpression that h is descriptions of the former country werefrom his own observation ; but in real ity he saw scarcelyanyth ing of Ind ia outside the immed iate vicin ity of Surat , andthe bulk of his work i s a medley of information gathered fromprevious writers .Of Finch h im self, previou s to our finding him among the

merchants on board the Hector in the outward voyage , we

know only that he had been servant to Master Johnson in

Cheapside —a deta i l we owe to R obert Covert , the authorof A True and Almost I ncredible Report but of the rest of hisshort career we have a fa irly ful l account , ma inly from his own

pen . He landed with Hawkins at Surat in August 1 6 0 8 , andremained there in charge of a smal l stock of goods when the

WILLIAM FINCH,1 6 0 8- 1 1 1 23

Capta in h imself proceeded to Agra . Finch ’s experience s wh i leat the port are fu lly re lated in h is Journal , supplemented bya letter from him to Hawkin s in July 1 6 0 9 , printed at p . 23 of

v ol . i of Letters Received by the E ast India Company.

1 In

January 1 6 1 0 ,in obed ience to a summon s from Hawkins , he

left Surat for Agra , where he arrived early in April . Toward sthe close of the year he was d ispatched on a short exped it ionto Bayana for the purpose of buying a stock of indigo . Here ,accord ing to Jourdain (Journal, p . an incident happenedwh ich gave some offence at court . The Emperor’ s mother, orothers acting under her protection ,

carried on extens ive trad ingoperations , and at th i s t ime a vesse l belonging to her was be ingladen for a voyage to Mokha . A merchant had accord inglybeen sent to Bayana to buy ind igo ,

and he had nearly concludedh is barga in when Finch arrived . N0 Ind ian wou ld have daredto compete in such a case, but the Engl ishman did not scrupleto bid aga inst the Queen Mother

’ s agent and so‘had awa i e

the ind ico ’

, with the resu lt that the aggrieved lady compla inedto the Emperor, and Hawkins’s position at court sufferedaccord ingly .

Finch ’s return to Agra was qu ickly followed by his departurefor Lahore to make sa le on the Company’ s beha lf of the indigohe had purcha sed at Bayana . Travell ing by way of Delh i ,Ambala , and Sultanpur, he reached h is destination early inFebruary 1 6 1 1 . Lahore was at that t ime second on ly to Agrain importance (it will be remembered that Milton couples themtogether as the ch ief seats of the Great Mogul ) ; and our

author’s description of the palace , before it was a ltered byShah Jahan ,

i s of great interest . In th i s c ity Finch rema inedunti l at least August 1 8 of the same year, wh ich i s the lastdate given in his narrative . Its sudden breaking off suggest sthat at th i s po int he found that he had filled up the last blanksheet of his note-book, and was consequently obliged to makehis further jottings in a second book or on loose paper

,unfor

tunately lo st or destroyed at the time of h is death . The restof our text i s occupied with notes wh ich Finch had doubtlessinserted from time to time on the back pages of h is journa la common practice among the factors . Purcha s printed themin the order in wh ich he found them but in a ll probabil itythey were entered in the reverse order . Thu s the account ofroutes from Agra to place s lying to the eastwards (p . and

the descriptions of that city and of Sikandra ,were doubtless

written during Finch’ s stay in the capita l . Next he inserted

the deta il s obta ined from Nichola s Ufliet of the route fromAgra to Surat by way of Ajme r (p . These must have

1 The document printed at p . 28 of the same volume, without anyname attached, is undoubtedly by Finch .

EARLY TRAVELS IN IND IA

been communica ted when the two we re together at Lahorein 1 6 1 1 . Fina lly, wh i le at Lahore , he gathered the informationentered at p . 1 6 7 concerning the routes from that city to Kabuland to Srinagar .Hawkins had instructed Finch to return to Agra as soon as

he had di sposed of his goods but the latter had come to the

conclusion that the prospects of E ngl ish trade in Ind ia werehope less ; 1 and , learn ing that a caravan was about to set out

from Lahore for Aleppo , he resolved to take the opportun ityto go home by that route . Accord ingly he wrote to Hawkins ,acqua inting him with h is intention , and a sking e ither to bea llowed to go as the Company’ s servant , carrying with him

for sa le the ind igo in h is charge , or to be pa id his wages andre lea sed from the service . Hawkins conce ived the idea thatFinch m ight abscond with the ind igo , and so he d ispatchedsecretly a power of attorney to a Jesu it at Lahore , authorizingh im , in the event of Finch attempting to leave with the

caravan , to se ize h im and h is goods . Nicholas Ufflet was thensent to Lahore to take over the ind igo . The impl ied d istrustof h is honesty cut Finch to the qu ick, and when the secret ofthe power of attorney leaked out , the breach between him and

Hawkins was complete . Jourdain wrote to Finch , tell ing himthat an Engl ish fleet was on it s way to Ind ia , and urging himto come to Agra in order that they m ight journey down to

Surat In company but Finch replied that ‘he kuewe wel l theCompani ewoul d never sendmore sh ipps for Suratt . . exclaymc

inge very much on Capta ine Hawkin s and his disconfidence ,sayinge that he woul d not come to Agra because he wou ld not

see the face of h im ’

(Journal of John Jourdain, p .

The rest of the story i s conta ined in a letter wri tten to theEast Ind ia Company by Bartholomew Haggatt , the Engl ishconsul at Aleppo , i n August 1 6 1 3 .

2 Trave ll ing in companywith a Capta in Boys and the ir respect ive servants , Thoma sStyles and Laurence P/igot , Finch made h is way overland to

Bagdad . There the whole party were se ized with sickne ss ,due , it i s sa id , to the ir having drunk some infected water and

all but Style s d ied soon after the ir arrival . Finch ’ s goods wereat once confiscated by the Basha , who a l so imprisoned the

survivor in the hope of making him d isclose the h id ing placeof further articles but with the aid of the Venetian vice

1 Sir Henry Middleton notes (Purchas His Pilgrimes , part i , bk. ix,chap . xi) that in October 1 6 1 1 he receiv ed a letter written by Finchat Lahore , addressed to the commander of any of the Company

’

s shipsarriving ofi Surat, and annou ncing that he was going home overland ,

as there was no hope of the establishment of English trade in India .

Printed in Letters Rece ived, v ol . i (p . See also Kerr idge'

s

letter at p . 28 6 of the same v olume .



mings ; but they said that they knew certainely that they

were Engl ish , deploring the ir hard fortunes and affirm ing that

there were theev es in al l countries , nor would they imputethat fault to hone st merchants . Thi s speech somewhat

revived us . The day after, Mede Colee [Mahd i Kul i] , thecapta ine of that sh ip aforesa id , invited us to supper .The second of October wee imbarqued our goods and pro

visions , gave Shek Abdelreheime [see p . 7 2] a present , and

got d ispatch to depart ; the Customers denying leave , till

they had searched the sh ip whether she had d i scharged all

her goods, to sh ip any new but m eeting with frigats , they,supposing them Malabars ,1 durst not adventure their own

river . These frigats were Portuga l s, wh ich desired one to

come talke with them , and Ma ster Bucke rash ly doing it , they

detayned him , and after (I and Nichola s Ufflet be ing ashoare )Master Marlow and the rest beganne to flee . The cooksonwou ld have fought , whi ch he would not perm it but runn ingaground through ignorance of the channel] , they were takengo ing on the sandie iland by Portugall treacher ie , and the

fau lt of some of themse lve s , nineteene with Master Bucke .

But the ginne [i . e . ging or crew] put off the pinnaceand , notwithstand ing the Portugall bul lets, rowed her to

Surat . Foure escaped by swimm ing and got that n ight to

Surat , bes ide s Nicholas Uffiet and my selfe , neere twentie

m i les from the place . Yet had we res isted we wanted shot ,and in number and armour they verymuch exceeded us . The

fourth , the captaine of the frigats sent a revi l ing letter tothe Gov ernour of the towne , ca ll ing us Lutheran s and theev es ,and sa id we were Flemm ings and not Engl ish charging him

(on cont inuance of the ir friendsh ip) to send aboord the Cap

ta ine with the re st of u s ; wh ich Abdelreheime not on ly

den ied , but in the Mogols name commanded h im to render

the goods and men . The fifth , came a captaine of one of

the frigats , wh ich used peremptorie words and before the

Gov ernour stood upon it that the King of Spaine was lord of

those sea s, and that they had in comm ission from him to

take all that came in those parts without his passe .

1 Thepirates oftheMalabar Coast,WhoseWidespread depredationswerea trouble to commerce down to the middle of the eighteenth century.

WILLIAM FINCH ,1 6 0 8—1 1 1 27

The th irteenth , the Governour ca lled all the chiefe mer

chants of the towne upon their conscience to va lue our cloth

(before carryed to his house ) , wh ich they d id at a farre under

rate the Gov ernour affirm ing that hee must and would have

it, the Capta ine [Hawkin s] denying his consent . On the

s ixteenth , we were forced to accept , for some of our cloth

in the ir hands , prom i se of a l ittle more , and were perm itted

to carrie away the rest , causing us to leave fiftie pieces andfourteene Devonsh ire kersies for the King, with n ine and

twentie other kersies, and fifteene clothe s for Shek Ferred[Sha ikh Farid] , keeping al so the foure clothes wh ich wee re

served for presents for the King . We were otherwise mo lested

by a contention betwixt Shek Ferred and Mocrow Bowcan

(or Mocreb Can ) about the custom e—hou se , that wee couldnot get our goods from thence . Wee heard that the Portu

ga l s sold our goods for ha lfe that they cost . Our men weresent to Goa .

The fifteenth of December , came Mo . Bowcan with a

Jesuite , Padre Peniero . To th i s our captaine shewed kindnesse ,for hope of his men ; to the other he gave presents . Bothdealt treacherously in requitall the Jesuite (as it was reportedby Mo . Bowcan h imselfe ) offering a jewel l , wh ich he sa id wasworth two hundred thousand rial s , to betray us . Th i s daycame to us R . Carelesse , an Engl ishman , who had long l ivedamongst the Portugal s , from whom hee now fiedde for fear of

pun ishment forcarring necessaries to the Dutch atMuselpatan ;desiring to bee entertayned , wh ich we did with much circum

spection .

1

The seven and twentieth ,Mo . Bowcan desired great abate

ments upon our cloth , or e l se hee wou ld returne it , and (wil lwee n i l l wee ) abated two thousand seven hundred and fiftie

mamudies before hee would give u s l icence to fetch up the

re st of our goods to make sa les . My selfe was very il l ofthe blondy fluxe (whereof Ma ster Dorchester 2 dyed ) , of

wh ich that Engl ishman Carelesse (next under God ) recoveredme . I learned of him many matters , as namely of the great

1 Jourdain mentions this man and says that there was greate doubtof his honestie

John Dorchester, a merchant who had come out in the Hector.


spo lie done the last yeere1 to the Portugal s by the Hollanders ,

who lying before Malacca with s ixteene sh ips,inclosing the

towne w ith he lpe of other kings by sea and land , newes was

carryed to the Vice then before Achen , accompanied

w ith a ll the gal lants of Ind ia , having with him a very great

fleet of sh ips, gall ies and frigats, and foure thousand soul

d iers , being commanded by the King to take Achen , and there

to bu i ld a castle and appoint an Alphandira ,

3and thence to

goe and spoile Jor [Johor] and chast ise the' Moluccas for

giving the Hol landers traffique , being m inded to roote out the

Holland name in those part s, for wh ich purpose came two

thousand Castilians from the Manilias . Andrew Hurtado 4

then governed with in Malacca , and sent word of the ir present

d istresse ; upon wh ich the Vice-R oy weighed from Achen

(wh ich otherwise had beene spoyled ) ; whereof the Dutch

General] advert ised , got his men and artillery aboord , and

went forth to meete him where a fter a long and blondie fight ,with much losse on both s ides , the Dutch departed , enforced

to stop the leakes of the ir adm iral] , l ike ly otherwise to perish .

The Portugal s let sl ip th i s opportunitie , and fel l to merriments

and bragges of the ir victorie , not looking any more for the

Hollanders , who, having stopped the ir leake s at Jor, new

rigged and returned upon the Portuga ls , whom they found

d i sordered and feasting ashoare where they sunke and

burned the whole fleet , making a crue l] execution and had

not the Vice-Roy before sent sixe shippes on some other

service , they had beene all heere utterly extingui shed . After

th i s fel l such sicknesse in the city that most of them dyed ,

amongst wh ich the Vice-Roy was one, and shortly after the

Gov ernour of the Spaniards in the Moluccas so that the ir

strength was la id in the dust , and the Archbishoppe [Aleixo

de Menezes] made and yet remayn eth Vice-R oy.

Thi s last yeere the Malabarres vexed the Portugal s and tookeor sunke of them at t imes sixt ie sa ile 5 or more . Th i s yeere

1 Most of the events here related took place in 1 606 .

DomMartim Aflonso de Castro.

3 Alphandica is meant, i. e . a customhouse (Port. alfandega) .4 André Furtado de Mendonca.

5 '

l hese were, of course , small vessels (see note on p.



wh ich the Mogolls were fa ine to give them . Mo . Bowcan gave

me fa ire words , but the d ivel l was in his heart he m inded

noth ing lesse indeed then pa iment of h is debts , seeking a lso

to deduct some , others imbeselled , striking off by new accounts

sev enteene thousand of one and fort ic thousand . I thought

he meant to sh ift if hee could and pay noth ing, secretly

depart ing the towne , owing much to certa ine Ban ians , whomu st get it when they can . At last I got his cheet [orderHind . chi tthi ] for some , though with great abatements

esteeming halfe better secured then to endanger all .

The s ix and twent ieth of March , 1 6 09 , it was here reported

that Malacca was besieged with thirtic sh ips of Hol land in

succour ofwh ich the Vice-Roya ssembled all these h is northerne

Ind ian forces , appo inting Andrew Hurtado genera l] , be ing themore cranke by newes of a new Vice—Roy [see p. 1 3 1 ] withfourteene sa ile to winter at Mosambique . Meane wh ile a sh ip

of Cambaya , wh ich had been at Queda , came for Goga , wh ich

the Portugalls find ing without cartas made prize of. The

Customers at that time by new prices and reckonings soughtto make prize in great part of us . I was also in the beginningof April] taken with a burn ing fever, wh ich drew from me

much blood , be sides ten dayes fasting with a l ittle rice and

after my fever m iserable st itche s tormented me . The next

moneth I was visited againe with a burn ing fever .

The twelfth ofMay came newes that Mel ik Amber, King of

D ecan , had besieged the citie of Aurdanagar1(wh ich had been

the metropol itan of that kingdome , conquered by the Acabar)with two and twentie thousand horse , and that a fter d ivers

a ssaults the Mogol ls made shew to de l iver up the citie , upon

cond it ion that hee would withdraw his armie some foure or

fiv e cose [kos see p . 1 8] from thence , that they m ight passe

with more a ssurance with bagge and baggage ; wh ich beingdone , they sudden ly i ssued forth with all the ir forces upon the

unprovided cnem ic and made a great slaughter ; but feared

1 Finch no doubt wrote Amedanagar i . e. Ahmadnagar. MalikAmbar (an Abyssinian by birth) was not the King but the chiefministerand generalissimo. Akbar had subdued Ahmadnagar in the year 1 600 .

For an account of the capitulation mentioned in the text see the Tii zuk,v ol. i , p. 18 1 .

WILLIAM FINCH, 1 6 0 8

—1 1 1 3 1

hee would bee revenged on those part s wh ich were lesse able toresist . The Canchanna gathered great forces, and demanded of

Surat three hundred thousand m [ahmudis] towards the charge ,send ing al so for the Gov ernour , an expert Decan sould ier .The twentieth of June came newe s of the arrival ] of fiv e

sh ippes at Goa , and of the Vice-Royes death ;1 whereupon

Andrew Hurtado was chosen Vice-R oy, be ing the only stay

left of al l those parts, and repor ted a brave sould ier . He

presently gave order for sh ipp ing to be bu i lt, intend ing after

the breaking up of winter to make a bolt or shaft with the

Hollanders , wh ich were now reported to lye before Malaccawith e ighteene sh ips . The Portugall sh ips in the way had

m et with one of th i s towne and , find ing her without cartas ,brought her with them as prize for Goa , where on the barreshee was cast away ; whereupon the Gov ernour for Can

Channa , and the Customer forMO . Bowcan , se i sed on Tappidas

the owner, a Banian , for money owing to them whereby a lso

we lost his debt to us, for wh ich we may thanke the Portugal] .

The twentieth of Ju ly, Sha Sel im commanded Can Channaand Manisengo,

3 two great commanders of his, to invade all

the kingdomes from hence to the south , even to Cape Comori

for wh ich a huge arm ie was assembl ing . In resistance ofwhom,

three great kings were combined , the King of Decan [Ahmad

nagar] (whose chiefe citie i s Genefro the King of Visapor

[Bijapur] , and the King of Golcunda (whose chiefe citie i s

Braganadar who a l so gathered great forces , making headneare Bramport [Burhanpur] , upon the Mogolls frontiers ,expecting the breaking up of winter [i . e . the rainy season] ,both arm ies lying abroad in tents .

In August I rece ived flying newe s of an Engl i sh pinnasse

at Gandov e ,6 wh ich , departing thence , was againe forced

1 The Conde de Feyra , who was coming out as Viceroy, died on his way.

2 See Finch’s letter to Hawkins mentioned on p . 123 .

3 Raja Man Singh . Prince Parwiz was nominally in command .

4 This seems to be intended either for Junnar (in Poona District) orfor Jalnapur (see p .

5 Bhagnagar, the original name of the city of Hyderabad , the presentcapital of the Nizam

’s dominions.Gandevi, about twelv e miles up theAmbika R iver ,

'

and twenty-eightmiles south-east ofSurat.


th ither by three Portugall fr igats . I supposed that it m ight

be long to some o f our sh ipping which , stand ing for Socatora ,

m ight not be able to fe tch in , and so be forced to fa l l on th i s

coast ; wh ich proved accord ingly, it be ing the Ascensi ons

p innasse , wanting water, wood , and v ietua ll , the ma ster

John E lmer, with fiv e men and two boyes . The ma ster and

foure of the company came h ither on the e ight and twentieth ,

but I had no smal l adoe with the townsmen of Surat for

bringing them into the towne , they taking them from me ,

pretend ing we were but a llowed trade (indeed fearing the

Portugalls) , til l I shou ld send to the Nobob 1 foure course

[has see p . 1 8 ] off, fearing force . To wh ich ev ill was added

a worse of the Portugalls eomm ing into the river with fiv e

frigats and carrying away the pinnasse , we igh ing a l so the two

fa lcons 2 wh ich they had cast by the boord . And yet a worsereport came the fifth of September, of the ca sting away of the

Ascension , the company (about sev entie persons) being savedwh ich the next day came to Surat , but were forced by the

towne to lye without amongst the tree s and tombe s , I beingnot able to procure leave for the Genera l ] 3 h im selfe (notwithstand ing d ivers letters of recommendation wh ich hee brought

from Mocha , besides letters from the King himselfe ) into the

towne such i s the ir slavish awe of the Portugalls, two Jesu it s

threatning fire , faggot , and utter desolation , i f they rece ived

any more Engl ish th ither . That wh ich I could doe was to

send them refresh ing and carry them to the Tanke ,4 where

they were conven iently lodged , yet amongst tombes , til l the

Governor appo inted them a more conven ient place at a sma l l

aldea 5 two course off ; and with much adoe got leave for

Master Rivet, 6 Master Jordan [Jourda in] and the surgion to

come h ither to provide necessarie s for the re st . I had other

trouble by the d i sorder and riot comm itted by some of them ,

1 The Nawab, i . e . Mukarrab Khan.

2 Asmall cannon .

3 Alexander Sharpeigh. For all this see the Journal of John Jourdain,

pp . 1 27 et seq.

4 The Gopi Talao , near the Nausari gate ofSurat. Tank is commonlyapplied in India to a pool or reservoir.

5 Portuguese for a Village.

6 William Rev ett, one of the merchants of the Ascension .


1 3 -1 EARLY TRAVELS IN IND IA

nesse . It hath one gate to the green-ward , with a draw-bridge

and a smal l port [i . e . gate] on the river s ide . The Capta ine

hath in command two hundred horse . Before th i s lyeth the

medon [Hind . maidan , an open space] , which i s a pleasant

greene , in the m iddest whereof i s a may-pole to hang a l ight

on , and for other past ime s on great festiv alls . On th i s s ide

the citie lyeth open to the greene , but on a ll other parts i s

d itched and fenced with th icke hedge s, having three gates ,of wh ich one leadeth to Variaw,

1a smal l vil lage , where i s the

ford to passe over for Cambaya way. Neare th i s village on

the left hand l ieth a sma ll a ldea on the rivers banke very

pleasant , where stands a great pagod, much re sorted to by theInd ians . Another gate leadeth to Bramport ; the third to

Nonsary,

2a towne ten cose off, where i s made great store of

cal ico , having a fa ire river eomming to it . Some ten co sefurther lyeth Gondoree [Gandevi see p . and a l ittle

further Belsaca ,

3 the frontire towne upon Daman . Hardwithout Nonsary gate i s a fa ir tanke sixteene square ,4 inclosed

on al l s ides with stone steppes , three quarters of an Engl ish

m ile in compasse , with a sma l l hou se in the m iddest . On the

further side are d ivers fa ire tombes , with a goodly paved court

plea sant to behold , beh ind wh ich groweth a sma l l grove of

manga [mango] trees , wh ither the citizens goe forth to banquet .Some halfe cose beh ind th i s place i s a great tree much wor

shipped by the Ban ians , where they affirme a dew [Hind . deo,

a spirit] to keepe [i . e . dwe ll] , and that it hath beene oftentime s

cut downe and stocked up by the roote s at the Moores

command, and yet hath sprung up againe .

5 Neare to the

castle i s the alphandica [see p . where i s a paire of sta ires

for lading and unlad ing of goods ; with in are roomes for

keep ing goods t il l they be cleared , the custome be ing two and

an halfe for goods, three for v ictualls, and two for money .

1 Variao, on the Tapti , two miles north of Surat.

2 Nausari, on the Pum a , about twenty miles south of Surat.

3 Here , as elsewhere , Purchas has m istaken Finch’

s r for a cBulsar, forty miles south of Surat, is meant.

4 The Gopi Talao (see p . Mundy (v ol. ii , p . 3 1 ) describes it as

made into sixteen squares5 See The Travels of Peter Mundy, v ol. 1 1, p . 34, for an account of thi s

tree also Fryer’s NewAccount, p . 105 .



goods not shewing it in the ful l quantitie to the taker andexam iner .

The second 1of January [1 6 1 0 ] I departed from Comv ar iaw

[Khumbaria] (a smal l vil lage three cose from Surat) to Mutta

[Mota] , a great aldea , seven c[os] . [January] 21 , e ight 0 . to

Carode [Karod] , a great countrey towne , by wh ich on the

north runneth Surat river it hath a castle with two hundred

horse , Patans, good sould iers . [January] twentie two , to Curka 2

1 2 c . it is a great vil lage, with a river on the south side .

In the way (7 c . ) i s Beca [Viara] , a castle with a great tankeand a pleasant grove . [January] 23 , ten 0 . to Nacampore

[Narayanpur] , a great towne under the Pectopshaw .

3 In th is

way on the right hand beginneth a great ridge of mounta ines

wh ich come from Amadav ar-wards , neare wh ich Badur

keepeth , hold ing d ivers strong holds thereon , that the Kingwith all his force cannot hurt h im . These mountaines runne

to Bramport on them are bred many wilde e lephants .

[January] 24 , to Bayta [Dhaita] , 8 c ., a great towne in the

m id-way you passe a stony troublesome river . Thi s townehath a castle, and i s a lmost encompassed with a river, seated in

a fertile soyle . [January] 25 , to Badur [Bhadwar] , 1 0 c ., a

filthy towne and ful l of theev es ; heere i s made much wineof a sweete fru it ca l led mewa,

4 but I found it not who lesome

except it be burnt . Th i s towne i s the last of note in Pectopshaws land , who i s a smal l k ing or rajaw, a Gentile , keeping on

the top of inaccessible mountaines, wh ich beginne at Curkaand extend many courses . He holdeth two fa ire cities , Salere ,and the other Mul iere,5 where the mamudees are coyned each

having two m ightie castles, which have way to them but for

1 This date is clearly wrong. Perhaps the 20th is intended.

The route from Surat to Burhanpur is described by Roe, Jourdain ,

Mundy, Tav ern ier, and other travellers, to whose narratives the readeris referred for details.

2 On this place see a note in The Journal of John Jourdain, p. 142.

3 Partab Shah, ruler of Baglan (see p.

4 The Mbowa or Mahua tree (Bassia latifolia) ,“

from the flowers of

which a spirit is distilled.

5 Mulher (alreadymentioned on p . 79 n . ) and salher are both hi ll fortsin the Baglan district. The latter is about 1 5 miles NNW. of Kalvanand Mulher is about twelve miles east of Sélher, for a description of

which see the Bombay Gazetteer, v ol. vii, p. 585 .

WILLIAM FINCH , 1 6 0 8—1 1 1 3 7

two men abrest, or for an elephant at most to get up havinga lso in the way eightie sma l l fortresses d ispersed on the

mountaines to guard the way. Upon the top of these moun

ta ine s i s good pasture and abundance of graine , founta ines

runn ing thence into the pla ines . The Acabar besieged himseven yeeres, and in the end was forced to compound with

him , g iving h im Narampore , Dayta , and Badur, with d ivers

other a ldeas , for the safe conducting of his merchants a longst

th i s pla ine ; so that he now rema ineth thi s kings friend ,

sends presents yeerely, leaves one of his sonnes at Bramport,for pledge of his fealtie . He i s sa id to have alway in readinesse

foure thousand mares of a strange breed and exce llent , and

one hundred e lephants . [January] 26 , seven 0 . to Nonderbar

[Nandurbar] , a citie , short of wh ich are many tombes and

houses of pleasure , with a castle and a fa ire tanke . [January]seven and twentie , to Lingull [Nimgul] , 1 0 c . , a beastly towne ,with theev ish inhabitants and a dirtie castle a deepe sand ieway neare the towne . [January] 28 , ten 0 . to Sindkerry [Sindkhera] , a great dirtie towne . In the way the Gov ernour of

L ingull (with others as honest as himselfe ) would have borrowed

some money of me ; but, see ing it prove powder and shot ,

gave over, and wee drew on our carts without trouble . On

the further side of S indkerry runneth a river of brackish water[the Buray] , with drinking whereof I got the bloody fluxe ,

wh ich accompan ied me to Bramport . [January] 29 , ten c . to

Taulneere a theev ish way, the towne fa ire , with

a castle and a river, in time of ra ine not passable without

boat . [January] 30 , fifteen c . to Chupra [Chopra] , a great

towne . I rested two dayes by reason of ra ine in wh ich time

came the Gov ernour of Nonderbar with foure hundred horse ,without whose company I could not have proceeded without

danger, Can-Canna having been beaten and retired to Bramport

after the losse of the strong and rich towne of Joulnapoure

whereupon the Decanes grew so insolent that they made roades

[i . e . ra ids] into th i s way and spoyled many passengers . The

second of February, 6 c . to Rawd [Arav ad] , a countrey village .

I Probably the Jalna of to-day, about thirty-fiv e miles east ofAurangabad. It appears to be the Jenaport of Purchas His Pilgrimes , part i ,bk. iii , chap . ix .

1 3 8 EAR LY TRAVELS IN IND IA

The unseasonable thunder, wind , and ra ine , with my d isea se ,a lmost made an end of me ; wh ich made us make mukom

[makam, a halt] the th ird and fourth . The fifth , to Beawle

[Byav al] , 1 0 c., a great towne with a fa ire castle . [February] 6stayed by foule weather . [February] 7 , s ixteen c . to R av ere

[Raver] , a great towne . [February] 8 , ten c . to Bramport

[Burhanpur] , where I pitched my tent in the Armen ians yard ,

not being able for money to get an house, the towne was so

ful l of sould iers . Some 2 0 . short of th i s citie lyeth Badurpore

[Bahadurpur] , a fa ire citie , and betwixt these two cities the

campe of Can-Canna under tents , 2 c . in length (having some

fifteene thousand horse , two hundred fa ire e lephants , an

hundred peeces of ordnance of a ll size s) on the nor th s ide . On

the other side , with in twentie or thirtie course , lay Amberchapon , anAbashed [ArabicHabashi , anAbyssin ian : see p . 1 30 ]and general ] of the King of Decans forces , with some ten

thousand of his owne cost,1 all brave souldiers, and som forty

thousand Decanees in so much that the citie of Bramport

had certainly been lost , had not the Prince Sultan Pervis and

Rajaw Manisengo come in stantly downe with great forces .

For at th is t ime he had sent to the Can-Canna to yeeld up the

citie upon composit ion , deem ing him not able to hold it aga inst

h im . Th i s citie i s very great , but beastly, s ituate in a low,

unholsome a ire , a very sickly place , caused e specially by the

bad water . On the north-east i s the castle on the rivers bank

(eomm ing from Surat) , large and wel l fortified . By the castle s

s ide in the river lyeth an e lephant of stone , so l ively [i . e .

l ife l ike] that a l iving e lephant , eomm ing one day to drinke ,ranne aga inst it with all his force and brake both his teeth .

The head i s pa inted red in the fore-head , and many simple

Ind ians worsh ip it .

2 Some two cose forth of the citie i s Can

Cannas garden , called Lo l l bage ,3 the whole way thereto be ing

under shadie trees , very pleasant . With in it are d ivers fa ire

wa lkes , with a stately sma l l tanke standing square betweene

1 Probably cast in the manuscript. Thi s word was often used inthe sense of race

2 Several travellers have described thi s figure see Mundy, v ol. ii ,

p. and the works there cited.

3 The Lal Bag, now a public garden .


WILLIAM FINCH, 1 6 0 8—1 1 1 3 9

foure trees , a ll shaded and inclosed with a wal l ; at the

entrance without , a fa ire banketting house bu i lt aloft betweenefoure trees .

I re sted to the twe lfth [February] for recovery (wh ich Godsent ) under my tent . Two daye s after my eomming came

newe s of the sacking of Bavere by fifteene hundred Decan

horse , with other places neere thereto , we blessing God for

our safe arriva l ] , the way now not passable with one thousandhorse . I was here certified a l so by an Armen ians letters of a

great overthrow given to the Portugall armada upon the

Mallabar coast , consisting of fiftie frigats and two gall ies ,wh ich be ing d ispersed with foule weather were sudainly out

of d ivers creekes a ssa iled by the Malabars ; wh ich was attended

with spoile ,fire , taking, the re st fleeing . On the twelfth I rode

to visit the Prince [Parwiz] and on the th irteenth gave him

a present, found him courteous , prom ising what I desired .

The Prince had with h im twentie thousand horse and three

hundred fa ire e lephants , and with him Asaph Can 1 with some

three thousand , and Emersee Rastein ,

2 late King of Candhar ,

with some thousand o ld sould iers . And during my abode in

the campe came a lso Raja Manisengo with ten thousand horse ,all Re shoots [Rajputs] , and neere a thousand e lephants so

that a ll the pla ine s for a great di stance were covered with

tents very brave to behold . With the arm ie came d ivers great

boats for the transportation of force s over waters . The

Prince removing, I returned to Bramport, and on the sixe

and twentieth , hee be ing advanced 3 c . towards the enem ie ,

I went to him to take my leave where newe s came of the

overthrow of certa ine ofManisengos forces .

The first of March , the Gov ernour of Bramport departed for

Agra , and I with him 1 2 c . to Barre,3 a great village , s ton ie

and steepe way, be ing the passage over the great ridge of

1 AsafKhan (Jafar Beg) .2 Mirza Rustam , a Persian prince who with his brother at one time

controlled Kandahar and the neighbouring districts. Finding their

position precarious, they made over their territory toAkbar and enteredhis service .

3 Borgaon , about twentym iles north-west ofBurhanpur. For the restof the j ourney to Agra the notes on Jourdain

’

s andMundy’s routes willbe found useful.


mountaines wh ich come from Amadavarwards . About some

4 c . of thi s way lyeth the strong and invincible castle of

Hassere ,

1 seated on the top of a h igh mountaine , large and

strong, able to rece ive (as i s reported ) fortic or fiftie thousand

horse and on the top are many fa ire tankes and good pasture

grounds . It hath had in the daye s of Badur Sha , late kingthereof, some sixe hundred peeces of ordnance . The Acabarbesieged it a long time , circling it on all sides , and at length

tooke it by composit ion for it i s sa id that there bred such an

innumerable sort of emmets [i . e . ants] or other sma l l worm s

in all the waters that the people swelled and burst with drinkingthereof wh ich mortal itie caused him to compound and

de l iver it , be ing by meere humane force invincible . The

th ird [March] , 1 1 c . to Camla , a sma l l a ldea stonie , trouble

some way. The fourth , to Magergom [Mogargaon] 4 c . , a great

a ldea bad way. The fifth , 1 0 c . to Kergom [Khargon] , a greatvillage steepe way. The s ixth , 1 3 c . to Berku l [Ba lk har] , asma l l vil lage . The seventh ,

8 c . to Taxapore [Tarapur] ,a small towne . At 2 c . on the way you pa sse a fa ire rive r

ca lled Nerv or [Narbada] , wh ich comes from Baroche [Broach ]upon the banke i s a prettie towne [Akbarpur] and fa ire ca stle ,and under it the ferric place . To passe over with came ls i s

a way a c . lower on the left hand , where i s an overfal l and not

above three foot in the pa ssage , but neere a m ile over . The

e ight , 5 c . to Mandow [Mandu see p . 3 c . whereof i s upa steepe , stonie mounta ine , havingway but for a coach atmost .

Th i s ridge ofmounta ines extendeth north-east and south-west .

On the top at the edge of the mounta ine standeth the gate or

entrance of the citie , over wh ich i s bui lt a fa ire fort and houseo f plea sure , the wa l ls extending all a long the mounta ines s idefor many cose s . On the left hand at the entrance , some two

or three m ile s d i stant , on the toppe of a picked [peaked]mountaine standeth a strong fort , and in other places d ispersed

some ten or twe lve more . For 2 c . or better with in th i s gate

the citie i s r uined all save on ly tombes and meskites [mosques] ,

1 Asir (Asirgarh), the famous fortress which was taken by Akbar in1 600 from Bahadur Khan , the last of the Faruki kings of Khandesh.

For accounts of the siege see Du Jarric, v ol. iii, p . 43 , and the N imarD istr ictGazetteer, p . 202.



T hi s Sha Sel im was a very powerful] king of Dely, and once

forced Hamawne to flye into Persia for ayde from whence

return ing with Persian forces , he put him againe to the worst

who yet held out aga inst him all h is l ife time , as a l so a longt ime of Ecabars ra igne , flying from one mounta ine to another .

Without the wa l s of the c ity on th i s side the suburbs entred

[extend 4 0 . long, but a ll ruinate , save certaine tombe s,meskits, and goodly seraies,

1no man remayn ing in them .

The way exceed ing stony and bad . At 4 c . end lyeth Luneheira [Lunera] , a smal l saray, where wee pitched [March] the

n inth . Betweene th is and the ruines , about 3 c . of the way, i s

a good ly tanke inclosed with stone , and a banketting house in

the m iddest on the south whereof are fa ire houses of pleasure ,now ru inated , from whence goeth an arched bridge to the

banketting house in the tanke . Some ha lfe a cose beyond

Luneheira , on the right hand are foure or fiv e fa ire tankes with

a great pagode , a very pleasant place . The tenth , to Dupal

pore [D ipalpur] , 1 4 0 . good way a sma l l towne . The e leventh ,

to Ouglue [Ujja in] , a fa ire c ity, twe lve long coses . Th i s

countrey i s called Malva [Malwa] , a fertile soile , abound ingwith opium . Here the cose or course i s two m i les Engl ish .

The twelfth , wee made mukom [see p . The th irteenth ,

to Conoscia [Kanasia] , 1 1 0 . good way ; a l ittle village . I

enqu ired the price of opium . They give the head three

scratche s , from whence i ssue sma l l teares, at the first wh ite ,

wh ich with the cold of the n ight turneth redd ish wh ich they

da ily scrape , not without infin ite trouble , the head bee ing

very smal l and yeelding l ittle . The fourteenth , to Sunenarra

[Sunera] , 8 c . way much stony and theev ish , a people ca lled

turret, and lyoth buried in the palace adjoyn ing, with three of his

successors. This citie was built by an Indian some thousand yeeres agoe(marginal note) . The Mogul Emperor Humayfin took Mandu in 1 534

from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, who had captured it eight years beforefrom the last of the Khalj i kings. When the revolt of Sher Shah forcedHumayfin to flee to Persia , Mandu passed under the rule of the rebelbut the latter had no personal connexion with the city. Finch hasmixed up Sher Shah and his son Salim Shah also Khan Jahan and his

father,Mahmad I .

1 A shortened form of karwansarai , a building for the reception of

caravanc

WILLIAM FINCH,1 6 0 8—1 1 1 43

Graciae 1 inh abiting the h il s on the left hand , wh ich oftenungraciously entertayn caravans . A hundred of them had

done the l ike to a cafii la [kafila, a caravan] now, had not our

eomming prevented . It i s a sma l l towne , short of wh ich i s

a great tanke ful l of wilde fowle . The fifteenth , 1 0 c . to

Pimpelgom [Pipliagaon] , a ragged a ldea . At 4 c . end of th i s

way lyeth Sarampore [Sarangpur] , a great towne with a castleon the south-we st s ide , with a fa ire towne-house . Here are

made fa ire turbants and good l innen . Short of th i s towne wemet Caun John ,

2a great m in ion [i . e . favourite] of the Kings ,

with ten thousand horse , many e lephants, and boats carryed

on carts, go ing for Bramport . On the way a l so we passedd ivers of Man isengos men , hee having in all some twenty

thousand ; so that it was deemed there were one hundredthousand horse assembled .

The s ixteenth , 7 c . to Cuckra ,

3a great countrey towne

abound ing with all sorts of gra ine , v ictuall , and Mewa wineat 4 c . lyeth Berroul [Bora] , a great a ldea . The seventeenth ,

1 2 c . to Belout , a great a ldea the way for the fiv e last cose s

theev ish , h illy, stony the other plea sant pla ine s . The

e ighteen th , 7 c . to Burrow [Barra i] , a small towne , but plentiful l of v ictuall, except flesh , wh ich i s scarse all th i s way ; the

way dangerous . The n ineteenth , 7 0 . to Sukesera , a sma l l

ragged towne . The twentieth , to Syrange [Sironj ] 9 c ., a very

great towne , where are many betele 4gardens . The one and

twentieth and two and twentieth , wee make mukom . The

three and twentieth , to Cuchenary Saray [Kachner Sarai] 8 c .

The foure and twent ieth , to Sadura [Shahdaura] 5 c . The

fiv e and twentieth ,to Col lebage [Kalabag] 7 c . The sixe and

twentieth , 1 2 c . to Qualeres [Kulharas] , a pretty sma l l towne

1 Gras was a kind of blackmail lev ied by Rajputs and Kolis, and

grass ia was the term given to the person who received this toll. It

thus came to mean a robber.

2 The di spatch of Khan Jahan to the Deccan is described at p. 1 6 1 of

the Ta'

zuk (v ol . i) .3 Apparently Kakarwar, on the Dudi R iver. Finch seems to have

turned east at Pipliagaon , until he struck a main road again at Barrai ,twelv e miles north-east of Bersia and thi rty miles south—west of Sironj .

4 The pan or p iper betel , the leaf of which is used for chewing withthe betel-nut.


encompassed with tamarind and manga trees . The seven

and twentieth , to Cipry [Sipri] , seven of Surat couses (a m ile

and an halfe ) ; way theev ish , stony, ful l of trees , a desart

passage ; a wa lled towne , fa ire houses covered with slate .

Two n ights before , some sixtie or seventie theev es (m istakingfor a late passed caravan ) assayled in a darke n ight one hundredand fiftie Potan souldiers , and fe l l into the pit they d igged for

others , ten be ing slaine and as many taken , the rest fled . The

e ight and twentieth , to Norwar [Narwar] 1 2 c . , a desart rascally

way fu l l of theev es . In the woods sate d ivers chuckees 1 toprevent robbing, but the foxe i s often made the goose-heard .

One pretty neat meskite, and in one place at the foot of the

gate a few poore inhabitants, wee saw in thi s dayes journey,and nineteene fa ire saraies ru inated . The towne at the foot of

the h il l hath a castle on the top of a stony steepe mounta ine ,

with a narrow stone causey lead ing to the top , some m ile or

better in a scent . In the way stand three gates very strong,with places for corps du guard . At the top of all i s the fourth

gate , wh ich leads into the castle, where stands a guard , not

perm itting any stranger to enter without order from the King .

The towne with in i s fa ire and great , with a descent thereto ,

being situate in a va lley on the top of a mountaine very

strange ly . As it i s reported ,th i s cl iffe i s in circle some 5 or 6 c . ,

and walled round with towers and flankers here and thered i spersed , without trea son inv incible . Th i s hath been the

gate or border of the kingdome of Mandow, and hath been

beautiful] , and stored with ordnance , but now i s much goneto m ine . The twenty n inth to Palacha [Paraich] 7 c . The

th irt ieth , toAntro [Antri] , a great towne, 1 2 c . The th irty one,to Gualere [Gwa l ior] 6 c .

, a pleasant citie with a castle . On

the east s ide i s on the top of a steepe piked h ill a ruinousbu i ld ing, where d ivers great men have been interred . On the

west s ide i s the castle , wh ich i s a steep craggy cl iffe of 6 c .

compasse at least (d ivers say e leven ) , all inclosed with a strongwall . At the going up to the castle , adjoyning to the citie i s

a fa ire court enclosed with h igh walls and shut in with stronggates, where keeps a strong guard , not perm itting any to enter

without publike order . From hence to the top leads a stone

1 Guards : Hind. chauki .



on the further side hath l ike gates to be passed aga ine . The

third , to Jajow [Jaju] , 9 c . The fourth , to Agra , 9 c . In the

afternoone, the Captaine [i . e . Hawkins] carried me beforethe King . I here found at my eomming Capta ine Thomas

Boys , 1 with three French souldiours, a Dutch inginer , and a

Venetian merchant with his sonne and a servant , newly come

by land out of Christendome .

In May and part of June , the towne was much vexed withfires n ight and day, flam ing in one part or other, whereby

many thousands of house s were consumed ,besides men

,

women, ch ildren and catte ll , that we feared the judgement of

Sodome and Gomorrha upon the place . I was long dangerously

s icke of a fever ; and in June the heat so exceeded that wewere halfe rosted a l ive . June the twenty e ighth arrivedPadre Peniero , an arch-knave (a Jesuite , I should say) , whobrought letters from the Viceroy, with many rich presents

,

tend ing on ly to thwart our affa ires . In th i s t ime Mo . Bowcan

was compla ined of by the Captaine to the King, who com

maunded Abde l Hassan , the Chiefe Vizier, to doe ju st ice but

birds of a feather will flie together, and Mo . Bowcan partly

m is-reckoned, partly turned us over to a bankrupt Bannian,

so that of th irty two thousand fiv e hundred one m [ahmiidis]and an ha lfe due , he would pay but eleven thousand ne ither

would he pay that present [i . e . at once] .

In July came newes of the i ll succe sse of the Kings forces

in Decan, who , bee ing with in some foure dayes journey of

Amdananager [Ahmadnagar] , hoping to ra ise the siege thereof,were forced through fam ine and drought to make the ir retra it

for Bramport whereupon the citie , after much m iserie

indured ,was lo st . Th i s armie consisted of one hundred

thousand horse at the least , with infinite numbers of cammels

and e lephants so that with the whole baggage there could

not bee lesse then fiv e or sixe hundred thousand persons ,insomuch that the waters were not sufficient for them ; a

1 Asoldi er of fortune who had come out by way of Turkey and Persia .

Two letters from him at Ispahan to Lord Salisbury are noted in the

Calendar of S tate Papers , East Ind ies , s. d. June 10 , 1 6 09 . As alreadymentioned, he started for England with Finch and died, like him, at

Bagdad.

WILLIAM FINCH , 1 6 08—1 1 1 47

mussocke [Hind . mashalc, a goatskin water-bag] of water be ingso ld for a rupia ,

and yet not enough to be had ,and a ll v ictualls

at an excessive rate . For the Decan army stil l spoyled the

countrey before them ,and cut betwixt them and supplies for

victua l ing them out of Guzerate and Bramport, da ily makingl ight skirm ishes upon them to the ir great d isadvantage , that

without retiring the whole army had been endangered . At

the ir returne to Bramport there were not to bee found th irty

thousand horse , with infin ite number of elephants , cammels,

and other cattell dead . Th i s moneth also came newes of the

sacking ofPotana [see p . a great citie in Purrop [see p .

and surpris ing of the castle where the Kings treasure lay,the

c itizens flying without making resistance . But upon th i s

Cava lero 1 presently came a great Ombra2 adjoyn ing, and

tooke him in the castle . The cit izens return ing,he sent twelve

of the chiefe of them to the King, who cau sed them to be

shaven ,and in womens attire to bee carried on a sses through

all the streets of Agra , and on the next day (as it i s sa id ) cut

off the ir heads . All th i s moneth al so was much st irre with the

King about Chr istian itie , hee affirm ing before h is nobles that

it was the soundest fa ith ,and that ofMahomet l ies and fables .

He commanded a l so three princes , h is deceassed brothers

sonnes , 3 to be instructed by the Jesu ites , and Christian apparel]

to be made for them , the whole city adm iring . And yet at

the same time Abde l Hassans judgement was that it was notjustice to pay debts to Christ ians , in MO . Bowcans case , wherof

againe we had reference from the King to him . Perhaps on

l ike ground as some Europaeans thinke it lawful] to make price

[i . e . prize] of the goods and sh ips of Ethn ikes [heathen ] ,eo nomine ; therefore setting out men of warre , so to make

the Christian name,not as an ointment p owred out, that the

vi rgin sou les may be converted and love Christ, but as filthy

1 Properly a knight, but used in the sense of a dashing adventurer.

2 Umara , a noble (really the plural of amir) .3 Tahmfiras , Bayasanghar , and Hoshang, the three sons of the late

Prince Daniyal . Their conv ersion is referred to byHawkins (see pp . 86 ,

Roe , Terry, and Bernier, but the last three say that only two of

them were made Christians. They soon renounced their new profession.

on the ground that the Jesuits had refused to prov ide them with Portuguese wives (Roe , p . 3 1 6 Terry, p .

0

L 2


matter running out of rotten hearts and poi soned l ips , yea ,

with force and arme s to exoccupate the kingdome of Christin those parts . At least let reformed professors reforme thi s

rnan-of-warre-p rofession aga inst innocents , that the name ofGod through them be not blasphemed among the Genti les . But to

returno to thi s d issimulation (as since it hath to the worldappeared ) , those three princes were christened solemnly

,

conducted to church by a ll the Christ ians of the citie to the

number of some sixtie horse , Captaine Hawkin s being in the

head of them , with St . Georges colours carried before him , to

the honour of the Engl ish nation , letting them flie in the court

before Sha Sel im h imselfe . The e ldestwasnamedDon Phil ippo ,

1

the second Don Carlo ,the th ird Don Henrico ; and on the

n inth of September was christened another young prince , theAcabars brothers 2 sonnes sonne , by the name Don Duartethe Kinggiving da ily charge to the Fathers for the ir in struct ion ,

that they m ight become good Christians .October the twelfth we were cert ified by letters of M . Jour

da ine from Surat that thirtic frigats of the Portugal s were

ca st away on the barre of Surat , hasting before the winter

was broken up to catch more Engl ish ; many of the men

e scaped and were glad to beg releefe at the Engl ish doore .

The first of November I was sent to buy n il] [see p . 40 ] or

ind igo at Eyama [see p . I lodged that n ight at Menha

poore ,3 a great saray, 7 c .,by wh ich i s a garden and moholl

[mahal, palace] or summer house of the Queene Mothers , verycuriously contrived . The second at Cannowa [Khanwa] ,1 1 c . at 4 c . end i s a moholl of the Kings . And at every cose

end from Agra i s erected a stone pillar for 1 30 c . to Asmere ,

where l ieth interred the body of a great Moorish sa int called

Hoghee Mendee ,4 whereto the Acabar, wanting ch i ldren ,

made

1 No doubt after the King of Spain and Portugal . The ceremonyof baptism was performed by Father Xavi er and the task of instructionwas committed to Father Corsi . Bayasanghar was the one christenedDon Carlos (see the Journal of thePanj abHistorical Society, v ol . iv, part i,P

2 MirzaMuhammad Hakim (see p .

3 Probably Mundiapura, near Ki raoli . Traces of the garden stillexist (see the T itanic, v ol . ii , p . 64

4 The celebrated shrine of KhwajaMuinuddin Chi shti atAjmer.


1 50 EAR LY TRAVELS IN INDIA

a fa ire and sumptuou s tombe , a rtificially inlaicd with mother

of pearle and inclosed with a grating of stone curiously carved .

Over head i s rich pargetting and paynting. Here in lyeth the

body of a great Ka lender,1 at whose cost the who le meskite

was bu ilded . Under the court yard i s a goodly tanke of

excellent water ; none other be ing to be had through the

citie , but brackish and fretting [corrosive] , by drinkingwhereof was caused such mortal ity that the Acubar, before it

was qu ite fin ished , left it , and remoov ed his seat to Agra ;so that th i s goodly citie was short l ived ,

in fifty or s ixty yearesspace beeing bui lt and ru inate . It was at the first cal led

Sykary, wh ich signifieth seeking or hunting ; but after theAcabar was returned from his Asmere pilgrimage and was

father of th i s Sha Se l im ,hee named it Fet ipore , ~ that i s, a

towne of content, or p lace of hearts desire obtained.

2

The north north-west s ide of the citie , without the walles ,i s a goodly lough for 2 or 3 c . in length , abounding with good

fish and wilde fowle all over wh ich groweth the herbe wh ich

beareth the hermodactyle , and another bearing a fru it l ikea goblet, called camolachachery,

3 both very coo l ing fru its .

The herbe wh ich beareth the hermodactyle4 i s a weed abound

ing in most tankes neare Agra ,spreading over all the water

the leafe I observed not, but the fru it i s inclosed with a three

cornered shel l of a hard wood ie substance , having at each

angle a Sharpe picked pricking po int and i s a l ittle indented

on both the flat s ides l ike two posternes . The fru it , be ing

greene , i s soft and tender, wh ite , and of a meal ish taste , much

eaten in Ind ia ,be ing exceeding cold in my judgement , for

alwayes after it I desired aqua-vitae . It i s called by the people

Singarra .

5 The other beareth a fru it in maner of a goblet , flat1 Shaikh Salim Chishti (see p . 102 Akalandar is strictlyawandering

mendicant. On p . 1 6 4 it is used as equivalent to faki r.

2 Finch’s etymology is at fault. Fatehpur signifies the city ofv ictory’

while Sikri is the name of the original village and has nothing to do withshikar, hun ting

3 Kanwal kakri , a name given in the Punjab to the sacred Lotus(N elumbium speciosum) .

4 This is a mi stake the hermodactyle is usually identified as the

root of some species of colchicum.

5 Hind . s inghara, the caltrop or water-chestnut (Trapa bisp inosa) .Both the kernels and the flour made from them are largely used as food

WILLIAM FINCH, 1 6 0 8—1 1 1 51

on the toppe and of a soft green ish substance , with in wh ich a

little em inent stand sixe or e ight sma ll fru its l ike akornes,

divided from each other and inclosed with a wh itish filme,

at the first of a russettish greene , tasting l ike a nut or

akorne in the m iddest i s a sma l l greene sprigge naught to be

eaten .

Cannowa i s a sma ll countrey towne , round about wh ich i s

made very good n il], by reason of the fastnesse [denseness] of

the soile and brackishnesse of the water ; it maketh yeerely

some fiv e hundred m [aunds] . Ouchen [Uchen] , 3 c . d istant ,make s very good bes ide s wh ich no towne but Byana itselfe

compares with th is . I rema ined heere to the two and twentieth

and three and twentieth,6 c . to Candere , a rogui sh , dirtie a ldea .

At 2 c . on th i s way i s one of those moholls before mentioned .

It i s a square stone build ing with in the first gate i s a smal l

court with a place for the King to keepe h is darsany,

1and two

or three other retiring roomes , but none of note . With in the

second court i s the m oholl , be ing a foure-square th ing, about

tw ice as bigge or better then the E xchange , having at each

corner a fa ire open dev oncan [diwanhhana,hall] , and in the

m iddest of each s ide another, wh ich are to bee spread with

rich carpets and to sit in to passe the time and betwixt eachcorner and th i s m iddle-most are two fa ire large chambers for

his women (so that each moholl rece iveth sixteene ) in severa l]

lodgings , without doores to any of them , all keeping open

house to the kings pleasure . R ound by the side goeth a fa ire

paved wa lke,some e ight foote broad ; and in the m iddest

of a ll the court stands the Kings chamber, where he , l ike a

cocke of the game , may crow over all . At Candere I rema ined

til l the e ight and twentieth , and returned to Bachuma [Pichuna] ,4 c . backe in the way.

The twentieth of December I went to Byana ,

2 8 c .,a backe

way thorow the fields . Th i s citie hath beene great and fa ire ,

but i s now ruinate , save two sarayes and a long bazar, w ith a

and medicine . On the cultivation of this plant see Sleeman’

s Rambles

(ed . 19 15 , p .

1 Darshan i , appearing The reference is to the Emperor showinghimself in public.

2 Bayana or Biana, in Bhartpur State, fiftymiles south-west ofAgra .


few stragnng houses many fa ire ones being fallen and many

others not inhabited (except by rogue s or theev es) , so that

many streets are qu ite desolate . On the north-west, some

three or four cose off, are the m ines of a kings house, withmany other fa ire build ings . The l ike m ines are to bee scene onthe south-west s ide , over aga in st a towne ca lled Scanderbade,

1

in l ike d i stance upon the he ight of the rocky mountaines . The

way lead ing up i s a narrow steepe stony cawsey, not to be

passed on horse-backe, some quarter of a m ile the ascent ;the entrance i s thorow a small wicket , passing the l ips of themountaines in a narrow gutte . On the right hand, upon the

very edge, stands a pleasant bu ilding where are d ivers tombes

from each s ide the way may be made good with stone s aga instm il l ions of men . Pa ssing a m ile hence on a fa ire cawsey, you

come to the kings house, sometimes fa ire , now ru inate , where

a few poore Googers2 remaine in the m ines . Many tombes

and monuments yet remaine . At the foote of the h i l l toward

Scanderbade i s a plea sant va lley inclosed with a wa ll , and

there in many gardens of pleasure . Th is c ity hath been in

ancient t ime s the seate of a great Potane king,3 and hath hadthe walle s extend ing on the cl iffes 8 c . in length ,

in those place s

where i s any possibilitie of getting up , the rocke s otherwhere

over-hanging the fortification s on the other side I saw not .

It hath beene a goodly c ity, inhabited now on ly with Googers,wh ich are keepers of catte ll and makers of butter and cheese .

From hence , notwithstand ing all th i s strength , d id the Acabarforce Sha Se l im [see p . 1 42 n .] the Tyrant, and then la id it

wa ste, as he hath done Mandow and most of the strongholds

wh ich he tooke . The countrey wh ich affordeth that rich n il]

wh ich takes name of Byana i s not above twenty or thirtic

cose long.

The herbe Nill groweth in forme not much unl ike cives [the

ch ive or Allium] or e ich-pease [ch ickpea] , having a small leafe

l ike that of Sena, but shorter and broader and set on a very

1 Sikandarabad, now called Sikandra, three miles to the south of

Bayana.

2 Hind. Gaj ar, a pastoral caste, formerly notorious for cattle-stealing.

3 Sikandar Shah Lodi , according to Mundy, who also describes thefort (Bijagarh or Santipur).



take of the herbe of all three crops and steepe them a ll together,hard to be d iscerned , very knavishly . Powre th ings are

requ ired in n il l a pure gra ine , a v iolet colour, h is glosse in

the sunne , and that it be dry and l ight , so that swimm ing in

the water or burn ing in the fire it cast forth a pure l ight violet

vapour, leaving a few ashes .

About the s ixt of January [1 6 1 1 ] the King,being on hunting,

was a ssa iled by a lyon ,wh ich hee had wounded with his peece ,

with such fiercenesse that , had not a capta ine of his, a Reshoot ,tutor of the late baptized princes , interposed himselfe , thrustingh is arme into the l ions mouth as hee ramped against His

Majestie, he had in all l ike l ihood been destroyed . In th i s

strugling Sultan Gorom ,Rajaw Ranidas, 1 and others came in

and amongst them slew the lyon,that captaine having first

rece ived th irty two wounds whome therfore the King tookeup into his owne palanke , with h is owne hands a lso wiped and

bound up his wounds , andmade him a capta ine offiv e thousand

horse , in recompence of that his v alourous loyaltie .

The Kings manner of hunting i s th i s about the beginn ingof November, accompan ied with many thousands , he goeth

forth of h is castle of Agra and hunteth some th irty or forty

course round about the citie so continu ing till the ende of

March ,when the heat drive s him home againe . He causeth ,

with cho i se men , a certa in wood or desart place to bee incircled ,

so contracting themselve s to a meerer compa sse til l they meet

againe and whatsoever is taken in th i s inclosure i s ca lled the

Kings s ikar [Hind . shikdr] or game , whether men or bea sts

and whosoever lets ought e scape without the Kings mercy

must loose his l ife . The bea sts taken,i f man s meat , are sold

and the money given to the poore i f men , they remaine the

Kings slaves , wh ich he yearely sends to Cabull to barter for

horse and dogs these beeing poore , m iserable , theev ish people

that l ive in woods and desarts , l ittle d iffering from beasts .

Th i s moneth the King was provid ing more forces for Decan ,

1 Ami stake for Raja Ram D'

as see Jahangir’

s own account of theincident in the Tazuk (v ol . i , p . where the animal is described as

a tiger. The Rajput captain was namedAnup Rai . Jourdain says thathe was rewarded with 1000 horse per yeare , which is as good as 1000l .

sterlinge (p.

WILLIAM FINCH, 1 6 08—1 1 1 5 5

notwithstand ing the Decanees required his peace , offering to

re store what they had taken . Caun Asom [see p . 9 8 ] was sent

General] , and with him twentie thousand horse, accompanied

with Matrobet Caun [Mahabat Khan] , another great captaine ,together with infinite treasure . With these forces went John

Frenchman 1and Charles Charke ,2 enterta ined in h is service

for the warres .

January the n inth ,I departed from Agra for Lahor to recover

debts , and carried twe lve carts laden with n il [indigo] in hope

of a good price . The places I passed were Rownocta [Bankata] ,twe lve courses Badeg Sara ,

3 1 0 Acabarpore [Akbarpur] ,1 2 c .

,formerly a great city, st ill famous for the antiqu it ies of

Ind ian gobins4or sa ints . A l ittle short of th is place i s a fa ire

deury [deura,temple] inclosed with a stone wa ll , in wh ich i s

a dev oncan , and round about a l ittle d istance in vaults (or

clo isters )are to be seen many pagods [see p wh ich are

stone images of monstrous men feareful to behold , but adored

by the Ind ians with flowers and offerings . B oudle [Hodal] ,1 3 c . ; at the entrance of the saray i s a fa ire founta ine [i . e . we ll] ,three stories and one hundred steps . Pulwooll [Palwa l] , 1 2 c .

Ferreedabade [Faridabad] , 1 2 c . De ly, 1 0 c . On the left hand

i s scene the carkasse of old Dely,5 ca lled the n ine castles and

1 Jourdain and Covert call him Frencham He was one of the

survivors from the Ascension , and later proceeded to Agra with Covert.

At Burhanpur they were asked by the Khankhanan to serve him in the

Deccan war. On their declaring that they were only merchants, hereplied (according to Covert) that there was no Englishman , merchantnor other, but he was a souldier Frencham leftAgra with Covert, butfell ill and had to remain behind at Bukkur, whence no doubt he returnedto Agra on recovery.

2 This Ch. Charke I have spoken with since in London after diversyeares service (marginal note byPurchas ) .

3 Bad-ki -sarai . It is suggested in Growse’

s,Mathara (p. 28 ) that the

sarai intended is the one at Jamalpur , about three 100 8 from Bad.

4 Gosains is probably intended .

5 Tughlakabad , which according to tradition had fifty-two gates

(Carr Stephen’s Archaeology of Delhi , p . The following marginal

note is appended to the passage in the text There are said to bee foureDelyes within 5 c. ; the eldest built by Base [i . e. Raja Anang Pal] ,who by his ponde [pundit] or magicians counsel] tried the earth by an

iron stake , which he pulled out bloody with the blood of a snake , whichhis ponde said was signe of good fortune. [This is a well-known story


fiftie two gates , now inhabited onely by Googers . A l ittleshort i s a stone bridge of e leven arches ,1 over a branch of

Gem in i [the Jumna] from hence a broad way shaded with

great trees leading to the sepulchre of Hamaron

th is kings grandfather, in a large roome spread with rich

carpets, the tombe itselfe covered with a pure wh ite sheet,a rich semiane [see p . 1 1 7 ] over head , and a front certa ine

bookes on sma ll tressels , by wh ich stand his sword , tucke

[turban] and shooes .

2 At the entrance are other tombes of

h is wives and daughters . Beyond th is , under like shaded way,

you come to the Kings house and moholl, now ru inous . The

c ity i s 2 c . betweene gate and gate, begirt with a strong wa ll,but much ruinate , as are many goodly hou ses . With in and

about th i s citie are the tombes of twenty Potan kings, a ll

very fa ire and state ly . The kings of India are here to

be crowned, or e l se they are he ld usurpers . It is seated in

a goodly pla ine , environed with goodly pleasant gardens and

monuments .

Nalero [Narela] i s hence 1 4 0 . About 2 0 . without De ly is

the rema inder of an auncient mole [mahal or hunting house ,bu ilt by Sultan Berusa ,

3a great Indian monarch ,

with much

curiositie of stoneworke . With and above the rest i s to be

relating to the iron pillar near the Kutb Minar (op . cit. , p. The

last of hi s race was Rase Pethory [Rai Pithora or Prithwi Raj] , who ,

after sev en times taking a Potan king, was at last by him taken and

slaine . He began the Potan kingdome . They came from the moun

taines between Candahar and Catull [Kabul] . The second bui lt byTogall Sha [Tughl ak Shah] , a Potan king. The third l ittle of note. The

fourth by Shershaselim [Sher Shah] , where is that tomb of Hamaron

[Humayun] .The last named was the Delhi of Finch’s day. It lay to the south of

the modern city, and occupied part of the site of Firozabad .

1 The Bara Pala bridge , near the shrine ofNizam-uddin .

2 Cf. Peter Mundy’s description (Travels , v ol . ii, pp. 100, 1 8 1 ) of thetomb ofPrince Khusrau.

3 Sul tan Firoz Shah, who laid out a hunting park on the R idge and

built therein a palace. The pillar referred to by Finch is the Asoka latbrought by Firoz Shah fromMeerut and erected on the same spot, Whereit still stands. The earli est European account of it seems to be that giv enby Monserrate. Some writers have supposed that Finch meant to de

scribe the other Asoka pill ar at Delhi—that in the Kotila of Firozabad,but thi s is ev idently wrong.



hundred theev es newly taken , the ir bod ie s set on stakes a m ilein length . Garmall [Karnal] , 1 4 c . the way theev ish ,

where

but for our peece language we had been assau lted . On the

north-west extend mountaines meere to Lahor from hence ,

with snow on the tops . Tanassar [Thanesar] , 1 4 c . here i s

a castle , a goodly tanke, and by it pagods , much reverenced by

all the Gentiles throughout India . Neere it a l so are the sal

armoniake pits . Shabad [Shahabad] or Goobade , 1 0 c .

Amballa [Ambala] , 1 2 c . Hollowa Saray [Alfiwa sarai] , 14 c .

Syrinam [Sirhind] , 7 c . it hath a fa ire tanke with a summer

house in the m iddest , to wh ich leads a bridge of fifteene stonearches , very pleasant . From hence i s a sma l l river cut to theKings garden ,

1a corse d istant , with a cawsey of forty foot

broad , planted with trees on both s ide s to it . The garden i s

fowre square, each square a cose in length or better, inclosed

with a bricke-wall , richly planted with all sorts of fru its andflowers , rented yeerely (as I was told ) for fifty thousand rupias

crossed with two ma ine walkes , forty foot broad and e ight h igh ,

with water runn ing a longst stone channells in the m iddest, and

planted on both s ides th icke with fa ire cyp resses one of these

cawseys i s al so paved with peble , curiously inter-wrought . At

the crossing stands an e ight square moho l with e ight chambers

for women ,in the m idst thereof a fa ire tank ; over these ,

e ight other roomes, with fa ire ga llerie s round about on the

top of all a fa ire jounter2 the whole bu il d ing curiously

wrought in stone , with fa ire painting, rich carving, and par

getting and on two s ide s two fa ire tankes in the m idst of a

fa ire stone chounter, planted round with cypresse trees ; a

l ittle d istant i s another mohol , but not so curious .

From hence we passed to Dorapy [Doraha] , 1 5 c . Pulloceque

Saray [Ph illaur-ki-sarai] , 1 3 c . N icoder [Nakodar] , 1 2 c .

Sultanpoore [Sultanpur] , 1 1 c . Fetipore ,3 7 c . a saray bu ilt

(if it were fin i shed ) by Sha Se l im in memorial] of the overthrow

given Su ltan Cusseroom [Khusrau] , h is e ldest sonne , the occa

Some say it was made An. Dom. 1580 (marginal note).Jcunter or chounter is the Hind . chautri or chabatara, a terrace

for recreation .

3 Vairowal , on the Beas, named Fatehpur (‘town of v ictory ’

) inmemory of Khusrau’

s defeat.

WILLIAM FINCH, 1 6 08—1 1 1 59

s ion whereof was th i s . 1 Sha Sel im , upon some d isgu st , tooke

armes in his fathers l ifet ime and fled into Purrop ,where he

kept the strong castle of Alobasse [Allahabad] (but came in

some three moneths before his fathers deceasse ) whereupon

Acubar gave the crowne to Sultan Cusseroom his sonne . But

after Acabars death , Se l im , by his friends, se ized on the castle

and treasure, and h is sonne fled for Lahor, where hee gatheredsome twe lve thousand horse , all good souldiours and Mogols,possessing the suburbs twelve daies, and procla imed king in

the kasse ,2 and his father in the castle . In th i s p lace

he gave battell to Strek Fereed [Sha ikh Farid] , and d is

ordered his three hundred horse and put them to the sword .

To the second [i . e . assistance] of h im came Me lee Ale

Cutwall [Khwaja Mal ik Ali , the kotwal] (the King be ingsome 20 c . beh ind) with some two hundred horse , beatingup the Kings drummes, and giving a brave assault , shoutingGod save King Se l im ; upon wh ich the Prince s souldiours

fa inted and fled, the Prince himselfe flee ing only with fiv e

horse , and got 30 0 . beyond Lahor for Cabull wh ich if he had

gotten ,he would have put h is father to further trouble but

bee ing to passe a river where hee gave mohors of go ld , the

boate-man grew in d istrust , and in the m iddest of the channel ]

leapt ov erboord and swamme to the shoare , where hee gavenotice to the gov ernour of the towne adjoyn ing, who presently

with fiftie horse came downe to the river, where the boat was

st il l floting,imbarqued himselfe in another, and saluted h im

by the name of king, d issemblingly offering his a ide and invitinghim to h is house wh ich the Prince accepting, was locked up

with his company and guarded til l hee had sent the Kingword who sent Germau

'

nabeg3 to fetch h im fettered on an

elephant . From hence his father proceeded to Cabul , pun i sh ingsuch as he found tardie in th is revolt carrying h is sonne with

1 See Hawkins’s account (p.

2 Perhaps he means the am-khas , a term sometimes used for the

diwan-i-am. The city and the castle would have separate governors,and it would seem that one declared for Jahangir and the other forKhusrau.

3 Zamana Beg, i. e . Mahabat Khan. For other accounts of Khusrau’

s

capture see‘the Taznk(v ol. i , p. the Ain (vol . i , p. and Du Jarric

(v ol. iii, p.


h im prisoner ; and returning by th i s place where the battell

was fought (as some say) caused his eye s to be burned out

with a glasse others say onely bl ind-folded him with a napkin,

tying it beh ind and seal ing it with his owh e scale , which yetremaineth ,

and h imselfe prisoner in the castle of Agra .

1 All

a longst on both s ides the way from Cabul to Agra , a reason

able d istance , the King caused trees to be planted to shadethe way in remembrance of th is exploit, and called th i s placeFetipoore , that i s , Hearts content, as ye before heard of the citie

[see p . wh ich for his birth was named so by his father

Accubar ; these , as any decay, must by the peoples toylebe supplied .

From hence to HogheMoheede ,

2 1 0 c . Cancanna saray, 1 2 c .

Lahor, 7 c . ; where I arrived February the fourth . On the

‘

a ThatKhusrau was blinded byhis fatherwas ev idently very generallybelieved at the time (see supra , p . 108 , and Du Jarric, v ol . iii , p .

The question is discussed byMr . Beveridge in a note on p . 174 of v ol . iof the Tuzuk and in an article in the Journal of the Bengal AsiaticSociety, v ol . 39 (p . He inclines to accept the story, mainly becausethe impostor who afterwards personated the Prince pretended that hehad marks of the blindi ng. This, however, was a very natural artifice ,given the prev ail ing impression ; and against such an argument maybe set the fact that Sir Thomas Roe, who both saw and talked with thePrince in 1 6 1 7 , makes no mention of any injury to his sight, and moreover speaks of him as destined to succeed to the throne—an eventhardly to be contemplated in the case of a blind man . Terry, who alsosaw Khusrau more than once , says explicitly that his eyes weresealed up (by something put before them which might not be taken off)for the space of three years ; after which time that seal was takenaway ’

; and this agrees with one of the rumours noted by Finch.

Della Valle’s version is that the eyes were sewn up for a time , wi thoutinjuring the sight. The story given in Elliot

’s History of India , v ol . v i

(p . that the Prince was deprived of his sight by hav ing a wirethrust into his eyes, but that hi s v ision was afterwards restored by theskill of a surgeon , is not only improbable in itself but is obvi ously an

attempt to reconcile the current belief in the blinding with the fact thatKhusrau could see quite well in later years . Mundy, it may be noted,has a tale (p. 104) that one eye was eaten out with applyeinge to it a

certaine venemous hearbe but fixes the date of this as a little beforethe Prince ’s murder in 16 22.

2 The position giv en seems to answer to Tarn Taran ; but Finch’sdistances are not to be trusted. Khankhanan-sarai has not beenidentified .


1 6 2 EARLY TRAVELS IN INDIA

Thi s river commeth from the east and runneth westerly by

the north s ide of the citie upon wh ich , within the castle , i s

the Kings house ,1 passing in at the m iddle gate to the river

ward . With in the citie on the left-hand you enter thorow a

strong gate , and a musket shot further another smaller, into

a fa ire great square court , with atescanna 2 for the Kings guard

to watch in . On the left-hand thorow another gate you enter

into an inner court, where the King keepes h is darbar, and

round about wh ich court are atescanna’s a lso for great men

to watch in . In the m iddest there stands a h igh pole to hanga l ight on . From hence you go up to a fa ire stone jounter or

smal l court , in the m iddest whereof stands a fa ire dev oncan ,

with two or three other ret iring rooms where in the King s its

out al l the first part of the n ight , commonly from e ight to

e leven . On the wa l les i s the Kings picture , s itt ing cro sse

legged on a cha ire of state on his right hand Sultan Perv ese ,Sultan Caroone , and Sultan Timoret,

3 his sonnes next these

Sha Morat [Shah Murad] and Don Sha [Dan iyal Shah] , twoof his brothers (the three baptized before spoken were sonnesof th i s later) next them Emersee Sheriff [Mirza Shari f] ,e ldest brother to Caun Asom (of whom it i s reported his estateto be such that , of one hundred chiefe women wh ich he kept ,he never suffred any of the ir cloth ing after the ir first wearingto be ever touched by any stranger, but caused them to bee

buried in the ground,there to rot as a lso that he a lway had

in service fiv e hundred massalgees [torchbearers mashalchi ] ,in so much that whensoever he went from court to his housein Agra, wh ich was at least a corse , no man removed foote

with his torch but stood all a longst to his house) next th i sman

,Emersee Rostene [Mi rza Rustam] , late King of Candhar

then Can Canna [see p . 7 1 ] (wh ich signifieth prince of the

Cannes ) then Cuttfip Caun [Kutbuddin Khan Koka] , RajawManisengo [Raja Man Singh ] , Caun Asom [Khan Azam] ,

1 The palace was altered and enlarged by Shah Jahan , and in latertimes suffered much at the hands of the Sikhs and the British . See the

Archaeological Survey Report for 1902—1903 and an article by Dr. Vogelin the Journal of the Panj abHistorical Society, v ol. i , no. 1 .

3 Yatish-khana , a guard-room (seeMonserrate, p.

3 Parwiz , Khurram, and Tahmfiras. The last was a nephew, not

a son.

WILLIAM FINCH,1 6 08—1 1 1 6 3

Asoph Caun [Asaf Khan (Jafar Sheck Fereed [Sha ikhFarid] , Kelish Caun [Kilij Khan] , and Rajaw Juggonat [RajaJagannath] (who at his death had seven of his friends that

burned themse lve s with him,besides one of his sisters , and a

brothers ch i lde ) . On the left hand of the King stands Rajaw

Bowsing [Bhao Singh] , who beats away flyes, then Rajaw

Ramdas [Ram Das] , who holds his sword ,Cleriff Caun , Caun

John ,Jemana Lege or Mawbet Caun ,

Mocrow Bowcan , Rajaw

Bossow, Rajaw Ransing,Majo Kesso ,

and Lala Bersing .

1

Note a lso that in thi s gal lery, as you enter, on the right-hand

of the King over the doore i s the picture of our Saviour

opposite on th i s left-hand , of the Virgin Mary . Th i s dev oncan

i s very pleasantly seated , over-looking the Ravce . Fromhence passing thorow a sma l l entrie to the west , you enter

another sma l l court , where i s another open chounter of stoneto s it in , covered with rich sem ianes [see p . From hence

you enter into a smal l gallery, at the end of wh ich ,next the

r iver, thorow a sma l l window the King looks forth at his

dersanee [see p . 1 5 1 ] to behold the fights of wilde beasts on

the medow by the river . On the wa ll of th i s gallery is drawne

the picture of the Acabar sitting in his state , and before him

Sha Sel im h is sonne standing with a hawke on his fist , and by

h im Sultan Cusseroom ,Sultan Pervis , Sultan Coroome , his

three sonnes . At the end i s a sma ll dev oncan where the Kinguseth to s it beh ind wh ich i s his lodging chamber, and beforeit al l open into a paved court , a longst the right-hand whereof

runneth a sma l l moholl of two stories , each containing e ight

fa ire lodgings for severa l] women ,with ga lleries and windowes

looking to the river and to the court . Al l the doores of these

chambers are to bee fastened on the out-side , and none with in .

In the gallery where the King useth to sit are drawne over

head many pictures of ange l s , with picture s of Ban ian dews

[see p . or rather div els , interm ixt in most ugly shape

with long hornes , staring eyes , shagge ha ire , great fangs,ugly pawes, long ta iles

,with such horrible d ifform ity and

deform ity that I wonder the poore women are not frighted

1 These are Sharif Khan ,Khan Jahan , Zamana Beg or Mahabat

Khan,Mukarrab Khan , Raja Baso, Raja Rai Singh, Raja Keshu Dasand Lala Bir Singh.


therewith . With in th i s court i s a pleasant dev oncan and

lodgings , and the way to another mohol ] for the King to passe ,

but none other .

Now to returne to the former court, where the Adee s [seep . 9 9 ] or guard keepe the ir watch , there i s a l so on the left

hand the new Derbar ; beyond i t another small court withatescanna , and pa ssing thorow another gate a fa ire large squaremoholl , cal led the New Moholl , of that largenesse that it maylodge two hundred women in state , all several] . Likewisereturn ing to the great court , passing right on , you enter

another smal l paved court on the left hand and into another

mohol l , the statel iest of the three , contrived into sixteene

severa l] great lodgings, each having faire lodgings, a dev oncan

(or hal l ) , a smal l paved court , each her tanke, and enjoyinga l ittle world of pleasure and state to herselfe all seated very

plea santly upon the river . Before the moholl of Sultan

Casserooms mother 1 i s placed an h igh pole to hang a l ight on,

as before the King for that shee brought forth his first sonne

and heire . In the m idst stands a goodly gallery for the Kingto s it in , with such ugly pictures over-head as before . At the

end are drawne many portra itures of the King in state sittingamongst his women , one hold ing a fla ske of wine , another a

napkin ,a th ird presenting the peally [p iyali , a sma ll cup]

beh ind , one punkawing [fanning z p ankha] , another hold inghis sword,

another h is bow and two or three arrowes etc .

Before th i s ga llery i s a fa ire paved court , with stone gratings

and windowes a longst the waters s ide ; at the end a fa ire

marble jounter , convexed over-head ,looking over the river ;

beneath it a garden of pleasure beh ind , the Kings lodgings,very sumptuous, the walles and seel ings all over-la id with pure

gold , and round a longst the s ides, about a mans height , some

three foote d istant , are placed fa ire Ven ice looking-glasses ,three and three , each above other and below these , alongst

the wa lles, are drawne many pictures of th i s mans ancestors“

,

as of Acabar h is father, Hamowne his grand-father, Babur his

great grand-father, who first set foote into Ind ia with thirtic

ofhis noble s , all clad l ike ka lendars or fookeers, wh ich so came

1 The Shah Begam. She was a daughter of Raja Bhagwan Das and

sister of RajaMan Singh.



head , and a tanke in the center with large and goodly ga llerie s

a longst the foure s ides thereof, supported with high stonepillars . Adjoyn ing to th i s i s a garden of the Kings, in wh ich are

very good apples , but small , toot [tat mulberry] wh ite and red ,

a lmonds, peaches , figges , grapes , qu inces, orenges, l immons,

pomgranats, rose s , stock-gellow-flowers,1 marigolds, wal l

flowers, ireos, 2 p inkes wh ite and red , with d ivers sort s of

Ind ian flowers .

On the west s ide of the castle i s the ferry to passe over toCabul (and so to Tartary or Cascar a very great

road-way, and the further side of the river is a goodly countrey.

Infinit numbers of garden s ful l of rarity exceeds [i . e . project

beyond] , two or three c . in length .

Pa ssing the Sugar Gonge3 i s a fa ire meskite bu i lt by Shecke

Fereed ;4 beyond it (without the towne , in the way to the

gardens) i s a fa ire monument for Don Sha his mother, one of

the Acabar his wives, with whom it i s said Sha Sel im had to do

(her name was Immacque Kelle,5or Pomgranate kernell ) ;

upon not ice of wh ich the King [Akbar] caused her to be

inclosed qu ieke within a wa ll in his mohol] , where shee dyed ,

and the King [Jahangir] , in token of his love , commands a

sumptuous tombe to be bu i lt of stone in the m idst of a foure

square garden rich ly walled , with a gate and d ivers roomes

over it .

s The convexity of the tombe he hath willed to be

wrought in workes of gold ,with a large fa ire jounter with

roomes over-head . Note that most of the se monuments wh ich

I ment ion are of such largeness that , if they were otherwise

contrived,wou ld have roome to entertaine a very good man

with h is whole houshold . Without the De ly Droware ,7 where

the nolat [naubat] or great drum beats, i s a good ly stre ight

1 The whi te stock (Mathiola incana ) .2 The Florentine iris.3 The shrine of Bawa Farid Shakarganj , to the south-west of the city.

4 Shaikh Farid erected several buildings in Lahore , but this mosquedoes not appear in the list.

5 Anarkikal i (pomegranate blossom ) . There is no corroboration of

Finch’s story that she was the mother of Daniyal .6 The tomb, which is still one of the sights of Lahore , was not finished

till 1 6 15 .

7 The Delhi Gate (darwaza ) .

WILLIAM FINCH , 1 6 08—1 1 1 6 7

street, about three quarters of a m i le long, all paved at the

end of wh ich i s the Bazar ; by it the great saray ; bes ide s

wh ich are d ivers others , both in the c ity and suburbs, where in

d ivers neate lodgings are to be let, with doores, lockes, and

keye s to each . Hence to the north-east lyeth Ambere,1 the

place of hospita l ity from hence to the south-ea st the habita

t ion of d ivers loving etc .

The seven teenth ofMay came newes of the sacking of Cabul

by the Potan theev es, wh ich kept in the mounta ins, beingeleven thousand foot and one thousand horse ; the Gov ernour

thereof be ing at Gelalabade [Ja lalabad] about other affa ires ,and the garrison so weak that they were able on ly to ma inta ine

the castle . In s ix houres they spo iled the c ity and retired with

great booty . The King, for better awing of these rebel s, hath

placed twenty three ombraes betwixt Lahor and Cabu l and

yet a ll will not serve , they often sal lying from the mountains,robbing caravans, and ransacking townes . The e ighteenth of

August arrived a great caravan from Persia , by whom we had

newe s from an Armen ian , wh ich had served M . Boys , of the

French kings death ,

2and of affa ires betwixt the Turk and

Persian he having destroyed the countrey about Tauris[Tabriz] , raced the citie , and filled up the well s to hinder the

Turks arm ie the merchants by th i s means (to our griefe ) notdaring to adventure beyond Candhar .

Of divers wages in the Mogols Kingdorne, to and from Lahor

and Agra ,and p laces of note in them.

3

From Lahor to Cabul l, passing the Ravce , at 1 0 c . stands

Googes saray [Kacha sarai] ; beyond wh ich 8 0 . Emenbade

[Aminabad] , a fa ire c ity ; thence to Chumaguckur [Chima

Gakkhar] 1 2 c ., a great towne . To Guzurat [Gujrat] 1 4 c . , a

fa ire citie of great trade at 7 c . of th i s way you pa sse theriver Chantrow [Chenab] , h eare a corse over . To Howaspore

1 This may possibly refer to some ambagh (mango-garden) in whi ch

there may have been a dharmsala or rest-house ; but no trace of sucha place can be found in modern maps.

2 Henri IV was assassinated inMay, 16 10 .

2 This heading was doubtless supplied by Purchas.


[Kli awasspur] 1 2 c . To Loure R otas [Rohtas] 1 1 5 c ., a c itie

with a strong castle on a mounta ine , the frontier of the Potankingdome . To Hattea [Hatya] 1 5 c . To Puckow [Pakka] 4 c .

To Raulepende [Rawalpind i] 14 c . To Collapanne [Kalapani]1 5 c . To Hassanabdall 2 4 c .

, a pleasant towne with a small river

and many fa ire tanks in wh ich are many fishes with gold rings

in the ir noses , hung by Acabar the water so cleare that youmay see a penny in the bottome . To Attock 1 5 c . , a citie witha strong castle , by wh ich Indus passeth in great beautie . To

Pishore [Peshawar] 3 6 c . To Al leckMeskite [Al i Masj id] 1 0 c . ,

the way dangerous for rebe ls , wh ich are able to make ten or

twe lve thousand men . To Ducka [Daka] 1 2 c . To Beshoule

[Basawal] 6 c . To Abareek [Bariku] 6 c . To Aleboga [Al iBoghan] 9 c . ; by wh ich runneth Cow [the Kabul River] , a

great river wh ich comes from Cabul (way st ill theev ish ) .To Gelalabade [Jalalabad] 4 c . To Loure-Charebage 4 c . To

Budde-Charbag 6 c . To N im la [Nim la] 8 c . To Gondoma

[Gandamak] 4 c . To Surcrood [Surkhab] 4 c . a saray with a

smal l r iver wh ich lockes red and makes to have a good stomack .

To Zagdelee [Jagda lak] 8 c . To Abereek [Ab-i-barik] 8 c .

To Dowaba [Doaba] 8 c . a great mounta in in the way,

4 c . ascent . To Butta Cauke [Butkhak] 8 c . To Camree

[Bikram i] 3 c . To Oahu] 3 c . It i s a great and fa irecitie, thefirst seate of th i s kings great grand-father, with two castles

and many sarayes . 20 0 . beyond i s Chare-cullow [Charikar] , apleasant faire citie and 20 0 . beyond, Gorebond [Ghorband] ,a-great citie bordering upon Usbeke . 1 50 c . beyond Cabul i s

Tau l Caun [Tal ikhan] , a citie in Buddoesha [Badakhshan] .

From Cabul l to Cascar [Kashgar] with the caravan i s some

two or three monethes journey fi It is a great kingdome and

1 From thi s point the road may be traced in the Tazuk (v ol. i , p .

2 Hasan Abdal. Jahangir records that he caught some fish here and

released them after fastening pearls in their noses (Tuzuk, v ol . i , p .

2 Beyond Cabull 6 0 c. runne mountaines, at the foote of which lyeththe way to Cascar (marginal note).Finch’s references to Central Asia and Kashmir in thi s and the suc

ceeding paragraph form the subject of an interesting article contributed by SirAurel Stein , to the Journal of the PanjabHistoricalS ociety, 19 17 , to whi ch the reader may be referred for details. Sir AurelStein notes that the time allowed by Finch for the journeys from Kabul



th i s way by men , and goods are fa ine to be triced up , and let

downe often by engine s and devices . Upon these mounta ines

keepes a sma l l king called Tibbot, who of late sent one of his

daughters to Sha Sel im to make affinitie .

1

Nichola s Uphet [Ufflet] made another way from Agra to

Surat 2 by Fetipore [Fatehpur Sikri] , Scanderbade [Sikandarabad] , H indoine [Hindaun] , Cheningom [Chandangaon] ,Mogol] Saray, Nonn igong, at the foote of a mountain e , wh ichwith others adjoyning are held by two Rajaws of no note .

Opposite to these on the left hand beginne the mounta ines of

Marwa [Marwar] , wh ich extend h eare Amadav er . Upon thesemountaines stands an impregnable castle called Gur Ch itto ,

3

the cheefe seat of Rana, a very powerful l Rajaw,

whomne ither Potan or the Acabar himselfe could ever subdue ;wh ich comes to pa sse by reason that all Ind ia hath beene

Gentile s and th i s prince hath bin and st il l i s esteemed in l ike

reverence by them as the Pope of Rome by the Papists . And

for th i s cause the Rajaws wh ich have been sent aga inst himframe some excuses that they may not indamage much his

territories, wh ich extend hence a longst Amadav er way an

hundred and fifty great corses, and in breadth toward Ougen

[Uj ja in] 200 c ., inclosed for the most part with inaccessible

mounta ines and fort ified we l l by art in places‘accessible . He

i s able to make twelve thousand good horse upon any occasion ,

and ho lds many fa ire towne s and goodly c it ie s . The way

fol loweth by Gamgra [Jampda] ; Charsoot [Chatsu] (chiefe

seat of Rajaw Manisengo h is pr igonies) : 4 Ladaney [Ladana]Mousalde [Mozabad] . Banderamde .

5 Asmere [Ajmer] , seated

1 As Sir Edward Maclagan points out, Jahangir in 1590 9 1 marri eda daughter ofAl i Rai, the ruler of Baltistan or Little Tibet (Ain ,

v ol . i ,P

2 Thi s is the route described also by Jourdain ,Mundy, Taverni er, &c.

Ufllet’s j ourney seems to have been made in the autumn of 1 6 10 (see

Jourdain p . 1 39 )2 Chi torgarh the ancient capital of Mewar until it was captured by

Akbar m 1 56 8 , when the Rana founded a new capital at Udaipur.4 Prigonies are lordships (marginal note). The word is really par

ganas , the old-established territorial divisions of Northern India ,com

monly adopted as administrative units by the Moguls and later rul ers.5 Probably Bandar Sindri, whichMundy calls Bandersunder.



passe abrest . At the first cosc end i s a gate and place of arme s

there the cawsey is inclosed with wa l s on both s ides and at

the 2 0 . end i s a double gate at the 3 0 . stands the castle ,where you must enter three severa l] gates , the first very

strongly p lated with iron ; the second not so strong,with

places over it to throw downe scald ing lead or oyle the th irds trongly plated with pikes st icking forth ,

l ike harping i rons .Betwixt each of these gates are spacious courts for arme s, andwith in the further gate i s a fa ire portcull is . Being entred , on

the right hand stands a fa ire meskite , with d ivers dev oncansadjoyn ing, both to doe just ice and to take the a ire . On the

left hand stands the Gov ernours house on the he ight of theh il s, over-looking all . A flight

-shot [bow-shot] with in the

castle i s a fa ire pagode bu i lt by the founders of the castle ,ancestors of Gidney Caun ,

1 wh ich were Ind ians . He turned

Moore and bereaved his e lder brother of th i s hold by th i s

stratageme . He invited him and h is women to a banket ;wh ich his brother requ it ing with l ike invitat ion of him and

h is, in steed of women he sends cho ice sould iers wel l appo inted

and close covered , two and two in a dowle 2 who, beeing

entred after th i s manner, possest themselve s of the ports [gates]and held it for the Great Mogol] , to whom it now appertayneth ,

being one of the strongest seated forts in the world . Som e

halfe cose with in the gate i s a goodly tanke foure square , cut

d irectly downe into the rocke , affirmed to bee fiftie fathome

decpc , of cleere and good water . Al ittle further is a faire plaine

shaded with many goodly trees, beyond whi ch , on the top of a

l ittle piqued mountayne , i s the sepulchre of King Hassward ,

3

wh ile he l ived a great souldier, since his death a great sa in t ,honoured in these parts . Here lye a l so interred two sonnes of

Gillould ,a Potan king ofDe ly 4 neere to wh ich i s a wa l l wh ich

d ivides the castle meere a cose in circu it (the whole castle beeing

1 Possibly Ghazni or Ghaznin Khan of Jalor, for whom see the Ain

(v ol . i , p .

2 Adowly or dowle is a chaire or cage wherein they carry their women

on mens sholders (marginal note) . It is of course the familiar dhooly.

3 Can he meanMalik Shah, a noted Muhammadan saint, whose tombis still to be seen in the castle

4 Possibly Jalal-uddin Firoz (1290 the first of the Khalj i kings ofDelhi .

WILLIAM FINCH , 1 6 0 8—1 1 1 7 3

about 8 c . in compasse) , nigh whereto i s sa id to keepe a huge

snake of fiv e and twentie foot long and as bigge as a man in

the waste , wh ich the people will by no meanes hurt , holding it

a good fortune , for it hurts no man ,but keepes amongst the

bushes and bryars of th i s piqued mounta ine . Th i s castle i s

ca lled the gate or frontire of Guzurate . From hence you come

to Mudre [Modra ] ; Billmal] [Bhinmal] , the foundation s of

whose anc ient wa ll are yet scene (they have beene 24 c . in

c ircu it ) many goodly tankes al so going to m ine , by one of

wh ich i s the founders sepulchre , wh ither the Ind ians resort to

worsh ip . From hence to Amadabade i s a decpc sandy desart

countrey. Rodeapore [Radhanpur] in th i s way hath many

sepulchres (I let passe it and the rest ) .

Amadabade or Amadav ar i s a goodly c ity and scituate on

a fa ire river, inclosed with strong wal s and fa ire gates , with

many beautiful] turrets . The castle i s large and strongwhere res ideth Caun Asom his sonne [Jahangi r Ku l i Khan ] ,the Vice-Roy in these parts . The bu ildings comparable to

any citie in Asia or Africa , the streets large and wel l paved ,

the trade great (for a lmost every ten dayes goe from hence

two hundred coaches rich ly laden with merchandi se for Cam

baya ) , the merchants rich , the artificers excellent for carvings,pa intings , inlayd workes, imbroydery with gold and silver .At an honres warn ing it hath in read iness sixe thousand horsethe gates perpetually strong guarded none suffered without

l icense to enter, nor to depart without certificate . The causeof th i s i s Badurs [see p . 1 00 ] ne ighbourhood in his strong hold ,with in 50 c . of th i s citie to the ea st , where nature , with sorr ehe lpe of art and industry, hath fortified h im against a ll tl eMogol ls power ; and whence some foure yeeres s ince (pro

cla im ing l iberty and lawe s of good fellowsh ip ) hee sackedCambaya with a sudden power (combined by hope of spoile )of one hundred thousand men ,

wh ich for fourteene daye s

continued possessors there and sharkers . There i s al so betwixtth i s and Trage

1a certa ine Rajaw on the mountaines able to

make sev enteene thousand horse and foot , the people ca lledCollees [Kol is] or Quullees, keeping in a desart wildernesse

which secures him from conquest and on the right hand i s1 There is a Traj about seven miles south-west ofKaira.


another able to make tenne thousand horse , holding in a desart

p la ine a castle impregnable , whose land i s subject to Gidney

Canns government , but the se seven yeeres he hath denyed h im

tribute , and stands on h is defence . Thi s Rajaw is sa id to havea race of horses not equalled in all the East , each va lued at

fifteene thousand r[upee s] , reported to bee much swifter then

the Arabian , and able to continue with reasonable speed a

whole day without once drawing bitte of wh ich he i s sa id to

have one hundred mares . From Geloure to th i s c itie i s all a

sandy, woody countrey,ful l of theev ish beastly m en and of

mankind , savage bea sts , l ions , tygres etc . Th irty 0 . about

th i s c ity is made n il] [ind igo] called Cickell [Sarkhej ] , of a

towne 4 c . from Amadav ar,not so good as that of B iana .

Cambaya i s hence 3 8 c . sandy, wooddie , theev ish way. It

stands by the sea , encompassed with a strong bricke wal l the

house s high and fa ire the streets paved in a d irect l ine with

strong gates at the end of each the bazar large . About the

c itie are such infin ite numbers of munkeyes, leaping from

house to house, that they doe much m ischiefe and ,untyling

the houses , are read ie to braine men as they passe in the

streets w ith the stones that fa ll . On the south i s a good ly

garden with a watch-tower of an exceed ing he ight on the

north are many faire tankes . It is the mart of Guzurat, and so

haunted by the Portugal s that you sha l l often finde two

hundred fr igats at once rid ing there . It aboundeth with all

sorts of cloth and rich drugges . The bay i s 8 0 . over, dangerous

to passe by reason of the great bore wh ich drownes many, and

therefore requ ires gu ide s skilfull of the tydes (in the neap tydes

i s least per ill ) . Theev es al so ,when you are over the channe l] ,

are not a l ittle dangerou s , forcing you (if not the better pro

v ided ) to qu it your goods , or in long bickerings betraying you

to the tydes fury, wh ich come s so swift that ten to one you

escape not . Foure coses beyond th i s bay i s Joumbeser

[Jambusar] , now much ru ined , and from thence e ighteene to

Boroche [Broach] , a wood ie , dangerous passage , in wh ich are

many wilde peacockes . With in 4 c . of Boroche i s a great m ine

of agats .1 It i s a fa ire castle , seated on a river twice as broad

1 Doubtless the reference is to the mines at Ratanpur, in the Rajpipla



i s 30 c . ; a towne of great traffiquc for l innen and other

merchand ize . To Oude [Ajodhya] from thence are 50 c . ; a

c itie of anc ient note , and seate of a Potan king, now muchru ined the castle built foure hundred yeeres agoe . Heere are

a l so the ru ines of Ranichand[s] 1 castle and houses , wh ich theIndians acknowled[g]e for the great God , saying that he tookeflesh upon him to see the tamasha 2

of the world . In theseru ines remayne certa ine Bramenes , who record the names of allsuch Indians as wash them se lves in the river runn ing thereby

wh ich custome , they say,hath continued foure lackes of yeeres

(wh ich i s three hundred ninetie foure thousand and fiv e hundred

yeeres before the worlds creat ion ) . Some two m iles on the

further s ide of the river is a cave of his with a narrow entrance,

but so Spacious and ful l of turn ings with in that a man may

well loose himselfe there , if he take not better heed whereit i s thought his ashes were buried . Hither resort many from

all parts of Ind ia , wh ich carry from hence in remembrancecertaine gra ines of rice as blacke as gun

-powder, wh ich they

say have beene reserved ever since . Out of the ru ines of th i s

castle i s yet much gold tryed .

3 Here i s great trade , and suchabundance of Ind ian asse-horne 4 that they make hereof

bucklers and d ivers sorts of drinking cups . There are of thesehom es , all the Ind ians affirme, some rare of great price , nojewe l] comparable , some esteeming them the right un icornes

hom e .

From Oudee to Acabarpore [Akbarpur, in Fyzabad d istrict]30 0 some 30 c . from whence lyeth Bonarce [Benares] , theprincipa l] mart of Bengala goods . From Acab[arpore] toJounpore [Jaunpur] 30 c . seated on a sma l l river, over wh ich

i s a bridge with houses l ike London Bridge , but noth ing so

good . The ca stle hath beene a seat of the Potan kings, there

yet remayning two fa ire meskites, with many other ancient

monuments ; the house s are l ike those of Amadav ar ; the

1 Rama Chandra , the hero of the Ramayana . The reference is to themound known as the Ramkot or fort ofRama.

2 Hi nd. tamasha, a show or spectacle.

3 Thi s practice is mentioned in the Ain (Blochmann and Jarrett’stransln . , v ol . ii, p .

4 Rhinoceros horn . The bucklers were made from the hide of the

animal.

WILLIAM FINCH, 1 6 0 8—1 1 1 7 7

c ircu it some 8 or 1 0 0 . Hence come excellent sweete oyles, carpets , hangings embrodered with s ilke , all sort s offine l innen , etc .

Thus much from Agra to Jounpore th i s way from thence

(returning that way to Agra ) to Alabasse i s 1 1 0 c .,

1 30 c . all

[of wh ich are thorow a continual] forrest . The towne and

castle stand out on the further side of Ganges pleasantly

seated , called anciently Praye [see p . and i s held one of

the wonders of the east . D ivers Potan kings have sought tobu ild here a castle, but none could doe it t il l Acabar layd thefoundation and proceeded with the worke . It stands on a

point or angle , having the river Gem in i [Jumna] on the south

s ide fall ing into Ganges . It hath beene fortie yeeres abuild ing,and i s not yet fini shed ne ither i s l ike to bee in a long time .

The Acabar for many yeeres had attend ing th i s worke by

report twentie thousand person s , and as yet there continue

working thereon some fiv e thousand of all sorts . It will be

one of the most famou s bu ildings of the world . In th i s castle

Sha Sel im kept , when he rebelled aga inst his father . The

outward wal s are of an adm irable he ight , of a red square stone ,l ike Agra Castle with in wh ich are two other wal s noth ing so

h igh . You enter thorow two fa ire gates into a fa ire court , in

wh ich stands a piller of stone 2 fiftie cubits above ground (so

deeply placed with in ground that no end can be found ), wh ich

by circumstances of the Indians seemeth to have beene placed

by Alexander or some other great conquerour , who could not

passe further for Ganges . Passing th i s court you enter a lesse

beyond that a larger, where the King s its on h igh at his dersane

to behold e lephants and other beasts to fight . Right under him

with in a vault are many pagodes , be ing monuments of Baba

Adam and Mama Hav ah [Adam and E v e] (as they ca ll them )and of the ir progen ie , with pictures of Noah and his descent .

The Ind ians suppose that man was heere created , or kept heere

at lea st for many yeeres , affirm ing them selves to be of that

rel igion whereof these fathers were . To th i s place resort many

1 He means that the distance to Agra from Jaunpur v ia Allahabad is1 10 has (a gross under-estimate ), of which the stage from Jaunpur toAllahabad represents thirty.

2 The Asoka pillar in Allahabad fort. It is really only thirty-five feetin length.


thousands from all parts to worsh ip but before they approch

these rel iques , they wash their bod ies in Gange s , shaving the i r

heads and beards , thereby deem ing themselve s clensed from

a l l the ir former sin s . Out of th i s court i s another richly pavedwhere the King keepes h is derbar beyond it another, whence

you enter into the moholl , large , d ivided into sixteene several ]lodgings for sixteene great women with the ir slaves and atten

dants . In the m iddest of all, the Kings lodgings of threestories, each contayning sixteene roomes in all e ight and

tortie lodgings, all wrought over-head with rich pargetting andcurious pa inting in all kind of colours . In the m idst of thelowest storie i s a curious tanke .

In th is moholl i s a tree wh ich the Ind ians cal l the tree of l ife

(bee ing a wilde Indian figge tree ) , for that it could never beedestroyed by the Potan kings and th i s mans ancestors , wh ichhave sought to doe it by all meanes , stocking it up and sift ingthe very earth under it to gather forth the sprigs ; it stil l

springing againe , insomuch that th is king lets it a lone , seekingto cherish it .

1 Thi s tree i s of no small esteeme with the Indians .In the waters s ide with in the moholl are d ivers large dev oncans,where the King with h is women often passe the ir t imes in

beholding Gem in i paying h is tribute to Ganges . Betweene

them and the waters s ide at the foote of the wa l l i s a pleasant

garden , shaded with cypresse trees and abounding with excel

lent fru its and flowres, having in the m idst a fa ire banquettinghouse , with priv ie sta ire s to take boate . From hence in

October or November, when the great frost [freshet i s past ,

you may passe by boats for Bengala , but the passage i s

dangerous 4 c . downe are two castles opposite on the bankes,Harrayle and Gussee ,

2 seated on two h il s raysed by industry,bu i lt by the Potans .

From Alabasse to Menepore [Manihpur] i s 20 c . a longst the

river Ganges . At 2 c . on th i s way i s a sumptuous tombe for

th i s kings first wife ,2 mother to Sultan Cusseroon and s ister to

1 Thi s is theAkshaivat, or undying fig tree, for which see theAllahabadGazetteer, p . 21 0.

2 Arail and Jhfisi , just below the junction of the Ganges and the

Jumna. There are ruins of forts at both places.3 See note on p . 1 6 4. She poisoned herself before Khusrau actuallyrebelled (Tazuh, v ol . i , p .



much from Syrinan [Sirhind] in wh ich city i s a famous pagodcalled Je or Durga ,

1unto wh ich worlds of people resort out

o f a l l parts of Ind ia . It i s a smal l short idol ] of stone , cut info rme of a man much i s consumed in offerings to him ,

in

wh ich some a lso are reported to cut off a piece of the ir tongueand , throwing it at the idol s feet , have found it whole the nextday (able to lye , I am afra id to serve the father of lyes andlyers, how ever) yea , some out of impious piety heere sacrificethemse lve s, cutting thei r throats and presently recovering .

The holyer the man , the sooner forsooth he i s healed some

(more grievous sinners) rema in ing halfe a day in pa ine beforethe d ivell will attend the ir cure . Hither they resort to cravech i ldren , to enqu ire of money h idden by the ir parents or lost

by themse lves wh ich,havingmade the ir offerings , by dreames

in the n ight rece ive answere , not one depart ing d i scontented .

They report th i s pagan de ity to have beene a woman (if a holy

virgin may have that name ) ; yea, that shee st ill l ives (thed ivel l shee doth ) but will not shew her se lfe . D ivers Moores

also resort to th i s peer [Pers . p ir, a sa int] . Thi s Raja i s powerful l , by his mountaines s ituation secure , not once v ouchsafing

to visite Sha Sel im .

On th i s Rajaw easterly confineth another, ca lled Deccam

pergas,2a mightie prince ; his ch iefe seat Calsery, about an

1 50 c . from Agra ; h is countrey he ld 500 c . long north and

south , 300 c . broad , populous , able to ra i se upon occasion

fiv e hundred thousand foot , but few or no horse the land

plentifull in it selfe , but sends forth l ittle . To the eastward of

th i s Rajaw,betwixt Jem ini and Ganges lyeth the land of

Rajaw Mansa ,

3a m ighty prince and very rich , reported to be

served all in vesse l s of ma ss ie go ld his countrey 300 0 . long1 The temple of Bajreswari Dev i : see the Tazuk, v ol . ii, p . 224, and

Terry (infra ) .2 It has been suggested that this is meant for Ude Chand Parkash,

Raj a of Sirmfir ; but he had not yet come to the throne , and, bearingin mind that Finch’s r is often

‘mistaken for a c, it appears more likely

that the earlier Raj a , Dharm Parkash , is intended . It is true that thelatter had been dead for over forty years but Finch’s hearsay informa

tion is often inaccurate in such matters. Calsery is Kalsi, the ancientcapital of Sirmfir.

3 Garhwal . Here again Finch seems to be referring to a chief (RajaMan Sah) long dead .

WILLIAM FINCH, 1 6 0 8—1 1 1 8 1

and one hundred and fifty broad ; his chiefe seat Serenegar

[Srinagar] ; the mounta ines ca lled Dow Lager [Dhaulagiri ,Wh ite Mounta in] , upon wh ich in time of winter fa ll s such

extreame snowes that the inhabitants are forced to remoov e

into the valleyes . Yet doe I not thinke that any of these lands

extend northerly above forty degrees, but the height of the

mountaines causeth th i s extrem ity of cold . Th i s Raja s landextendeth with in some 200 c . of Agra , part with in 50 c . of

Syrinan very plentifull .

On the further s ide of Ganges lyeth a very m ightie prince ,called Rajaw Rodorow,

1 hold ing a mounta inous countrey

his chiefe seat Gamow his territorie s extend 400 0 . long and

not much lesse in breadth,abounding with gra ine , have many

good ly c it ie s thence commeth much muske , and heere i s the

great breed of a sma ll kind of horse called gunts [gunth] , a truetrave ll ing scalecl iffe beast . Th i s prince i s pu issant in foot , buthath few horse or e lephants , the mountaines not requiring the

one and the cold exclud ing the other h is lands thought to

reach neare Ch ina . To the south of th i s Raja , thwart thestreames of Ganges, i s seated another, Raja Mugg,

2 very

powerful] in horse , foote , and e lephants . In his land i s the old

rocke of natura l] d iamonds, wh ich yeelds him no sma l l benefit .

His lands extend ea st , somewhat south , 7 00 c . from Agra .

Beneath him amongst the streames of Ganges keepeth a Potan

prince of the Dely-kings race , whom the King cannot subdue ,

by reason of the streames and ilands of Ganges .3 He confin eth

upon Purrop , and makes often inroades upon the Kings lands ,enforcing Sha Sel im to maintaine a frontire army . Hence tothe mouth of Gange s all i s the Kings land on ly in the mouth

the Portugall out-lawes hold a sma l l fort , and doe muchmischiefe, l iving in no forme of subjection to God or man .

4

1 Thi s seems to be the Raja Rudra Chand ofKumaon , though he hadbeen dead some years when Finch wrote . By Gamow (Kumaonis probably meantAlmora.

2 Avague reference to theMaghs orMugs (see p . The Ain (v ol. ii ,p . 120 ) alludes to their contentions with the Arakanese over certainmines of diamonds, &c.

a3 Possibly Isa Khan (see p . 28 ) is meant.

4 These were the Portuguese pirates who had settled on the island of

Sandwip and elsewhere .


On the further s ide of Ganges i s the m ightie king ofArracan ,

enjoying a large territory and infin ite numbers of small barkes .Eastward from h im i s the kingdome of Siam beh ind it Ova 1

and Jangoma [see p . Betweene Tanassar [Tenasserim]and Arracan i s the kingdome of Pegu the land now lyeth

waste . To the south i s the kingdome of Queda , Malacca etc .

On the sea-coast of Benga la th i s King hath two chiefe ports ,Ougolee [Hfigl i] (tyrann ized by the Portugals) and Pipilee

[Pippli] passing wh ich and the land of Orixa [Orissa] youenter into the lands of Goloeonda , on whom Sha Sel im makethwarres, and hath forcibly taken much of his land . His chiefeport i sMasulipatan , and his royal] seat Braganadar [see p . 1 3 1 ]and Goloeonda, that late bu ilded . Alongst the seaside toward

the Cape i s the m ightie king of Bezeneger [Vijayanagar] , under

whorn the Portugals hold Saint Thome and Negapatan , but

are not suffered to bu ild a castle . But I let passe these ne igh

bouring Ind ies and returne toAgra , theMogols roya ll residence .

Agra hath not been in fame above fiftie Yeeres, be ing before

Acabars t ime a village ; who removed (as you have heard)from Fetipore for want of good water . It i s spacious , large ,populous beyond measure , that you can hard ly passe in the

streets , wh ich are for the most part d irty and narrow, save on ly

the great bazar and some few others, wh ich are large and fa ire .

The citie lyeth in manner of a halfe-moone , bellying to the

land-ward some 5 c . in length ,and as much by the rivers s ide ,

upon the banke s whereof are many goodly houses of the

nobil ity, pleasantly over-looking Gem in i , wh ich runneth with

a swift current from the north to the south, somewhat easterly,into Ganges . Upon the banke of th i s river stands the ca stle,one of the fa irest and admirablest bu ildings of the East , some

three or foure m iles in compasse ,2 inclosed with a fa ire and

strong wa l l of squared stone about wh ich i s cast a fa ire d itch ,

over it draw-bridges . The wa lle s are bu ilt with bulwarkes,

somewhat defens ible , regalled,

3 with a counter-scarfe or front

without , some fifteene yards broad . With in th i s are two other

1 Probably Av a is intended.

2 Thi s is an exaggeration . The circui t of the walls is about a mile anda half.

3 Battlemented from regal a groove or slot.



rising, wh ich hee salutes , and then his nobles resort to the ir

tessillan1 .

1 Right under the place where he lockes out is a kindof scaffold whereon his nobles stand, but the addees with

others awayt below in the court . Here a l so every noone he

looketh forth to behold Tamashan [see p . 1 7 6 ] or fighting of

e lephants, lyons, buffles, kill ing of deare with leopards wh ich

i s a custome on every day of the weeke, Sunday excepted, on

wh ich i s no fighting but Tuesday on the contrary i s a day of

blood, both of fighting beasts and just iced men , the Kingjudging and see ing execut ion .

To returne to the thirde gate with in it you enter into a

spacious court with atescanna’s round about, l ike shops or

open stal ls, where in his captaines accord ing to the ir degrees

keep the ir seventh day chockees [watch z chauki ] . A l ittlefurther you enter with in a rayle into a more inward court ,within wh ich none but the Kings addees and men of sort are

admitted, under pa ine of swacking by the porters cudgells,

wh ich lay on load without respect of persons . Being entred ,

you approach the Kings derbar or seat, before wh ich i s a lso

a smal l court inclosed with ra iles, covered over head with richsem ianes to keepe away the sunne where aloft in a gallerythe King s its in h is cha ire of state , accompan ied with h is

ch i ldren and Chiefe Vizier (who goeth up by a short ladderforth of the court) , no other without call ing daring to goe up

to h im , save onely two punkaw’s to gather wind and right

before h im below on a scaffold i s a th ird , who with a horse ta ilemakes hav ocke of poore fl ies . On the right hand of the King,on the wa l l beh ind him

,i s the picture of our Saviour on the

left , of the Virgin . With in these ra iles none under the degree

of foure hundred horse are perm itted to enter . 0 11 the further

s ide of th is courtZof presence are hanged golden bels, that if anybe oppressed and can get no justice by the Kings officers , by

ringing these bels when the King s its, he i s called, and the

matter d iscussed before the King. But let them be sure the ir

cause be good, least he be pun ished for presumption to trouble

the King. Here every day, betweene three and foure a clocke ,

1 Explained in the margin as a gesture of humiliation It is thetaslim, or salute made by touching the ground with the back of the righthand and then rising and bringing the palm up to the crown of the head.

WILLIAM FINCH, 1 6 0 8—1 1 1 8 5

the King comes forth (and many thousands resort to doe the ir

duties, each taking place accord ing to his degree ) where hee

remaines hearing of matters , rece iving of newes by letters

read by his Vizier, graunting of su ites, etc . , t il l shutting in of

the even ing, the drumme meanewh ile beating, and instruments

playing from a h igh gallery on the next bu ilding oppos ite his

e lephants and horse s passing by in brave fash ion , do ing the ir

tessillam and be ing perused by officers to see if they prosper .

In the castle are two h igh turrets , over-la id with pure massie

gold, wh ich may be seen from farre , one over his moho l, the

other over his trea sury . After his go ing in from the derbar in

the even ing, some two houres after he comes out againe , s ittingforth in a smal l more inward court beh ind the other, close to

h is moholl , into wh ich none but the grandes, and they a lso

with t ickets to be renewed with every moone , are perm itted

to enter where he drinkes by number and mea sure , sometime s

one and thirtie , and runn ing over, m ix ing a lso among severe

jud icature s . From th i s court is his privy pa ssage into a curiousgarden , and to h is barge , by wh ich he often passeth the river

to an other garden oppos ite . It is remarkeable that , both in

court and here in these garden s , no courtiers or gardeners are

t ied to a ttendance, but by the ir seventh dayes turne .

Some adde 1 that the citie hath no wa lls, but a d itch round

about , not broad , and dry a lso adjoyning to the d itch wi thoutthe citie are very large suburbs . The c ity and suburbs are one

way seven m i le in length ,three in breadth . The noble men s

houses and merchants bu i lt with bricke and stone , flat roofedthe common sort, of mudde wal ls, covered with thatch , wh ich

cause often and terrible fires . The citie hath sixe gates . The

adjoyning river Gem in i be ing broader then the Thames at

London , on wh ich are many boats , some of one hundred tunnes,but these cannot returne against the streame . Most of the

noble mens houses are by the rivers side . From Agra to Lahor

1 ‘A written booke entituled A D iscourse of Agra and the fo ure

principall waies to i t ; I know not by what author, except it be Nic.

Uphlet (marginal note) . This must be Purchas’s note , not Finch’s ;

and consequently the paragraph to whi ch it refers must have beeninterpolated by the former. Ufflet

’

s work does not seem to have beenpublished.


s ixe hundred m i les . 1 The way i s set on both s ides with

mulbery-trees .

King Acabars sepulchre i s 3 c . d istant from Agra in the wayto Lahor ; nothing neere fin i shed as yet, after tenne yeares

worke .

2 It is placed in the m idst of a fa ire and large garden

inclosed with bricke wa lls , neere two m iles in c ircu it i s to

have foure gate s (but one of wh ich i s yet in hand ) , each , i f

answerable to th i s foundation , able to rece ive a great prince

with a reasonable tra ine . Alongst the way s ide i s a spacious

moholl for h is fathers women (as i s sa id) to remayne and end

the ir dayes in deploring the ir deceassed lord, each enjoyingthe lands they before had in the Kings t ime , by the pay or

rents of fiv e thousand horse the principa l] so that th i s should

be to them a perpetua l] nunnery, never to marry againe . In

the center of th is garden stands the tombe foure square, about

three quarters of a m ile in compasse . The fir st inclosure i s

with a curious rayle , to wh ich you a scend some sixe steps into

a smal l square garden quartered in curious tankes , planted with

variety of sweets adjoyn ing to which i s the tombe , rounded

w ith th i s gardenet, being a lso foure square , all of hewne stone ,w ith fa ire spacious gallerie s on each s ide ,

having at each corner

a smal l beautiful ] turret , arched over head and covered with

various marble . Betwixt corner and corner are foure other

turrets at l ike d istance . Here, with in a fa ire round coffin of

gold, l ieth the body of th i s monarch ,who sometimes thought

the world too l ittle for h im . Th i s tombe i s much worsh ipped

both by the Moores and Gentiles , holding h im for a great

sa int . Some tenne or twe lve foot higher you ascend by sta ires

to ano her gallery (l ike , but narrower, to the former, as are a lso

the rest that follow) , conta in ing onely three of those turrets

between corner and corner . Here in the m idst i s his wardrobe

for a memoria l] . The th ird story hath but two of those m iddle

turrets on a s ide the fourth one the fifth hath only the

corner turret and a sma l l square gal lery . The tombe 3 was

not fin ished at my departure , but lay in manner of a coffin ,

1 An overstatement. The distance is about 440 miles by road.

2 Hawkins (p . 120 ) says fourteen ; but there is some doubt whetherit was really begun before Akbar

’

s death in 1 6 05 .

3 By this Finch seems to mean the cenotaph on the top story.


1 6 12—1 6

NICHOLAS WITHINGTON

WHEN ,in February 1 6 1 2 , Sir Henry Middleton sa iled away

from Surat , with Capta in Hawkin s aboard his flagsh ip , a ll

prospect of the Engl ish obtain ing perm ission to trade in Ind iaseemed gone for ever and Middleton ’s subsequent exact ionsfrom the Ind ian junks in the R ed Sea were l ikely in any ca se tomake the breach irreparable . Th i s later development , however, was not yet known at Surat when ,

early in September1 6 1 2 , Capta in Thomas Best arrived at the river’s mouth fromEngland with the D ragon and Hosiander . Midd leton had leftbeh ind him letters describing the way he had been treated,

and these made Best very doubtfu l of the poss ibil ity of tradebut the merchants he had brought were eager for furtherexperiment , and upon land ing they were rece ived with suchapparent cord ia l ity that they determ ined to stay a shore and

test the va lue of the prom ise s made to them . Even when ,

towards the end of the month , one of the junks that hadsuffered at Middl eton ’s hands arrived at the port , the ch iefofficia ls a ssured the Engl ish factors that what had occurredwould make no d ifference in the ir attitude . In po int of fact,the lead ing merchants were much impressed by th i s proof ofthe power of the Engl ish , and recogn ized that the intercoursewith Mokha

,wh ich was the ma instay of the trade of Surat,

was at the mercy of any nation that was strong in sh ippingwhi le the absence of Mukarrab Khan, who was now at court ,a lso facil itated the establ ishment of improved relations . To

remove the doubts stil l fe lt by Best, the loca l authorities onOctober 2 1 entered into a written agreement for Engl ish tradein Gujarat, and prom ised that a farman confirm ing it shouldbe procured from the Emperor with in forty days .The news of th i s unexpected deve lopment roused the

Portuguese Viceroy to action , and at the end of Novembera fleet of four ga lleon s, with a swarm of frigates, under thecommand of Nuno da Cunha , attacked Best

’s two sh ips, on lyto be repelled with heavy loss . Soon after th i s the Engl ish ,

anx ious to have sufficient sea room ,left the shallows of the

Gujarat coast for the opposite s ide of the Gulf ; and aftersome hesitation the Portuguese followed . On December 23and 24 two more fights took place, end ing in the defeat of

NICHOLAS WITHINGTON ,1 6 1 2—1 6 1 89

Da Cunha’s squadron . Having driven off his a ssai lants , andfind ing his stores and ammun it ion runn ing low ,

Best returnedto Swally. The expected farman had not arrived , and , as the

attitude of the Mugha l authorities seemed less cord ia l , theEngl ish commander thought they were de luding him

, and

accord ingly resolved to break off relation s . Instruction s weresent to Thoma s Aldworth

,the ch ief of the factors left at Surat ,

to wind up his business and repa ir aboard with all his compan ions . To th i s summons , however, Aldworth turned a deaf

car ; he was convinced that a factory could be mainta inedand, whether the farma

‘

n was forthcom ing or not, he was

determ ined to make the experiment . His confidence appearedto be justified when , on January 7 , 1 6 1 3 , the expected document arrived . A few days later it was de l ivered in state toBest , accompan ied with fresh assurances of good treatmentfor any merchants he m ight leave in the country : His doubtsthus removed , he consented to Aldworth rema in ing with a

smal l staff ; and , these th ings settled ,he departed with his

two sh ips for Sumatra ,prom is ing to return in the autumn to

fetch away any goods that m ight then be ready for England .

1

It had been decided a lready that Pau l Cann ing, one of the

factors, should be sent to court, to present to the Emperor afresh letter wh ich the fleet had brought from King James ;and Aldworth ’s fir st ta sk, after the departure of the fleet, wasto provide the envoy with su itable articles to offer to HisMaje sty and to equ ip him for h is journey to Agra . In add it ionto two Engl ish attendants , Cann ing had as compan ions a

couple of mus ic ians who had apparently been sent out for thepurpose—one, his cousin , Lancelot Cann ing,

who played on

the virginal s, and the other, Robert Trul ly, whose instrumentwas the com et . After meeting with various trouble s on the

way, the envoy reached Agra in April 1 6 1 3 , and duly del iveredthe roya l letter and the present . As regards the demands hehad been instructed to make —wh ich included the cession of

a place on the Kath iawar coast wh ich the Eng l ish m ight fort ify,to secure the ir sh ips aga in st the Portuguese—he was referredto Mukarrab Khan ,

who ra i sed some d ifficulties yet held out

hope s that his requests would be granted . The two musiciansd isplayed the ir ski l l before the assembled court . The virginal smade no impression , whereupon (accord ing to Trully) theunfortunate player ‘dyed with conceiptt

’

(0 . C . Trully’ s

cornet , on the other hand , created an immense sensation .

Jahangi r h imse lf attempted to blow the novel in strument ,and at once ordered his workmen to make six more , wh ich ,

1 For all thi s see the narratives by Best and others in Purchas HisPilgrimes ; Cross’s account in Lancaster’s Voyages ; and various documents in Letters Received, vols. i—iv.


however, turned out to be fai lures . Trully was then d irectedto instruct one of the Emperor

’s ch ief musicians , who tooksuch pa ins that in fiv e weeks he was able to perform satisfac

tor ily. However, h is exert ion s brought on an i llness wh ichproved fata l a fortn ight later ; so T rully was left the on lycornet player in the kingdom ,

though a very d iscontented one ,

see ing that Jahangir, wh ile often call ing upon him to play,rewarded him only w ith fifty rupees in all . The Jesu it s, weare told , endeavoured to induce Trully to teach the art to

a

piouple of their servants, but th i s he abso lute ly refused

to o .

It is t ime now to introduce Nichola s With ington , the authorof the ensu ing narrat ive . Thi s ind ividua l had come out in the

fleet as an attendant upon Capta in Be st—a not uncommon

method of gett ing a free passage to the Ind ies when unable tosecure d irect employment from the East Ind ia Company . AtSurat he was taken into the service of that body, on the pleaof a deficiency of factors and (as he tell s us) because of his

l ingu i stic atta inments probably he was acqua inted withArabic, since it appears that he had been in Morocco a few

years previous (British Museum ,Egerton MS . 20 86 , f.

For a time he rema ined at Surat , helping in the ord inarybusiness and learn ing the language ; but on intell igence arrivingfrom Agra that Cann ing needed an a ssistant , it was decidedto send him th ither . Before he could make a start , however,news arrived that Cann ing was dead ; whereupon Thoma sKerridge , one of the sen ior factors and afterwards Presidentat Surat , was d ispatched toAgra in stead . It was next proposedto sendWith ington to England by way of the R ed Sea , carryin g

letters for the Company but th is p lan fel l through , owing toa fear that it would prove impossible for a Christian to pa ssunmolested through the Hejaz and in October 1 6 1 3 With ington proceeded with Aldworth to Ahmadabad to ass ist in the

purchase of ind igo . Thence he visited Cambay and Sarkhej ,of each of wh ich he finds someth ing interesting to relate .

From Ahmadabad he wrote in November a long letter to theGovernor of the East Ind ia Company, which i s to be foundi i

i)origina l in the British Museum manuscript a lluded to

a ov e .

In D ecember 1 6 1 3 _With ington was cal led upon to undertakethe remarkable journey wh ich forms the ch ief attraction of

his narrative . News had reached Ahmadabad that an Engl i shsh ip had arrived at Lahribandar , the port town of Tatta ,

in

S ind , and,as it was evidently desirable to communicate at

once with any merchants she m ight have left there , it wasreso lved that With ington shoul d proceed th ither overland .

He was not the first Engl ishman to go that way,for imme

d iately after Best’s departure Anthony Starkey, steward of



was found that the Portuguese had no immediate intentiono f restoring the ir booty, Mukarrab Khan was d ispatched to

Surat with orders to stop all traffic and to lay s iege to thePortuguese town of Daman by way of reprisals . At the same

time the Jesu it church at Agra was closed , and the Fatherswere deprived of the allowances they had h itherto rece ived .

There was thus every hope that the Portuguese would be

permanently excluded from the trade of Mugha l Ind ia , to the

benefit of the ir Engl ish riva ls .A letter from Withington at the end of October 1 6 1 4 (Letters

Received, v ol . i i , p . 1 40 ) tel ls us that he had succeeded in gettingtogether the desired ind igo and was only wa it ing to rece ive andd ispose of some expected broadcloth and other Engl ish goodsbefore starting for Surat . Now, however, everyth ing wentwrong with h im . First , his ind igo was se ized by the Governorof Agra , who had been blamed by the Emperor for a llowingsome Portuguese to carry off the ir belongings , and who , in his

anxiety to avo id further censure , would not a llow the Engl ishman to touch his property unti l a farman to that effect wasobta ined by Kerridge , who was now with Jahangi r at Ajmer

(i bid . , p . Then With ington rece ived a. letter inform ingh im that the prom i sed rem ittance of money from Surat to payfor his ind igo could not be made , and he was obl iged in conse

quence to return the ind igo to those from whom it had beenbought . Th i s occasioned much d i spute and worry, and was

on ly effected by the interpos ition of the Governor of Agra ,

who thus made some amends for his former treatment of theunfortunate merchant . Next , the broadcloth , when it came

to hand , proved to be so damaged as to be a lmost unvend ible ,wh i le the other goods could only be sold at prices lowerthan those they would have fetched at Surat (ibi d. , v ol . i i i ,pp . 1 5 , These tria l s and vexations proved too much forWithington , and for some t ime he was d istractedMeanwhile , in October 1 6 1 4 , Capta in Downton had reached

Swally with a fleet of four sh ips , bringing Will iam Edwardsto be ch ief of the Company’ s affa irs in Ind ia . Aldworth ,

however, protested so vigorously again st being supersededthat the matter was comprom i sed by d ispatch ing Edwardsto Ajmer instead, to present another letter from King James ,and to look after Engl ish interests at court . The Companyhad expressly forbidden any of the ir servants to im itateHawkins in a ssuming the title of ambassador but inasmuchas there was a genera l agreement at Surat that some h igherstatus than that of a merchant was necessary to secureattention from the Emperor, Edwards was authorized to

represent h imsel f as a messenger’ sent expressly by the

E ngl ish king ; and under th i s t itle he set out from Surat inD ecember 1 6 1 4 . That he should be regarded at court as an

NICHOLAS WITHINGTON , 1 6 1 2—1 6 1 93

ambassador was natural enough in the circumstances , and

probably Edwards was at no pains to d isavow the rank assignedto him but W ithington

’s charge that he arrogated that title

to h imse lf without authority seem s to be baseless .The news of the arriva l of another Engl ish fleet spurred

the Portugue se to fresh effort s . As soon as he could col lectall his ava ilable forces , the Viceroy h imself sa iled to the

northwards to crush the intruders and afterwards to pun ishthe ir Ind ian all ie s . Alarmed at the prospect , Mukarrab Khan ,

who had in va in demanded that the Engl ish sh ips shou ld aid

in the s iege of Daman by attacking that fortress from the sea ,

now applied to Downton to cc-operate act ively in the defenceof Surat aga inst the Viceroy

’ s armada . Downton , however,was too cautious to pledge h imself to anyth ing of the kind , and

reso lved to rema in strictly on the defensive . Not unnatural ly,th is attitude was warmly resented by the Mugha l authorities,who considered that the war was sole ly due to the ir receptionof the Engl ish and for a t ime relation s were stra ined . Thesebickerings were hushed by the near approach of the Portuguesesquadron , wh ich on January 20 , 1 6 1 5 , made a vigorous attackupon Downton ’s sh ips , ensconced beh ind the sandbanks at

Swally. Attempts to carry by board ing one of the sma l lervessel s were defeated with the loss of three of the Portuguesesh ips and a large number ofmen . Endeavours were then made

to burn the Engl ish fleet by mean s of firesh ips , but these failedentire ly ; and at la st the Viceroy returned to Goa utterlybaffled and with great loss of cred it . Downton rema ined at

Swally unt il the beginning of March , and then departed forthe Far East .With ington was i ll , he tell s us, for three months , and did

not completely recover unti l he had proceeded from Agra to

Ajmer . In July 1 6 1 5 he was again at the former city, Edwardshaving sent him and Robert Young th ither to tran sact some

business . A few month s later With ington was surprised bythe arriva l of a party of Englishmen from Ajmer with ordersfrom Edwards for his apprehension on a charge of defraud ingthe Company . In his narrative he of course makes out thathe had done noth ing to deserve such treatment but that therewas someth ing to be sa id on the other side seems evident , noton ly from the subsequent attitude of his employers , but a lsofrom the correspondence contained in Kerridge

’s letter-book,

now in the British Museum (Addl . MS . Kerridge , whowas then stationed at Ahmadabad ,

had certainly no an imusagain st With ington and was not at all we ll-d isposed towardsEdwards yet he nowhere h ints any doubt as to the justiceof the latter’s treatment of the former . Writing on November 1 6 , 1 6 1 5 , to Capta in Keel ing (who had reached Swallytwo months earlier with a fresh fleet, bringing Sir Thomas Roe

O


on his memorable embassy) , Kerridge forwards a letter fromEdwards , wh ich ,

he says , accuse s With ington of having not

only wronged the Company by pecu l iar stea lths and othe rv illanyes , but donn them an infinitt wronge in their investmentts and in another letter, addressed to Edwards

,he

e xpresses a perfunctory regret that the offender’s youthful ]imperfections had apparently developed into vilde con

d itions wh ich were nowe past hope of remeadyThe factors sent to secure With ington performed the ir duty

promptly, and he was carried to Ajmer, accord ing to his own

account, in irons . At that place , he would have us bel ieve , heanswered satisfactorily al l the charges made against h im ;whereupon Edwards , not to be baffled ,

trumped up a falsecharge of drunkenness, imprisoned him , and a l ittle later senthim down to Surat in cha ins . Here aga in Kerridge

’s letters

put a d ifferent complexion on the matter . In one of these ,dated December 22

, 1 6 1 5 , he writes Last n ight lateWith ington one horsbacke came to our dore drunkc, but wouldnot com in

, fearinge apprehention cryenge out Jaylors ,stand of, j aylers , more l ike a maddman farr then when you saweh im last . None of h is gardiants would laye hold one him , a ll

of them denyeng, as not be inge com itted to the ir charge .

Such a confused send ing of a prisoner I have not seen . Andretorninge to D ergee Seraw, wher he gott his l iquour , fel l outwith Magolls on the waye , that unhorste , beat , and deliv erdhim prisoner to the Cutwall , who th i s morninge (to ad to our

nat ions d isgrace) hath carried him to Sarder Chan .

’In another

letter of the same date Kerridge says that With ington hadescaped from his escort about s ixteen days before . Th i s i sa rather d ifferent picture from that drawn in the text of aninnocent prisoner lumbering meekly a long the road in cha ins .Wh ile st il l under confinement by the loca l authorit ie s,

With ington seem s to have found means to write to Sir Thoma sRoe , then newly arrived at Ajmer . In a letter to Kerridge , ofJanuary 1 3 1 6 1 6 (Brit ish Museum , Add] . MS . 6 1 1 5 , f.Roe says I am sorry to heare of such d isorder in the

factoryes and particularly for With ington, who hathwritten me a strange complayning lettre , prayeing me to

moove the King ; but I hav busines of other importauncenow then to trouble him with his debaushednes . I shalbe

ashamd the King know I have such a countryman . But leastnecessity force desperat courses , I have adv i sed the Genera l][i . e . Kee l ing] to redeme him (so it be not much to the prejud iceof the Company [and] so as his wage s in England may an swer) ,only for our nat ion s reputation . Hee fool ishly threatens tocurse me, i f I redeeme him not . I will doe what i s fittest , butcare not for his blessings nor execrations .’ The reference todesperat courses is expla ined in Roe’s letter to Keel ing, in



have d ied before April 1 6 24 , when it was reported to the

Company that his executor (probably the brother he men tions )had presented a petition to Parl iament on the subject of hiscla ims . Apparently nothing came of th i s .From internal evidence it i s concluded that W ithington

’

s

narrative was comp iled from h is journa l not long after hisreturn—probably at the t ime of his su it aga inst the Company .

A copy of the tractate (as he terms it ) came into the posse ss ion of Purchas , who printed a much condensed version of itin h is P ilgrimes (part i , book iv, Chap . More than a centurylater the story was printed in much fuller form ,

in a volume

entitled A Journey over Land from the Gu lf of Honduras to the

Great S outh-S ea, p erformed by John Cockburn and five otherEnglishmen . To which i s added a curious p iece, wri tten inthe Reign of King James 1 and never before p rinted, inti tledA Bri ef D iscoverye of some Things best worth noteinge in the

Travells of N icholas Wi thington , a F actor in the East Indiase

(London , Th i s append ix (itself dated 1 7 34 ) i s statedto have been printed from the origina l MS . but the unnamed

ed itor, in his preface , tells us nothing of the way in wh ich heacqu ired the document . Nor has it since been traced .

The present reprint follows the text of the 1 7 34 version ,

wh ich i s about three times as long as that given by Purchas .It i s evident , however, that the e ighteenth-century ed itorim itated his predecessor in om itting deta ils wh ich he judgedto be un important , although Purchas had included some of

them . The passages given by the latter have now for the mostpart been re stored , e ither in notes or as interpolations (betweensquare brackets ) in the text . On the other hand , part of

W ithington’

s account of the outward voyage has been om ittedhere , as unnecessary for our present purpose .

THE 2 8 th of June , 1 6 1 2 , wee departed from the Baye of

Saldania [i . e . Table Bay] with prosperous wyndes, sayl inge

on in our voyage until] the 1 3th day of Auguste , when weecrossed the E quinoctiall Lyne . And the 3 0th daye wee sawesnakes swym inge in the sea , beeinge in the height of e ighteene

and a halfe degrees to the norward of the Equinoctiall .1 And

soe wee sayled on unt il] the fourth of September, when wee

The first of September they saw land the s econd anchor againstDaman towne , inhabited and conquered by Portugalls. The fluxsinfested them all that remained on land at Surat Master Aldworth wassicke forty dayes (Purchas) .

NICHOLAS WITHINGTON , 1 6 1 2—1 6 1 9 7

came with in foure leagues of the barr of Suratt, where wee mett

with the Ozcander, beeinge one of our fleete, whoe was rydinge

at an anchoure there hav inge gotten a pilott out of a boate

of the countrye and lefte one of our carpenter’s mates in

hostage for h im ,whoe unwiselye carryinge some moneye aboute

h im ,when the Moores were from the shippe , they cutt h is

throate and tooke what hee had , as afterwards wee were

certaynlye informed . Uppon the 7 th of the same moneth wee

arrived at the barre of Suratt in the East-Indeases, and the

th irteenth day wee came to Suratt and were kyndlye enter

tayned of the Governor and the chiefes of the cittye . There i s

an order in th i s cuntrye that strangers com inge to visite an

inhabitante (bee hee a man of anye fash ion ) doe presente him

with somethinge or other, and not to come to h im emptye

handed insomuch tha t our people wh ich wee sente firste on

shore , having noth ing but money aboute them to give for

presents , were fayne to presente the Governor of the cittye

and other ch iefe men with each a royal] of e ight , wh ich they

kyndlye accepted , takinge yt for a greate honour to bee

presented ,though the presente bee but small .

[Notwithstanding Sir Henry Middleton taking the ir Sh ips inthe R ed-sea , yet they prom ised us good dealing, consideringe lse they must burne their sh ips (sa id Mill Jeffed [Mir Jafar] ,one of the chiefe merchants of Surat ) and give over the ir tradeby sea . Impossible it was to have any trade at Surat, by

reason of Portugall frigats in the rivers mouth therefore the

General] repa ired with his ships to Swally, whence he m ight

by land go and come without danger . The th ird of October

Sheke Shuffe , 1 Gov ernour ofAmadav ar , chiefe citie of Guzerat,came to Surat and so to Swally, and agreed upon article s .

Master Cann ing had been taken by the Portuga ls , but the

Vice-Roy commanded to set h im ashoare at Surat, sayingLet him goe helpe his country-men to fight , and then we will

take the ir sh ip and the re st of them a ltogether . But the

purser made an escape and so came to us on land . Master

Cann ing was set on shoare at Surat , according to prom ise , andso went aboord .]

1 Shaikh Safi. He appears to have been the Diwan, not the Governor.


Herc wee remayned trad ing unt il] the 29th of November,when the same daye , our shippes lying in the mouth of the

river of Suratt, fower Portungale gallionns, with a whole fleeteof frigotts, came in s ight of our two shippes (or rather one shippeand a pynnace) . Then our General ] (in the Dragon) presentlyewayed anchoure , and wor thelye encouraged our men not to

feare them nor the greatnesse of theire sh ippes or fleete , but

to shew them se lves true Engl ishmen ; and soe mett theireadm ira l] and vize-adm irall , and shott not one shoote t il l heecame betweene them , and then gave each of them a broad sydeand a brave v olleye of Shott , wh ich made them give way and

come noe m ore meare her that daye . The other shippes werenot as yett come uppe , and the Ozeander could not gett cleare

of her anchours, soe shee shott not one shoote that daye but

the Dragon supplyed her wante v erye wel l and , i t drawingeh eare n ight , they all came to anchoure wi th in S ight of each

other ; and the next morninge wayed anchours againe and

begann theire fight , in wh ich the Ozeander brave ly redeemed

the tyme shee loste the daye before . The fyrye D ragon , best ir

inge herselfe , in some three howers hott feight drove three of

the gall ion s on the sands, and then the Ozeander, drawingel ittle

water, daunced the haye 1aboute them , and soe payed them

that they durste not Shewe a man on the ire deckes, killinge

and spoyl inge the ir men, and battered the ire sh ipps exceed ing

lye . In the afternoone , the flud bee inge come ,the gallionns ,

with the he lpe of the friggots, were aflote agayne , and receav ed

a brave we lcome of our shippes with whom they continued

fe ight about foure howers, but much to theire d i sadvantage

and our greate honour . It beeinge nowe n ight, wee came to

our anchours, and theire rode that night and all the nexte

daye without meddl ing each with other . And the daye after,the D ragon drawinge much water, and the baye Shallowe ,

the General ] wente from thence and rode on the other syde of

the baye , at a place ca lled Mendofrobag2 where al l that

tyme Sardar Channe ,3 a great nobleman of the Mogull’

s, with

1 Acountry dance, in which the performers wound in and out.2 Muzaffarabad (generally contracted to Jafarabad), a town on the

coast ofKathiawar, about twenty-fiv e miles east of Diu .

3 SardarKhan , the title given by Jahangir to Khwaja Yadgar, brotherofAbdullah Khan .



had Slayne 1 6 0 men . Some reporte 300 and odd , but them

se lve s confesse 1 6 0 but sure the ire losse was more then they

wil l confesse .

The 1 3 th of Januarye , 1 6 1 2 I (beeinge in Suratt)was sente for aboard by the Genera l] where by a eounsa ilc

I was entertayned, and bounde to the Worshippfull Companye

of Marchaunts , and in regard of my languadge (which others

of the ire factors wanted ) I was appoynted to remayne in Saratt

as a factor . And having entred into a bonde of 40 0 l . for the

accomplishment of my service , I was th i s day dispeeded from

the Genera l] and retorned to Saratt . The is and manye other

th ings accomplished , wee for the cuntrye were set on shore ,and the 1 8th of Januarye , 1 6 1 2 , the sh ippee departed for

England,

1 the gall ionns never offering one shott at them ,

hav inge ridden manye dayes in sight of them . [AnthonyStarkey was sent for England ]Beeinge at Saratt , the 2 9th day of Januarye wee dispeeded

Mr . Paul e Caninge for Agra , hav inge provided all th ings

necessarye for his voyage to contentment ; but he had a

ted ious and hard journey of yt, bee inge 7 0 daye s on the wayebetweene Suratt and Agra , and underwen te manye troubles ,beeinge sett on by the ennemye on the waye , whoe shott h im

through the bellye with an arrowe and l ikewise one of h is

E ngl ishmen through the arme, and killed and hurte manyeof his pyonns [peons] but, God bee thanked,

hee loste not

any thinge, but before h is arrival] in Agra hee was well curedof his hurte . Scone after th i s, two of his Englishe

2 fe ll out

with him and soe lefte him on the waye , retorninge to Suratt

one of them brought away his be ste horse and furniture , wh ich

coste 20 l . Soe Mr. Caninge proseeded on his journey, onlye

attended with two mus itians ; and the 9th day of April]arrived in Agra . And the nexte day was ca lled before the

Kinge , to whom hee del ivered the Kinge of England’s letters

and a presente , wh ich was of noe greate v allue wh ich made

the Kinge a ske h im i f our Kinge sente h im that presente he

answer’

d our Kinge sente him the letter, but the marcli aunts

sente him that presente . The Kinge graced h im by giv inge1 Really forAchin and Bantam, before returning to England.

2 Richard Temple and Edward Hunt.

N ICHOLAS WITHINGTON , 1 6 1 2—1 6 20 1

him a cuppe of wyne with his owne hande (as Mr. Cah inge

wrote to us) , and further toulde him that all his requests

should bee graunted , willinge him to write home for all rich

nove lt ie s , wher in hee much del ighted ; and in fyne referred

h im, for d ispatch of his businesse ,

to Mochrobo Chaune

[Mukarrab Khan] , a greate nobleman ; whoe objected , first ,some fiv e or sixe marchaunts to res ide in Agra , and wee should

have a castle builte for us at Mendofrobag : secondlye , hee

a lledged , i f noe marchannts should bee in Agra , then another

Genera l ] m ight take the ire goods , as Sir Henry Middleton haddon thirdlye , if for our sakes they should breake peace withthe Portungales, and then wee to have noe more shippe come

in three or fower yeares , what sat isfact ion wee coul d make

them for wrongs receav ed by them from the Portungales

To al l wh ich Mr . Cah inge answer’

d to contente andMochroboChaume imparted h is answere to the Kinge, whoo rested well

contente therewith .

Soone after his com inge to Agra , one of his musitian s

[i . e . Lancelot Cann ing] dyed (wh ich was the ch iefest presentesent to the Kinge ) . Aboute the burial] of him Mr . Caningehad much trouble with the Portungale Fathers , whoe wouldnot suffer h im to bee buried in theire church-yarde (a placewh ich the Kinge gave the Portungales for burial] of Chrystians)

yet at laste Mr . Caninge buried h im there . But the Portungales

tooke him upp aga ine , and buried him in the heighway wh ich

the Kinge hearing of, made them take him upp againe and

bury h im in the former place , threatninge them not onlye to

turne them out of his kingdom , but a llsoe theire dead bod ie s ,theire countriemen , out of the ire graves .

1

Presentlye after, Mr . Caninge wrote to us of the daunger and

feare hee l ived in of bee inge poysoned by the Jesu itts , and

therefore desired that I , Nich . With ington ,m ight come upp

to him, as wel l to assiste him in his pre sente affares as allsoe to

1 Kerri dge (Letters Received, v ol. i , p . 283 ) giv es a di fferent account.

He says that the Jesuits di sinterred the body of Lancelot Canning without the knowledge of his cousin ; and that, on the death of the latter,Trully buried both bodies together on one side of the Christian cemetery,at a good distance from the other tombs—ah arrangement to whi ch theJesui ts made no objection .


followc our su ite at courte in case of his mortalletyc wher

uppon it was concluded amongste us at Suratt, by a counse l] ,that I shoul d departe with all conven iente speede for Agra .

Presentlye after th is , there came a pattamar 1 with letters

from Agra, certifyinge us of the death of Mr . Caninge ,2and

allsoe howe the Kinge had taken order that all h is goods

should bee kepte safe t ill some of our Engl ishmen came thether

to take charge of them Wheruppon yt was st ill agreed that

I Should proseede on my purposed journey to Agra ; but

exceptions was taken by one Thoma s Kyrridge, whoe alledgedthat , Mr . Caninge beeinge dead , the place belonged to him .

In fyne hee was dispeeded for Agra but before his departureit was concluded amongste us that some one of us should goefor England ov erlande from Mocha , with letters to advise theWorshippfull Companye of our proseedings . And now in

regard that with in some e ighte or ten dayes there was a shippe

of th i s place bounde for Mocha in the Re dd Sea ,in wh ich

shippe one goinge m ight wel l in twoe moneths trav ell bee in

Al lexandria in Turkye so that by all l ikel ihood hee m ightbee sooner in England then if hee Should goe by the way of

Aleppo in fyne our Agente propounded thi s journey to mee ,

N .W . wh ich I , seeinge the necessitye of sendinge one , and

that none other would attempte the journey, gave waye to

undertake . Soone after wee sente for the master of the shippe

that was bounde for Mocha and acquaynted him with our

intente whoe 'tould us that it was impossible for a Chrystian

to passe that way, unlesse hee were circum si zed , noe Christian

beeinge suffrcd to come neare Mocha ,

3 where theire prophett

Mahomet was buried by wh ich place I muste of force pa sse

to goe to Allexandria . The l ike wee heard allsoe of d ivers

others wh ich made us (but especiallye myself, not hav inge

a desier to bee cutt ) to give over our determ ination . Yet not

withstandinge, wee hyred a fellowe, that understoode the

Arabian tonge and had formerlye ben that way, to carrye our

Or foote poste (marginal note).Purchas says that Cann ing died May 29 , 16 13 , and that Kerridge

started for Agra on the 22nd of the following month. The date of

Cann ing’s death is also given asMay 12 (0 . O. 1 1 7 andMay 27 (0 . C .

3 Purchas has Mecca which is evidently intended, thoughMuhammad

’s tomb is really atMedina



d id and was c ircumsized , the Kinge a llowinge h im 7 8 . 6 d . per

daye and his d ie tt at the Kinge’

s own table but within eighte

dayes after h is circumsiz ion he dyed . Lykewise another of

our compan ie , cal led Robert Trullye , which was an attendante

to Mr . Can inge , whome hee lefte and wente to Decanne to theKinge thereof, carryinge a long with him a Ge rmayne for h isinterpritor that understoode the language and com inge there ,offred bothe to turne Moores , which was kyndlye accepted by

the Kinge . So Trul lye was c ircum si zed , and had a newe name

g iven him and greate al lowance given him by the Kinge , withwhom hee cont inued . But they c

'

om inge to eutt the Germayne ,founde that hee had ben formerlye circum sized (as he was

once in thought nowe to have deceav ed the Decanne ,whoe , fyndinge him allrcddye a Moore , would not give him

entertaynment soe hee retorned to Agra and gott himselfe

into the service of a Frenchman , and i s turned Chrystian

againe , go inge usuallye to Masse with his master . Another

allsoe , ca lled Robert Claxton ,

1 whom wee had entertayned ,

hear inge reporte how Trullye was made of in the Deeann s

courte , lefte us and wente thether allsoe and turned Moore ,hav inge v erye good al lowance yet, not contente therewith ,

after the Engl ishe shippes came to Suratt, hee came thether,shewinge himselfe v erye pennytente for what hee had don ,

and carried himselfe in such manner that ev erye man pittied

h im . At the laste hee gott into his hands some fortye and odd

pounds , under pretence of helpinge them to buye commodyt ies ,

and then gave them the slippe and retorned from whence hee

came , and there remaynes stil l , for ought wee knowe . So there

i s with the Kinge of Decanne fower Englishemen wh ich are

turned Moores , and d ivers Portungales allsoe .

Aboute the 1 2th of October, 1 6 1 3 , Mr . Aldworth (our

Agente ) , myselfe , and Mr . Aldworth ’s man ,

2and a Germayne

began our journey for Amadav ar and trav ellinge a longe the

cuntrye , the 1 8 th daye wee came to a pr ittie village called

1 Or Clarkson (Letters Received, v ol . i , pp . 299 ,2 John Young. The German was named Jacob . He had been

captured by the Turks in Hungary and remained a slave for seven or

eight years , when , after sev eral changes of masters, he managed to

escape to the Portuguese at Goa , from whom he fled to Surat (LettersReceived, v ol. i , pp . 299 ,


Sarron ,

1and lodged in the Governor

’s yarde , where wee were

safe from theev es . In the morn inge wee beeinge reddye to

departe , the Governor sente his men to us to begge somethinge

of us whoe were contente with 8 p ite s [pice] , wh ich i s aboute3d. Engl ishe . And trav ellinge yet further on our journey, wee

came to a cittye called Brothra [Baroda] , wh ich i s but a l ittle

cittye , yet of fyne buyldings ; where wee bought some com

mod if ie s for our trad ing . And about ten courses from thencewee came to a rive r ca lled Wasseth ,

2 where wee fownde

Mussulph Chane [Musafi Khan Governor of Brodra (and

a friend to our Englishe ) , with h is armye , beeinge reddye to

fighte with the Rasbooches that laye on the other syde of the

river, to the number of 2000 horses and manye foote . Wee

v iz itted him and presented him with cloth and toward s

n ight peace was concluded betweene him and the rebbells . The

cheife of them (beeinge the capta in, and of the rase of the ould

kinges of Suratt) came over the river to v iz itt the Governor ;but before hee came , hee sente over h is whole armye , whoe

put themselves in battell array, for feare of anye trecherye

for the yeare before , the brother of th i s rebbell com inge in the

same manner to visite Mussulph Chane , whoe caused his

throate to bee cutt , and after slewe manye of h is sould iers .

Soe th i s rebel] , to prev ente the l ike , sente over his whole armye

first, and then came armed himselfe , hse ing compassed with

some fortye of his ch iefest sould iers, all armed compleate , and

soe presented himselfe before Mussulph Chane , giv einge him a

wh ite bowe ,witnessinge (aswee conceav ed )his innocencye and

soe , kissinge the hande of the Governor, presentlye departed .

Mussulph Chane l ikewise the same n ight wen te to Brodra , and

lefte us twentie of his horsemen to accompanye us on our waye .

1 Purchas gives the intermediate stages From Surat I went toPeriano [Variao] , three course . To Cosumbay [Kosamba] , a littlev illage , 10 c. Barocho [Broach] , 10 c a prettie citie on a high hill ,compassed with a wall

,a great river running by, as broad as Thames

div ers shippes of two hundred tunnes and odde there riding ; bestcalicoes in the kingdome ; store of cotton . To Saringa [Sarang] , 10 c.To Carron [Karvan] 10 c. ’ Sarang is about four miles north of Shah

abad .

2 TheMahi. Wasseth is really Vasad, the place where the highroadcrossed the river .


and allsoe lente us one of his ellephants to transporte our

goods over the river, the water beeinge he ighe . [To N ir iand

[Nari-51 d] , 1 4 c . a great towne where they make ind ico .]

The twenty-second daye wee came to Amadav ar,which i s

the che ifest cittye of Guysseratt, and i s v erye neare as bigge

as London , walled rounde with a v erye stronge wa ll , scituatein the p layne by the river-syde . Here are marchaunts of all

places resydinge, as wel l Chrystians as Moore s and Gentills .

The commod itie s of th i s place are cloth of gould, si lver tissue ,v ellv ets (but not comparable to ours) , taffetase and other

stuffes, and d ivers druggs, with other commod ities .1 Herewee tooke a howse to h ier in a place where d ivers Armen ianmarchaunts lye and other Chrystians . The nexte daye weev iz ited Abdolla Chan ,

2 Governor of th i s place (a nobleman of

5000 horse paye ) , and presented him with a ve ste of cloth 3

and other trifles of sma l l v allue but hee expected greater

matters , wh ich wantinge , hee presentlye d ism i ssed us without

any grace .

Shortelye after, our Agente sente mee to Cambaya , giv inge

mee 200 rupeias, ev erye rupie containinge 2s . 6 d. , to buye of

a ll sorts of commod it ie s wh ich I should fynde there fitt for ourtradinge , and to informe myselfe of the place wh ich I thankeGod I d id , though with greate daunger of robbinge . [Sevencourse to Barengeo [Bareja] , where every Tuesday the cafily

[see p . 1 43 ] of Cambaya meete and so keepe company for feare

of theev es . Hence sixteene course to Soquatera [Soj itra] , afine towne well manned with sould iers . Departed at m idn ight ,and about e ight of the clocke next morn ing came 1 0 c . to

Cambaya ] And the 3oth daye , hav inge be stowed my 200

rupeias in such commodit ies as I founde for our turne , in the

afternoone bee inge reddye to departe , the Governor sente for

mee and shewed mee our King’s letter of England, wh ich

Genera l Beste brought tell inge mee it was sente him downefrom the Kinge to have it translated , and intreated mee to doe

yt ; but I excused myselfe , urginge the necessitie of my

1 Purchas specifies gumbuck [gumlac] and coloured bafiataes2 Abdullah Khan, Firuz-jang, was Viceroy of Gujarat from 16 1 1 to

1 6 16 .

Viz three yards and a half (marginal note).



heathens to Chrystian itie , though hee hath l ittle profiit there

bye hetherto yet stil l resteth in his vocation . Hee tould us

that they were a people absolutelye predestinated for hell .

Hee , beeinge a Frenchman , was v erye open to our Agente inall matters ; and l ikewise made knowne unto him his owne

poore e state , protestinge hee had nothinge to cate, by reasonof the imbarquement of the Portungales and the ire goodes

and in fyne intreated our Agente to lende him some money

or g ive him some for God’s sake . Our Agente, seeinge the

pov ertye of the poore man , gave him tenn rupeias, viz . 2 5s .

sterlinge for the wh ich afterwards hee wrote to him a

thankful letter, but withall desired h im to burne yt whereby

I note his pride of harte , to bee willinge to receav e a good turnebut not openlye to acknowledge that hee had neede of yt .

The 1 2th of December 1 wee had certayne inte lligence by

d ivers that there were Engl ish sh ipps arrived in Synda at

Lowrybander2 Whereuppon yt was thought fitt by our

Agente (myselfe thereto consentinge ) that I should instantlyetake my journey thether to them, to informe them of our

settled factorye and to advise them of other th ings conven iente

for our and theire tradinge . Whereuppon I prepared all th ingsnecessarye , and the nexte daye departed on my journey . And

the firste n ight I fel l acqua inted with certayne marchaunts

bounde for Synda , of wh ich acquayntance wee were all we l l

pleased and glad, keepinge companye together til l yt pleased

God to parte us by death .

3 Keepinge on our waye, the 1 5th of

December, 1 6 1 3 , wee came to a village called Callwalla . Th i s

towne the King’s father (ould Accabaa ) after the conqueste of

Guyseratt, com inge thether, gave to a company of women and

theire poster itie for ever, uppon condition to teache and bringe

upp theire ch i ldren in theire owne profess ion , wh ich i s daunc

inge , etc . At '

our beeinge here , the women of the towne came

into‘

our caravan and daunced , ev erye man giv inge them some

1 Purchas says November 28 .

2 Printed (here and elsewhere ) Eowrybander It is Lahribandar,the old port ofTatta ,

near the Pitimouth of the Indus.3 Purchas’s version has The thi rteenth of December came to

Cassumparo , Where I ov ertooke a caphi lo travelling to Radenpare

[Radhanpur] , six dayes journey on my way. Fourteene, to Callita

lowny, a faire castle. Thi rteene [i. e . 1 5th] , 7 c. to Callwalla,’

&c.

NICHOLAS WITHINGTON,1 6 1 2—1 6 20 9

thinge and afterwards they asked openlye Whoe wants abedfe llow Soe shamelesse they were . Wee departed from

thence the nexte day. [The si xteenth , 8 c . to Garrya [Khawadwhere i s a we l l-manned fortresse and the e ighteenth (til l

wh ich ,for feare of theev es, wee stayed for another caravan )

to Deccanaura [Dekawara] ; our camel l stolne and a man

s]a ine . ] And the 1 9th day wee came [1 0 c .] to Bollodo , a forte

kepte by Newlocke Abram 1(a brave souldier) for the Mogul ]

whoe was that day retorned from battel ], bringinge home with

him 1 6 9 heads of the Cool ies [Kol is] , a theev ish caste of

moutteners [mounta ineers that l ive by robbinge and spoyl

inge poore passengers on the heighwaye . [The twentieth , 1 3 c .

to Sariandgo , a fort .] Wee stil l kepte on our journey, and the2 l st daye wee came [1 0 c . ] to Raddinpoore [Radhanpur] , a bigetowne , hav inge a forte kepte in yt and a companye of brave

sould iers . Wee stayed here twoe dayes to provide ourse lves

of prov is ion for the desarte journey, there beeinge nothinge

to bee had on the way,not soe much as freshe water for our

cammells , nor anye other v ictualls for them or ourselves . The

23d daywee trave lled [7 and at n ight laye in the fe ilds . [Met

a caravan robbed of all , from Tutta . The foure and twentieth

1 2 c . D ispeeded one ofmy pions to Lowribander with a letter

wh ich prom ised to doe it in ten dayes , but I thinke was slaine .

The fiv e and twentieth 1 4 c .] Lodged in the fe ilds , by a we l l

of water, but yt was soe sa lte that wee could not use yt . [Thesix and twentieth 1 0 c . to such another we l l .] Th i s daye wee

gave our cammells water wh ich wee brought from Raddin

poore , they not hav inge dranke of three dayes , wh ich i s usual]

with them there in the ir trav ell . Soe wee travel led the 2 7th day

[1 4 c .] and laye in the fe i lds as before , hav inge nothinge but

what wee brought with us . And the 2 8th day [1 0 c .] wee came

to Negar Parker [Nagar Parkar] , a poore towne , yet with goodstore of provision for trave llers . In the deserte that wee had

passed wee sawe greate aboundance of wilde asses, redd deare,foxes , and other wild bea sts . This towne 2

(wherein wee

1 Purchas calls him Newlook Abram Cabrate . This may be intendedfor Nurullah Ibrahim Kabuli.

2 Purchas adds that here they met with an other caravan , robbedwithin two dayes journey of Tutta


stayed a daye to refreshe ourselves and then departed , payinge

a tonic [toll] for our cammells ladinge ) payeth a yearelye

tribute to the Mogul ] . All the re ste betweene that and Juno ,

1

wh ich i s halfe a day’s journey from Tutta , paye none , neither

acknowledge any k inge but them selves , robbinge and sparinge

whom they l iste . When an armye of the Mog ull’s cometh

aga inste them . they fyer the ire bowse s and flye into the

mountayns, theire bowses beeinge made of strawe and morter,in the fash ion of beeh ives, wh ich are soone burnte and soone

upp agayne . They have a custome to guard passengers (when

they have taken from them what they please , under culour of

custome) t il l they be fourth of the ire territoryes, takinge it in

fowle d isgrace to have anye other but them selve s to robb anyeman with in the ire command .

[We travelled 6 c . a nd lay by a tanke or pond of fresh

water . The th irty one , 8 c . , and lay in the fields by a bracki shwell . The first of January [1 6 1 4]

2 we went 1 0 c . to Burdiano .]Here wee payed custome for our goods, stayinge there a daye

and better, manye of our companye beeinge s icke with drinkingof theire water, wh ich i s brackish . And my owne provision

of water beeinge spente ,I was forced to drink th i s of theirs ,

but I m ingled yt with butterm ilke, wherof there i s good store .

Of th i s water, as bad as yt was, wee laded our camm ells for

four dayes journey, the ire beeinge none to bee had in all that

way. [Travelled more the second 1 8 c . , all night . The th ird ,

in the afternoone t il l m idn ight , 1 0 c . The fourth , 1 2 c . Here

I fel l s icke and vom ited ,by reason of the water . The fifth , 7 c . ,

and came to three wells , two salt , one sweetish . The s ixth ,

to Nuraquimire , a pretie towne , 1 0 0 . Here our Raddingpoore

company left us . We rema ined two merchants, my selfe ,fiv e of their servants, foure of m ine , with tenne camel s, fiv e

came l-men . Th i s towne i s with in three dayes of Tutta, and

seemed to us after our desart a Parad ise . We agreed with one

of the Bagies or Gov ernours kinred for twenty laries (twenty

shil l ings ) to conduct us ; who departed with us the e ighth ,

1 Possibly Juma, on the Indus, eightmi les below Tatta.

2 The later version says that it was on January 2 that they reacheda little v illage called Burdiaws, seated on a hi ll Withington

’

s stages,at this portion of the j ourney, cannot be identified.



compan ions departure willed mee to stay with him ,makinge

m ee suppe there and giv inge mee much wyne , drinkinge bothetogether in one cupp till hee was allmoste stawed, 1 and then

sente mee to my companye , and much v ictualls with mee .

Here wee remayned the nexte daye and towards n ight I

mett with a Ban ian ,

2whoe came that daye from Tutta whoe

tould mee that Sir Robert Sherley, with h is wief and three or

four Engl ish women , with seven or e ight Engl ish men ,were

in Tutta . Th i s Ban ian came in Sir Robert’s companye fromLowryebander , in a shippe wh ich sett them on shore at Tuttaand so departed thence ,3 there beeinge noe Engl ish shippes,

nor factorye seated there . Hee tould mee howe Sir Robert

had ben much abused at Lowrybander, bothe by the Governor

and the Portungales, and howe the Portungales came on shorei n the n ight and fyred Sir Robert

’s house, hurtinge many of

h is men ; and l ikewise at his arrival] at Tutta, three daye s

journey from Lowrybander, Mersa Rusto ,

4 then Governor of

Tutta for the Mogu l] , used him v erye unkyndlye and tookefrom him jewe ll s and what e lse soever pleased him , purposinge

to sende him upp to the Mogul] . In thi s e state hee lefte Sir

Robert th i s laste n ight , when hee was at Sir Robert’s house .

6

Hee advised mee to intreate the Governor of th i s place to

lende us some of his soul d iers to guard us to Tutta wh ich in

fyne I did, and sente the Ragee for a presente 40 lareis, wh ich

hee tooke kyndlye , prom isinge to bringe us him selfe, with

50 horsemen, to the gate s of Tutta and withall would make

mee bel ieve that yt was for my sake that hee wente himselfe

1 Stared in Purchas.2 Baman (here and elsewhere ) in the printed version . It is explained

in the margin as a pedlar3 Thi s was the Expedition ,

commanded by Christopher Newport, inwhich Sir Robert Sherley, the celebrated adventurer, had returned fromhis long mi ssion to vari ous Eur opean courts as ambassador from the

Persian Shah . From Tatta he went up to Ajmer , to complain to the

Emperor Jahangir. After a stay of about three months, he proceededto Agra , and thence (Sept. 1 6 14) overland to Persia.

4 Mirza Rustam (see p. 139) had recently been appointed Viceroy of

Sind.

5 The version in Purchas adds that the Banian told of the great tradeofTutta , the chiefe that he had scene , and that a shippe of three hundredtuune might come to Lowribander

NICHOLAS WITHINGTON , 1 6 1 2—1 6 2 1 3

wh ich made my companions thinke themselve s happie in mycompanye , and were more merrye then ever I sawe them

before .

The 1 1 th daye in the afternoone wee laded our cammells,

the Ragee with his companye beeinge reddye to depart from

Surrun and that n ight rode fiv e courses, 1 and re sted by a

river-syde . The Ragee sente for fishermen , whoe tooke more

in ha lfe an hower then a ll the companye could cate . Wee

supped that n ight with the Ragee , hee tellinge us that by n ine

of the clocke in the morninge hee would del iver us with in the

gate s of Tutta wh ich made us all v erye merrye . At two of

the clocke in the morn inge hee bad us Iade our cammells , and

then ledd us a longe by the river-syde aboute a myle and ha lfe ,

sayinge the river was too decpc for our cammells to passe

and then ledd us a cleane contrary way, as wee perceav ed ,

wh ich made us greatelye feare his intente . And aboute

breakinge of day, wee came into a th icke va lley of wood

inv ironed about with h i lls , a place moste fitt for our bloudyc

guyde to acte his pretended [i . e . intended] tragedye . And

beeinge in the m idde st of the th ickett, hee bad u s unlade our

cammells, for he would see wherewitha l] they were laden ;wh ich bee ing done , hee caused us a ll to bee bounde and our

weapons to bee taken from us . Then opened the fardells

[i . e . ba les] and founde greate store of cloth of gould , s i lver,and t issue , and other commod it ie s , wh ich coste the marchaunts

my compan ions in Amadav ar twentye thou sand rupiase (eachrupia bee inge 2s . as they had formerly tould mee . The

Ragee , seeinge th i s bootye soe rich , concluded to kill the

marchaunts and all the i r servants and his companye would

have had him kill mee and my men a llsoe , a lledg ing as good

save all as some but by no meanes hee would therto consente ,te ll ing them I was of a v erye farr countrye and would doe

them noe hurte ,wantinge language . In fyne hee prom ised

his companye tha t I should not goe for Tutta to bewray th i sfaete of the irs there , but hee would sende mee back aga ine to

Amadav ar from whence I came ; so caused my four men

presentlye to bee unbounde , making m e s itt close by him selfe ,

and suddayn ly caused his men to hange the three marchaunts

1 Acourse is a mile and a halfe English (marginal nole) .


and the ire five men, tyinge the ire camme lls rope s about theire

neckes and with a shorte trunchion twisted the ropes until]

they were strangled, and then stripped them naked and made

a greate ho le in the earth and threwe them in all together ;wh ich done , hee tooke from mee my horse and gave mee twoe

of my dead compan ions horses . Hee tooke from mee l ikewise

e ighty rupia s of the Compan ies moneyes and see sente mee

and mymen , with four of his horsemen , to a brother’s of his,

wh ich dwelte some twentye courses off the place , upp to the

mountaynes and soc aboute m idday d ispeeded mee from

him .

Beeinge nowe on the way towards h is brother, a newe fearefel l on mee, for that my companions tould mee that the four

horsemen that wente with mee had order to kill us all whenwee were some twoe or three courses off wheruppon they

wept extreamlye and asked one another forgiv enesse , makingthem selves reddye to dye and the countenance ofmy guydes

presaged l ittle le sse , not once speaking to mee . Soe with a

woful l harte , God knows , I rode t ill an hower with in n ight

at wh ich tyme wee came to a l ittle village on the topp of a

v erye heigh h ill , belonginge to the Ragee , where I lay that

n ight , beeinge kyndlye welcomed by my guydes, giving mee

and mymen and horses v itlcs enough . The nexte day, beeinge

the 1 4th of Januarye , 1 6 1 3 [i . e . 1 6 1 4 ] wee travel led a ll day

longe without any bayt inge , over terrible heigh h illes and

rocks , and late at n ight came to the Ragee’ s brother’ s howse ,

to whom I was de l ivered and order given him by my guyde to

keepe mee t il] hee heard farther newes from the Ragee . Th i s

man used mee kyndlye and gave mee a large place in his howse

to lye in , and roome for my horses . The nexte morninge the

four horsemen that brought mee thether retorned to the ir

master, leav inge mee in th i s place where I continued 22 dayes ,bee inge never suffred to st ir our of dores , nor none ofmymen ,

ne ither anye to come at us but those that brought us victua ls

twice a daye , wh ich wee never wanted .

Notwithstandinge , I stil l feared I should never get thence

with l ife but yt pleased God ,the 7 th day of Februarye , order

came from the Ragee to his brother to sende mee to Parker

and there de l iver mee to the Governor (wh ich was l ikewise of



save oulye our breeches wh ich done , they lefte us with our

horses , wh ich were not worth the taking . Th is m iserye wente

nearer my harte then al l the former, beeinge nowe stripped of

all and hav inge nowe two th ird parts of my way to goe to

Amadabar, not knowinge one foote of the way, and the wether

could wh ich made mee allmoste wearye of my l ife , and mymens unhartinesse made me ful ler of greefe . Yet comfortinge

my selfe and men the beste I could, the firste of March , 1 6 1 3

[1 6 14] I wente on without a guyde, not knowinge one foote of

the way but onlye by gesse , and trave lled all day longe , andtowards n ight came to two or three houses of poore cammel

men s that kepte cammells in the mountaynes to whom wee

tould the m ishapp wh ich wee had receav ed by our guydes

thus leaving us . The poor people made much of us, giv inge

u s such v ictualls as they had and one of them prom ised to

leade us into the way that goes to Parker, from thence some

two dayes journey . In the morninge hee wente with us some

three courses, puttinge us in the he igh way, and so lefte us

but wee , m issinge our way,made four daye s journey to

Parker . My horse tyringe , I was fayne to goe one foote, and ,

bee inge a bad footeman , trave lled v erye softlye . And ev erye

n ight wee came to a l ittle vil lage and begged for our v ictualls ,fyndinge a ll the inhabitants charitable people . So the s ixth dayat n ight we came to Parker, m iserablye wearye and hungrye .

I sente two of my men to proov e what they could doe for mee

with begging, but they brought me noth ing so I byded that

n ight and the nexte morninge I sente one ofmy horses to se l l ,but noe man would g ive above four mamoda

’s1 for him . Yet

I shoul d have been forced to have sould him for that , but by

greate chaunce I mett with a Ban ian marchaunte ofAmadav ar

whom I had formerlye knowen whoe wondred to see mee in

that case, and after manye kynde salutations offred mee what

money I wou ld have , not suffringe mee to sel l my horse . Thus

it p leased God to sende mee releefe , when I was in greate

necessitie , not knowinge what to doe to gett provision for myjourney over the desarte to Amadav er, wh ither of force Imuste have gone but it pleased God to sende mee th i s

succour . Hee furn ished mee and my men with clothe s and1 Mahmfidis (see p. The margin explains the term as shillings

N ICHOLAS WITHINGTON , 1 6 1 2—1 6 2 1 7

v ictualls sufficient to serve us in the deserte , and gave me

n ine mamoda’s in my purse, payinge all my expences whileste

I stayed heare , wh ich was four dayes and then , hav inge good

companye wh ich wente to Ra dingpore , I wente a longe with

them . The honest Ban ian commended mee unto them and

brought mee one course on my way, and then retorned to

Parker, where hee had businesse for ten daye s , as hee sa id .

Nothinge worth notinge pa ssed in our way over the desart,onlye the superstitious custom s of the people , wh ich I will

herafter expre sse . Wee were six daye s betweene Parker andRadd ingpore . And the n ineteenth of March I came to

Raddingpore , and there fe ll exeeedinge s icke and remayned

soe s ix daye s , l iker to dye then l ive . And the twenty-sixth of

March , 1 6 1 4 , beeinge somewhat amended , and good companye

reddye to departe for Amadavar, I strayned curtesie with mys icknesse and departed with them , pawn inge some of myclothes to one of the companye for fiv e mamoda

’s , my mouye

formerlye borrowed beeinge spente in my,sick nesse . And

after seven daye s trave l] I ariv ed in Amadav ar (the Lord bee

praysed ) , beeinge 1 1 1 dayes s ince my departure firste from

thence into Synda . I founde noe Englishemen heare , onlye

a letter wh ich our Agente lefte with an Armenian for mee ,

adv isinge mee of manye th ings . So I stayed heare two daye s,and provided my se lfe of apparrell and money and a horse .

See the fifth of April] , 1 6 1 4 , I departed from Amadav ar

(Brodra way) to Suratt .

1 And the seventh day I cam e to

Cambaya , where I fel l s icke againe , and soe continued fiv e

daye s very i ll . And beeinge somewhat recovered and able to

trave l] , the twe lfth day of April] I lefte Cambaya and passed

the large river that n ight (wh ich river is about seven course

broad , v erye dangerous to passe , and yearlye swa lloweth upp

manye hundreths) [to Saurau On the other side

the river i s a towne and castle of the Razbootches . The

s ixteenth of April] I trave l led 2 5 c . to Borocho [Broach] . The

seventeenth passed that river, and 1 0 c . to Cassimba [Ko samba] .

The e ighteenth , 1 3 c . to Surat .]

[Concern ing S inda ,no citie i s by general] report of greater

1 From Purchas we learn that his route was, as before (see p.

Via Bareja and Soj itra to Cambay.


trade in the Ind ies then Tutta the ch iefe port Lowr ibander,three dayes journey from it a fa ire roade without the rivers

mouth, cleare of wormes , wh ich , about Surat e spec ially, and

in other places of the Ind ies, after three or foure moneths

rid ing, if it were not for sheath ing, would h inder returne .

The ports and roads of Sinda are free . In two moneths from

hence by water they goe to Lahor, and returne in one downe .

There are these commod it ie s baf fitas, stuffes, ]awnes ,1 indico

course , not so good as Biana . Goods may be eonv eied from

Agra on camels to Bucker [in] twenty dayes, wh ich i s on SindaRiver thence in fifteene or sixteene daye s aboord the sh ips .

One may goe as soone from Agra to Sinde as Surat but there

i s more theev ing,wh ich the Mogol] seekes to prevent .]

Nowe , as concerninge the inhabitants of Synda , they are

for the moste parte Rasebooches, Banian s, and Boloches

[Baluch is] . In the citties and greate towne s theire Governors

are Mogores , appoynted to rule there for the Greate Mogul] .

The people of the cuntrye (I meane those wh ich inhabitt out

of the citties) are for the moste parte v erye rude , and goe

naked from the wa ste uppwards, with turbants on the ir hedds,made up of a contrarye fashon to the Mogull

’s . For armes ,

fewe of them use gune s, bowes , or arrowes, but sword, bucklar ,

and launce . Theire bucklar i s made v erye greate and in the

fash ion of a bee-h ive wher in ,when occasion serves , they will

give theire camells drinke or theire horses prov ander . They

have exceedinge good horses, v erye swifte and stronge , wh ich

they wil l ride moste desperatelye , never shooinge them . Theybegin to backe them at twe lve monethes ould . The sould iers

that have noe horses , if occasion serve, will ride on theire

cammells (and enter into a battell ) , wh ich they bringe upp

for that purpose . Tho se are the Rasbooches, wh ich , as the

Mogul] saye s , knowe as we ll howe to dye as anye men in the

world,in regard of theire desperatenesse . They [the Banians]

are part elye of Pigmal ion’

s2opin ion : they will cate noe

beefe nor buffellow, but honor them and pray unto them .

They wil l kil l noe l iv inge thinge , nor cate anye fieshe , for all

the goods in the world . There are 30 and odd several] ca sts 3

1 Fine cotton goods, or muslins.2 Aconfusion with Pythagoras.

Or generations (marginal note). See note on p. 138 .



her, as she seemed ) burnte her to ashes with her husband ’s

clothes, and then caste the ashes into the river . Thi s was the

firste that ever I sawe at the sight wherof our Agente was

soe greeved and amazed at the undaunted resolution of the

younge woman that hee sa id hee would never see more burnte

in that fa sh ion whi le hee l ived . The kyndred of the husband

that d ies never force the wife to burnc her selfe , but her owne

kyndred , hould inge it a greate d isgrace to theire fam il ie if sheeshould denye to bee burned wh ich some have done , but v erye

fewe . And if they wil l not burne (yt beeinge in theire choyce ) ,then shee muste shave her hayer and breake her jewell s, and

i s not suffrcd to cate, drinke, or keepe companye with anye

bodye , and soe l iveth in th i s case , m iserablye, t il l her death .

Nowe , if any one of them purpose to burne and (after ceremon ie s done ) bee brought to the fyer, and there , feelinge the

scorchinge beate , leape out of the fyer, her father and mother

will take her and hynde her and throwe her into the fyer and

burne her per force but such weaknesse seldome happeneth

amongste them . For the re ste of the ceremon ie s, the ire

washinge, honor inge of stocks , stones, and cowes, with a

hundred other superstit ious ceremon ies, too large to reherce ,

I will here om itt . And thus much for the Rasbooches and

Ban ian s .

Nowe for the Boloches of Synda , inhabitinge nere the river,they are Moores of the religeon of Mahomett (as the Greate

Mogul] and King of Decan are ) . The i s are a people that dea le

much in cammells ; and in those parts moste of them are

robbers on the he igh way and allsoe on the river, murdringe

such as they robbe . Aboute the tyme that I was in Synda ,

the Boloches tooke a boate wherin were seven Itallians and

one Portungale fryer, wh ich fought with them and were Slayne

ev erye man only the Portunga le escaped a l ive , whoe beeinge

v erye fatt, they ripped upp his bellye and searched whether

there were anye goul d or pedareea1 in his guts . Of l ikelyhood

those Boloches l iving there are bloudyc mynded v illaynes yet

there are manye v erye honeste men of that ca ste dwellinge

about Guyseratt, but moste of them aboute Agra .

I had allmoste forgotte the custome of the Ban ian marriage .

1 Explained in the margin as jewells It is the Portuguese pedraria.


They marrye the ir chilldren v erye younge , about the age of

three yeares and under . And some tymes they make prom iseto one an other that theire chi ldren shal l marrye together,before they bee borne ; as in example : if two ne ighbours

wives bee with ch ilde , they make a bargayne that if one bringe

forthe a sonne and the other a daughter, they shal l marrye

together . They may not marrye but one of theire owne caste

and rel igeon , and they muste bee l ikewise of one occupation or

trade , as the sonne of a baker sha l l marrye a baker’s daughter,

provi ded they bee bothe of one caste and religeon . And when

theire chilldren are three or four yeares ou ld ,they make a

greate feaste and sett the two ch i ldren that are to bee married

upon two horses , with a man before eache of them for feare of

fa l l inge , hav inge apparrelled them in theire beste clothes,all

haunged aboute with flowers , and accompan ied with the

Brammans or priests and manye others , accordinge to the

state of the parents of the ch ildren and soe leade them upp

and downe the cittye or towne where they dwell , and then to

the pagod, and thence , after the ceremon ies there done , they

come home and feaste ; and in the same manner continue

feastinge certayne dayes , more or lesse , accordinge to the

welthe of the parents . And when the chi ldren come to bee

ten yeares ould, they lye together . The reason whye they

marrye them soe younge , they say,i s in regard they would

not leave the ir ch ildren wiv eless if yt should please God to

take the parents awaye of e ither of the ch i ldren , yet (say they)they have other parents to ayde them ti ll they come to yeares

of d i scretion . Likewise the reason whye the Rasbooches wivesburne them se lve s with the ire husbands dead bod ies i s that

yt hath ben an ould custome , and longe since ordeyned by a

certayne kinge of theires, because hee had manye of h is nobles

and souldiers poysoned (as was supposed ) by theire wives .

Hee therefore ordeyned that , when anye husband dyed , his

wife should bee burned with his corpes and i f hee had more

wives then one , as manye as hee had should all burne together .But then they were forced unto yt but nowe they have gotte

such a custome of yt that they doe yt moste will inglye .

As concern inge theire preists , wh ich they cal l Bramans,they keepe theire pagods and have allmes or tythes of the ire

EARLY TRAVELS IN IND IA1022

par ishionors , beeinge esteemed marvaylous holye . They are

married as the reste are , and are of occupations and followe

the ire bus inesse close . They are for the moste parte v erye

good workemen ,and apte to learne to make anye thinge that

they see the patterne of be fore them . They cate but once

a day, and before and after meate washe all theire bodie ;allsoe , if they make water or goe to stoole , they carrye water

with them , to washe when they have done .

Beeinge nowe at Suratt, our Agente hav inge occasion to

buye some rounde indicoe wh ich was to bee had in Agra ,

wh ich i s about 40 dayes journey from Suratt 1 wh ich journey

in fyne our Agente propounded to mee, N .W . wh ich I under

tooke and (I thanke God) performed ,a lthough I passed through

manye perills , but especiallye of drowninge , it bes inge in

winter, wher in for the space of 4 monethes or there abouts yt

continuallye rayneth . The 7 th of June , 1 6 14 , I came to the

cittye of Agra , hav inge ben 3 7 dayes on my journey from

Suratt thether, wh ich i s, as neare as I could guesse , 1 0 1 0

Engl ish m iles ,2 wh ich I was fayne to trave l] daye and night .

The 9 th of June , 1 6 1 4 ,I visited the Jesuites wh ich remayned

in Agra whoe have a v erye fayer church buylte them by the

Kinge , and a howse allsoe . The Kinge a lloweth the che ifeste

1 The v ersion in Purchas gives a different reason for the dispatch of

Withington to Agra : John Mildnall , an Englishman , had beene em

ployed with three English young men , whi ch hee poisoned in Persia tomake himselfe master of the goods but he was likewise poysoned , yet bypreservatives lived many moneths after, but swelled exceedingly and

so came to Agra , with the value of twenty thousand doll ers . Thithertherefore, I went , May the fourth, 1 6 14, from Surat. Came to Bram

port, where Sultan Perves lies ; situate in a plaine, the river of Suratrunn ing by in a great breadth having a large castle . Hence to Agratwenty sixe dayes. Betweene Surat andAgra are seven hundred courses(10 10 English miles), which I travelled in seven and thi rty daies inwinter, wherein it almost continually rainetlr. From Surat to Bramportis a pleasant and champion countrey, full of rivers, brookes, and springs.Betweene Bramport and Agra very mountainous, not passable for a

coach,hardly for camels. ByMando is the nearestway. There are high

hils and strong castles in the way many townes and cities every dayesj ourney, well inhabited ; the countrey peaceable and cleare of theeves.

Mildnall had given all to a Frenchman, to marry his bastard-daughterin Persia and bring up an other. ’

2 This is a gross exaggeration .



cred itors and my camellmen . But it was a laboure far greater

then Hercules ’s for they would heare noe reason , but came

eryinge and yawlinge for theyre money, which I had not to

g ive them . They put mee to soe much trouble and gre ife

that made mee a lmost oute of my witts . But at laste the

Governor, see inge how I had ben deceaved in the expectation

of money prom ised ,hearinge some good excuse wh ich I made

for my moneys not com inge, in fyne forced the marchaunts

to take theire goods agayne and soe parte them amongste

them,accordinge to the quantitie I had bought of cache , and

made the camelmen pay backe the moneye receav ed , sav inge

onlye the earneste I gave them . So th i s kynde Governor r iddmee of a world of trouble , wh ich had l ike to have ki lled mee ,

for I proteste I scarce slepte in 1 0 or 1 2 dayes and nights ,neither eat anye thinge scarce soe deeplye was th i s greife

rooted in my harte , th i s beeinge my firste imployments and in

these parts in soc shorte a tyme to have such creditt to take

upp soe much goods on my bare worde and then to break ytand see consequentlye my creditt, that I was ashamed to goe

oute of doores but yt was God’s pleasure thus to pun i sh mee

for my synnes, and soe I take yt . But sure I wil l hereafter

beware howe I truste to letters of adv ice wh i le I l ive , hav inge

escaped th i s error . Here I continued sicke a long tyme , beeinge

much d istempered with the gre ife formerlye receav ed,which

d istemp[er]ature kepte mee for the space of three monethes .

At the length I was sent for ,to Agimere , where (God bee

thanked) I recovered .

The Genera l [i . e . Downton] departed the 2d of March,1 6 14

[i . e . leaving Will iam Edwards cheif marchaunte , who

tooke uppon him the state and t itle of an ambassador, as I

have hereafter set down . The General departinge with his

four sh ipps from Sualley had a greate feight with the Portun

galls ,1 they cominge againste them with ten ga ll ion s, two

ga ll ies , and sixty friggotts in wh ich fe ight the Genera l fyred

thr ee of theire greate sh ipps and slew a greate number of the ire

men , himselfe receav inge l ittle or noe damage in the feight

(the Lord bee praysed) .

1 As w ill be seen from p . 193 , this fight took place some time beforeDownton’s departure .

NICHOLAS WITHINGTON , 1 6 1 2—1 6 225

It was determyned by Mr . Edwards , cheife marchaunte

for the Engl ishe in those parts (and not ambassador, as we

formerlye supposed ), to sende upp to Agra one Robert Youngeand myse lf, N .W . , to dispatche some businesse . Soe the

2 8th of Julye ,1 6 1 5

,wee arrived in Agra ,

beeinge in the

m iddeste of wynter . Between Adgemere and Agra , at ev erye

ten courses (wh ich i s an ordinarye dayes journeye ) there i s aserralia or place of lodging boothe for man and horse , and

hostesse s 1 to dresse our victua l s if we please , paying a matter

of 3d . both for horse and meate dressinge . Betweene these

places (wh ich i s esteemed to be 1 20 courses ) at ev erye course

end there i s a greate pillar erected and at ev erye 1 0 course end

a fayer howse , bu i lt by the Xinge’ s father, ou ld Accabar , when

hee went in pilgrimage from Agra to Adgemere on foote ,sayinge h is prayers at ev erye course end ,

where hee caused

the foresa id pillars to bee erected . And where hee laye stil l

al l n ight , there hee caused the afore said howses to bee builte

they onlye servinge for the Kinge and his women ,none ellse

eve r lodginge or dwellinge in them .

Th i s kinge wh ich nowe raignes lyes in Adgemere , upon some

occasion of warr wh ich he hath aga inst the Ranna2or Ras

boatcha ,inhabitinge in the mountaynes, whom th i s kinge

’s

father nor th i s k inge could ever bringe to subjection ; but

nowe , by the Kinge’s lyinge soe neare h im and continually

for two yeares space plyinge him with a world of sould iers ,hee at laste sente his sonne to do homage to the Kinge , and soc

a peace was concluded between the Kinge and Ranna .

As concerninge the greatnesse of th i s kinge ,the Greate

Mogu l , his state i s soe greate in comparison of most Christian

kinges that the report would bee almoste incred ible therefore

I w ill om itt yt with adm irat ion , and referre the reporte therof

to the would-bee ambassador Edwards . Nor will I speak at

large of his greate justice , sittinge three tymes a day therin

1 For the female attendants in the sarais see The Travels of PeterMandy, v ol . ii , p . 1 21 .

2 The Rana of Udaipur, Amar Singh (see p. He had now beenreduced to submission by an army headed by Prince Khurram. The

reception by Jahangir of the Rana’s son ,

Karan ,is described in the

Tnzak, v ol . i , p. 27 7 .


h imse lfe . Hee hath a bel l hanging in his sera lia 1 with a cord

wh ich reaches into an oute r room , where , i f anye of his subjects

be wronged and cannot have just ice of his nobles , they may

repa ire , and r inginge the hel l , he looketh out, causinge them

to bee brought before him , and exam ineth the matter ; and

i f hee fynde that the poore man bee wronged in justice , be hee

the greatest nobleman about him , he presentlye takes away all

his meane s, puttinge him e ither into prison perpetua l ly or

cutts h is throate . In fyne his greatness i s such that I rather

admire at yt than presume to write of yt . But I will retorne

to the accidents in my owne occasions .

Hav inge d ispatched all my owne affa ires and nowe at

leasure, I rode to the river of Ganges , the famous river of that

countrye , and from Agra i s two dayes journey . Here 2 I stayed

two dayes and observed d ivers customes and ceremon ies of

the caste of Banyam , the river-side be ing ful l of pagods keptby Bramans , the relation wherof would bee too ted ious toreporte heare . The water of th i s river Ganges i s carried manye

hundred myles from thence by the Banyans , and , as they

affirme,it will never stinke , though kepte never so longe ,

neyther will anye wormes or verm ine breede therin . Alsoe by

Agra runeth a v erye large and deepe river called Gemmynys

[Jumna] .Th is Agra i s noe cittye, but a towne yet the bigge st that

ever I saw. The faireste th ing in yt i s the castle , wherin the

Kinge (when hee i s in Agra ) keepeth his court . The wa ll ofth i s castle i s some two course s in compase and the fayrest

and heigheste that ever I sawe , and’

with in Well replen ishedwith ord inants , one of the wh ich , beeinge of brasse , i s farbigger then ever I sawe anye in England . The rest of th i s

towne (excepte some noblemens bowses wh ich are v erye fayer

and for the moste parte seated by the river-syde ) i s ve ry

ruinous . The auncient seate of the kings of th i s countrye,

where they keepe [kept theire court s, was in Fettepoore ,

1 2 courses from Agra , and i s a v erye stronge cittye , situateuppen a mayne quarrye of rocke ; but since the castle of

Aplace whi ch his women for his pleasure are kept in (marginalnote) . The term is more familiar to English readers in its Levantineform of seraglio.

2 Possibly Kanauj .



them ofwhom I had taken upp my goods some I took uppon

my owh e cred itt, to be payed at 24 monethes others I bought

for reddye money, wh ich I borrowed uppon my owne bonde ,

to be payed at the same tyme . I willed that my cred itors

m ight bee sente for and that they m ight justifye the truthe .

But they tou ld mee they muste followe the stricke order of

Mr . Edwards , wh ich was to send mee downe in irons and to

take al l the goods , bothe of the Companyes and my owne , into

the ire possessions . See the nexte daye in the morn inge

Mr. Rogers and Phi l lipp Baker tooke charge of mee , and with

my iron s on my hee l s , waigh inge 20 pound waight , they

brought mee to Agimere , wh ich was 1 0 dayes journey . But

Mr . Rogers v erye kyndlye , some three courses before I came

to Agimere , tooke off my irons to prev ente mee of open shame

before my countrymen , and so brought mee to Mr . Edwards ,whoe gave him l ittle thanks for that kyndnesse hee showedto mee .

At my com inge to Mr . Edwards (our would-bee ambassador) ,His Honour entered into a stricte exam ination of mee howe I

came by my goods wh ich I had in Agra . But I proteste hee

proceeded soe fool ishlye and with such apyshe que stion s ,accordinge to his common jesture and we l l-marked shamefull

nesse in his carriage , that I did almoste scorne to answer him .

But hav inge more re specte to the place hee was in then to his

unworthy person , I tould him tru lye howe and in what manner

I came by the goods, and withal l charged h im with the abuse

he had offred ,not onlye to mee but consequentlye to our

whole nation , consider inge the fashon I had carried myself in

in Agra ,soe d i sgraceful lye puttinge me in cha ines , his made

factor in Agra divulginge abroad that I was behynde-hand in

accompte forty thousand rupeias (or half-crowns ) , with manye

other d isgraceful ] speeches of mee to wh ich Edwards swore

he never gave them order to putt irons on mee , w ith some

other excuse s . But his mynde was not accord ing to his words

to m e , for with in 1 0 daye s after, uppon sl ight occation quarrel l

inge with me , falselye charged mee to bee drunke, as glad of the

leaste occation ,and came with his pions (or h ired servants )

into my chamber, and there on a suddayne bounde mee and

putt a fayer payre of bou lt s on my leggs, swear inge hee would

NICHOLAS WITHINGTON ,1 6 1 2—1 6 229

sende mee downe to the General , William Keelinge , to Suratt

in that fashion . The che ifest cause of his soe base usage of

mee was in regard I went with Mr . Rogers , our preacher, to

visit Mochrobochane (a great nobleman ) , I beeinge Mr . Rogers

h is interpriter for that tyme Mr . Rogers onlye purposinge to

take his leave of him . But Mochrobochane , heringe that hee

wou ld departe for England ,tould Mr . Rogers hee muste

needes see the Kinge before h'

ee wente , and willed h im to come

the nexte morninge and hee would presente him before the

Kinge . Mr . Rogers a llso visited the Prince Su ltan Cusserow

[Khusrau] , whoe receav ed h im v erye gratiouslye, giv inge h im

a letter to the Governor of Suratt for his good enterta inment

there , wh ich letter stoode us in good stead in Suratt . Nowe

Mr . Edwards, hear inge howe Mr . Rogers had been entertayned

by the Prince , and allsoe had agreed (at Mochorobochane’s

motion ) to goe with h im to the Kinge , he stormed extremelye

and fel l into filthy unciv ill tearmes with Mr . Rogers the

preacher, and caused him to bee kep te prisoner by h is pions

in his chamber , not sufferinge him to st ire out of doores to

the Kinge wh ich was (especial ly by the Jesuytts ) laughed at,

to see how baselye wee esteemed our countrymen , and taken

notice of by the Moores and Christians , much to his h indrance ,

for it was thought , the Kinge be ing soe bountiful] to a ll

strangers , would have given our preacher some good reward

wh ich Mr . Edwards fearinge , and in regard himselfe was soone

to departe from hence , hee thought the King’s bountye wou ld

bee lesse to him,not beeinge contente with all the former

giftes , wh ich amounteth in my knowledge to the some of

6 0 00 rupeias , wh ich i s 7 00 l . Engl i sh and odd .

1 Soe the

carrav an com inge from Agra , wee departed from Adgemere

towards Suratt, viz . Mr . R ogers , preacher, and others, and

myselfe , N .W .,in chaynes .

And nowe I cannot but somewhat touch the businesse and

the carriage of our would-bee ambassador, Mr . Edwards , whoe ,com inge into the Easte-Indeas, tooke the title and state of an

ambassador uppon h im and hav inge the Kinge of England’s

letter de l ivered him by Genera l Downton to de l iver to the

1 A more authoritative accoun t makes the total or

mahmi'

tdis (Letters Received, v ol. iv, p .


Greate Mogul] , d id open the same, addinge and dim in ishinge

what seemed beste for his owne purpose and commoditie ,

e ither to or from yt, and see presented his translation to the

Great Mogul] , with the present sente him by the marchaunts

and the Kinge bestowed on him 3000 rupeias (or half-crownes)for horse-meate . After th i s hee continued in Adgemere , and

sometymes went to the court , where behav inge himselfe not

as beseem inge an amba ssador, especiallye sente from soe

worthye and greate a prin ce as the Kinge of England (bee ingeindeede but a mecannycal fellowe and imployed by the

Companye into those parts) , was kicked and spurned by the

King’s porters out of the courte-gate s , to the unrecoverable

d isgrace of our Kinge and nat ion , hee never speakinge to the

Kinge for redresse ,1 but carryinge those greate d ishonours l ike

a good a sse , makinge himselfe and our nation a laugh ing stockto all people in genera l, to the greate rejoycinge of the Portun

ga les , whoe openlye d ivu lged the d isgrace of the Engl ish

ambassador receav ed , by letters throughout all the countrye .

After th i s our honourlesse ambassador, William Edwards,

pet it ioned to the Great Mogul] to obtayne l icence from h im

to inflicte just ice uppen all Engl ishmen (ma lefactors) in his

dom in ion s, by execut ion to death or other bodilye pun ish

mente , accord ing to our Engl ish lawe s wh ich the Mogul ]

denyed him . And uppon th i s a quarrel] arrose betweene h im

and the companye of Engl ish factors lyinge in Agimere soe

that the sa id Edwards was by one Thomas Mittford (a factor)stabbed into the shoulder with a dagger . And after the sh ipps

arriva l at Suratt wh ich brought over an ambassador trulye

sente frome the Kinge ofEngland , aswe then heard yt reported,

wh ich was Sir Thomas R oe , Edwards , nowe fearinge the

d isgrace of h is knav erye would l ight uppon h im , and bee inge

asked what the ambassador was wh ich was arrived at Suratt,

made answer that he was a man subdare , wh ich i s a common

sou ld ier of fower horse paye , and of no reputation .

2 The is and

manye more I could sett downe , but for brev etye sake . And

if hee should denye the lea ste t ittle I have heare written , I will

1 This accusation is corroborated by Roe (Embassy, p . xiii) .2 The comparison was an unfortunate one , but a mansabdar was

generally of much higher rank than is suggested in the text.


23 2 EAR LY TRAVELS IN IND IA

London ,

1 I was entertayned by some of the Companye , withwhom I went presentlye to S ir Thomas Smyth,

2of whom I

hoped to have redresse of a ll my wrongs , with re st itution o f

my goods and wage s due unto me for the tyme of my serviceo fwhom , instead of kynde usage and thankes for all the paynes

taken for him and the Companye , I receav ed most ungrateful]d i sgrace and vilde usage wh ich I founde to growe throughthe fa lse suggest ions of Mr . Edwards, who , beeinge set on

shore at Dover, was at home longe before mee .

The fourth of October, 1 6 1 6 , wh ich was four days before myarriva l

,the Companye , by fa l se and frivolou s suggest ions , had

procured a writt of N e emeat regnum againste mee ; whereuppon,

after some conference with Sir Thomas Smyth ,I was

in h is owne howse arrested and carried to the Compter of

London , where I remayned 3 6 dayes , the Companye not

allowinge one pennye to releev e mee , nor so much as clothe s

to my backe , but demaunded s ix and thirtye thowsand penndc

bayle ofmee , wh ich (God knowes) I was farr unable to procure .

I intreated a poore brother of myne (whee came 1 00 myles tomee) to goe to Sir Thoma s and the Companye , to knowe the irereasons for my hard usage ; but they would g ive none . I

wrote a letter to Sir Thomas, desyringe I m ight knowe myfa lte s and tha t I m ight answer to anye thinge wh ich could

bee objected aga inste mee . I l ikewise sente him my part icularaccomptes howe I came by my goods to a ll wh ich

,and manye

more petit ions and letters wh ich I sente to them (the coppie s

wherof I have herafter caused to bee sett downe) ,3 I coul d

never yet receav e any answer, onlye th is that I had done theCompanye much hurte , not showinge anye particular wher in .

p . 12 The version in Purchas states that in the return voyage theyreached Table Bay on May 24, 1 6 16 , finding there an outward boundfleet under Benjamin Joseph, and that they arrived at Dover on

September 15 .

1 Lion Quay was in Lower Thames Street, about halfway betweenBill ingsgate and London Bridge.

2 Governor of the Company, whose offices were at this time in Smythe’

s

house , situated at the Fenchurch Street end of Phi lpot Lane.

2 Copies of three letters to Sir Thomas Smythe , and of a petition tothe Company, are printed in the eighteenth-century version . Theycontain nothing of importance.

N ICHOLAS WITHINGTON , 1 6 1 2—1 6 23 3

At the end of 3 6 dayesof my imprisonment, it pleased The ire

Worshipps , through much intercession of myselfe and mypoore brother (wh ich i s a ll the friends I have in the world , and

on who se charge I stil l remayne ) to take his bonde and another

o fmy friends in a thowsand poundes, that I should not goe nor

sende out of the kingdom without l icence , accord ing to the

tenor of the writte wheruppon (payinge my charges ) I was

sett at l ibertye , a lthough I was in very poore and weake

e state , scarce able to go without helpe . But yt plesead God

to sende me frends one whoe tooke me into his howse , where

ever since I have remayned ,not knowinge howe to make h im

satisfaction for the trouble with mee in the tyme of my s ick

nesse the other was Doctor Eglisem ,

1 whoe , takinge pittye

on mee , in char itye hath cured mee of my great malladye and

s icknesse , wh ich grew on mee partlye through gre ife wh ich I

tooke at theire ungrateful] oppression and wronge , and partlye

through my loathsome impri sonment . But I hope God ,whoe

hath preserved mee in the greater, will l ikewise del iver mee

from the le sse and I hope that our greate Kinge , of whom the

world rings fame , grace, and just ice , will not suffer the dove

to be oppressed with the greatness of the eagle .

One of His Majesty’s doctors of phi sicke (marginal note) . Thiswas Dr . George Eglisham, the Scottish physician and poet.

1 6 12—1 7

THOMAS CORYAT

TOM CORYAT ,

‘the Odcombian Gallo-Belgic leg-stretcher,

’

as he called h im self (in a llusion to his birthplace and his

pedestrian feats in Western Europe ) , i s a figure fam i l iarenough to students of seventeenth-century l iterature , thoughhis fame i s based almost as much upon his eccentric it ie s asupon the merits of his publ ished works . Here we are concernedonl y with his remarkable journeys in Asia and we may notein th is connexion that , leaving out of account the Jesu itStevens, he was the first Engl ishman to set out for Ind ia withno thought of trade , h is motives be ing in the first place to see

that strange country, and in the second to wr ite a book abouth is experiences .The son of a Somersetsh ire clergyman who had h imse lfmade

some reputat ion as a writer of Latin verse , young Coryat waseducated at Winchester and Oxford,

leaving the latter witha great knowledge of the Classics, wh ich his ready memoryenabled h im to turn to good account . After the accession of

James I he obta ined a smal l post in the household of PrinceHenry and thu s secured a foot ing in Court c ircles . Here hequ ickly made h imself notorious by his irrepressible loquacityand h is eagerness to push h im self into notice and he became

in consequence a genera l butt , a l ike at Court and in the famousclub that met at the Merma id Tavern , where Ben Jonson and

his a ssociate s d iverted them selves hugely at h is expense .

Fuller te l ls us that Coryat served as the courtiers anvil to trythe ir wits upon and sometime s th i s anvil returned the

hammers as hard knocks as it rece ived,his bluntness repaying

the ir abusiveness In general , however, Coryat put up verypatiently with g ibes and practica l jokes , content to pay anyprice for the privilege of figuring on such a stage .

In h is restless desire to d istingui sh h imse lf, in 1 6 0 8 he undertook a continenta l walking tour, traversing parts of France ,Northern Ita ly, Switzerland , and Germany, and covering abouttwo thousand m iles— all on foot and in one pa ir of shoes . Hisaccount of his peregrinations appeared in 1 6 1 1 , ded icated to

Prince Henry and bearing the characterist ic t itle of CoryatsCrudi ti es , hasti ly gobled up in five moneths travells . A specia lfeature of the book was an extraordinary number of commen



had something of the kind tattooed on his arm when he visitedthat c ity in 1 8 6 9 . After a visit to the Jordan the two Engl ishmen retraced the ir steps to Aleppo .

1

Coryat spent four months in Aleppo wa it ing for a caravan ,

and then started on his long tramp ea stwards , apparentlysome t ime in September 1 6 14 . He trave l led by way of

D iarbekr (where a Turki sh sold ier robbed him of most of hismoney) , Tabri z, Kazv in , and Ispahan to Kandahar . N ear theInd ian front ier he met Sir R obert and Lady Sherley, com ingin great state from the Mugha l court (see p . The formerexh ibited to the flattered author the Crudities and it s supplement , wh ich he had brought from London , and furtherexcited Coryat’s cupid ity by prom ising to show them to the

Persian Shah and urge him to bestow a princely reward on the

writer as he returned through h is dom in ions . Lady Sherley,more practica l or more generous than her husband , gave thetrave ller a sum ofmoney to help him on h is road .

Stil l making eastwards , Coryat proceeded ,by way ofMul tan

(where he had the a ltercation with a Muhammadan describedon p . 27 1 ) to Lahore , and thence to De lh i and Agra . Even nowh is journey was not at an end , for he found that the Emperorwas at Ajmer ; so th ither the indefatigable trave ller turnedh is steps , arriving,

it would seem ,in the early part of July 1 6 1 5 .

He had spent in all ten months in trudging from Aleppo and

not the lea st remarkable feature of his journey was that it wasperformed at an average cost of l ittle more than twopence a day.

The explanation i s of course the hospita l ity and kindness ofE astern race s , especia lly to wandering pilgrims a lso the factthat Coryat travell ed in Orienta l dress , was a lways ready torough it, and had learnt to content h imself with Spartan fare .

All the same , he mu st have experienced many a hardsh ip ; and

it i s much to his cred it that he made so l ight of th is a spect ofhis trave ls .At Ajmer Coryat was comparat ively in clover . He found

there a l ittle group of the East Ind ia Company’s servants,ten in a ll

,includ ingWill iam Edwards the agent , and a chapla in ,

Peter Rogers,who ,later in the year, carried down to Surat and

thence to England the first four of the letters here reprinted ,

and was commended in them by Coryat to the hospita l ity of

the Merma id Club . A travell ing Engl ishman , especia lly one ofsome notoriety, was a lways we lcome to a lodging in the

Company’ s factory and a seat at the Company’ s table and

1 Terry states that Coryat sailed from Smyrna to Alexandria , wentup the Nile to Cairo and back, and then took ship for Jafia and so

reached Jerusalem . This, however, is quite inconsistent with the

traveller’s own account, and evi dently in thi s, as in other instances, thereverend gentleman

’s memory played him false.

THOMAS CORYAT , 1 6 1 2—1 7 23 7

so Coryat was able to rest h imself in comfort after the fatigue sof the journey, and enjoy at le isure the strange sights affordedby a c ity crowded with the reta iners of the GreatMogul . Earlyin October came the news that S ir Thoma s R oe had landed at

Surat as amba ssador from King James , much to the satisfac

tion of our trave ller , who describe s R oe as a deare friend of

h is . Three days before Christma s the amba ssador was met

with in a stage ofAjmer by Edwards and Coryat , and ,sick and

weary as he was, had to endure from the latter a long, e loquentoration by way of welcome . However , R oe was not sorry,among the many troubles of the next few month s , to d istracth imself with the conversation of Coryat , whom

’

,he says in

a letter to Lord Pembroke , the fate s have sent h ither to ea semee

, and now l ive s in my house . He came he ither afoote

hath pa st by Constantanople , Jerusalem ,Bethlem ,

Damascus ,and (breefly) thorowgh al l the Turkes territory seene everypost and p illar : observed every tombe : visited the monu

ments of Troy, Persia ,and th i s kings dom in ions , all afoote ,

with most unwearied leggs ; and i s now for Samarcand in

Tartarya , to kisse Tamberlans tombe from thence to Su sa ,

and to Prester Jhac in Ethiopia,wher he will see the h i l l

Amara , a ll afoote and so foote it to Odcombe . His note sare a lready to great for portage some left at Aleppo , some

at H ispan—enough to make any stat ioner an a lderman thatsha l l but serve the printer with paper . And his excercise here ,

or recreation ,i s making or reapeating orat ion s , principally of

my Lady Hartford .

’

In all, Coryat spent about fourteen months in Ajmer . Some

account of his do ings there , including the oration he one daymade to Jahangir in Persian (wh ich he had now acqu ired ,

in

add it ion to some Turki sh and Arabic ) , will be found in the

letters that follow . At last the t ime came for him to resume

his wanderings . Roe was to accompany the Emperor in hisprogress southwards , and ,

s ince the march was l ike ly to be an

arduous one , only the amba ssador’s immed iate attendantswere to be taken ,

wh ile the factory atAjmer was to be d issolvedas soon as possible after the departure of the Court . The onlyplan Coryat had formed (besides one of visiting the Ganges )was to return overland in the same way as he had come and

for th i s Agra was a conven ient stage . He therefore took theopportun ity of the departure of two of the Engl ish merchantsfor that city on September 1 2 ,

1 6 1 6, to accompany them

th ither . At the t ime of his arrival , Agra was in the grip of

the plague , but of th i s the intrepid traveller says noth ing .

One incident of his stay there i s referred to by Terry (infra,

p . 3 1 5 ) and from the same authority we learn that Coryatvisited Akbar ’s tomb at Sikandra .

At the end of October 1 6 1 6 , when he wrote the last of his


extant letters , Coryat was st il l at the capital , butwas intendingirr about s ix weeks’ time to make an excursion to Hardwar

, on

the Ganges , and then to set out for Lahore on h is homewardjourney . We now lose sight of h im for severa l months butwe know from Terry that he carried out his intention of visitingHardwar, and that his tour included the famous temple of

Jawala Mukh i , in Kangra . Evidently, however, he stil ll ingered for some t ime at Agra after his return . Possibly hishea lth had a lready been affected by the climate and s incehe was enjoying, as atAjmer, the hospital ity of the Company

’sfactors , he was in no hurry to face the hardsh ips of the longoverland journey to Europe . In th i s uncerta inty arrived a

letter from R oe , wr itten from the imperia l headquarters atMandu to one of the Agra factors on July 20 , 1 6 1 7 , in wh ich hee xpressed a desire to learn Coryat ’s purpose ,

for E ngland or

stay or , if I take any new course , wh ither hee wil l goe withmee (Brit . Mus . ,

Add] . MS . 6 1 1 5 , f. At th i s t ime the

ambassador was ha lf expect ing to rece ive by the next fleetinstructions to proceed to Persia (the new course to wh ichhe referred ) , and otherwise he hoped to sa il for England earlyin 1 6 1 8 . His invitation offered Coryat the chance of e ithergo ing with Roe to Persia in comfort by sea , and then resum inghis land journey, or of taking a passage home in the same sh ipas the ambassador . Accord ingly he made his way down to

Mandu, and spent severa l weeks in Roe’ s temporary home

there . During h is time Coryat shared the quarters of Chapla inTerry, who te lls us a good dea l about his strange compan ionand h is do ings .Evidently the rest at Mandu was very necessary, for hard

l iving and much travel l ing had told severe ly upon Coryat’shealth . One day he fa inted in the ambassador’ s presence and

was with d ifficulty brought to his senses . Moreover, he wastroubled with a present iment— born doubtless of his enfeebledcond it ion— that he woul d never l ive to reach England and givehis expectant countrymen the prom ised account of the wondershe had seen . Soon his plan s were deranged by a new turn of

events . The letters from England absolved R oe from go ingto Persia

,wh i le the slow progress of his negot iation s rendered

it doubtful whether he would be able to return home for yet

another year . Al l that was clear was that the amba ssadormust follow the Emperor wherever he went, whether (as wasexpected ) to Ahmadabad or (as some of the courtiers hoped )to Agra . When Jahangir left Mandu on October 24 , 1 6 1 7 , h is

rea l intention s were st ill uncerta in and, perhaps in the hopethat his destination would prove after all to be the capita l ,whence Coryat could set out afresh on the overland journeyto Europe , our traveller started with R oe on October 29 toovertake the Emperor . Before, however, the party had got



the left hand of the road , l ies Tom Cor iat, our Engl ish fakicr

(a s they name h im ) , together with an Armenian Christian ,

known by the ir grave s lying east and west (New Account,p . I t may be added that some years ago Mr . (nowS ir William ) Morison , who was then Collector at Surat , made

an unsucce ssfu l search for trace s of Coryat’s grave , and came to

the conclusion that it had e ither been swept away or siltedover by the period ica l floods of the Tapti .In conclusion , a few words may be sa id regard ing the

l iterature of Coryat’s Eastern travel s . As we have learntfrom Roe , the pilgrim left one batch of notes at Aleppo and

another at Ispahan wh ile presumably he had a th ird withhim at the time of his death . The first insta lment found it sway to England and came into the hands of Purchas , who , as

a lready noted , printed considerable extracts in the secondvolume of his P i lgrimes . Of the fate of the other two port ion snoth ing i s known . The ir loss i s much to be deplored , for Coryathad a true gift of observation and narrated ful ly and accuratelywhat he saw,

includ ing many sma l l deta i ls wh ich other trave llers have passed over as unworthy of notice . Had he l ived topubl ish as ful l an account of h is Ind ian journey as he had

previously given of his travel s in Europe , it would probablyhave ranked as h igh as the works of Fryer or Tavern ier but

unfortunately, all that we have from his own pen are the fiv e

letters here printed . Apart from these , there are some notes

g iven to Purcha s by Roe (see p . and a few deta il s andanecdotes preserved by Terry (p . Fina lly, we may tracein R oe

’ s journa l and correspondence , a s a l so in the map of

Ind ia wh ich he assisted Baffin to compile, items of informationsupplied to him by Coryat concern ing parts of Ind ia wh ichR oe h imse lf had not vi s ited . We have thus mere scraps ofwhat m ight have been a fea st . Our conso lation i s that eventhe se scraps are better than noth ing, and that , sl ight as theyare , they conta in much to make us remember with grat itudethe eccentric wanderer who sleeps in an unknown grave on

the banks of the Tapti .Turn ing to the letters themselve s , we may ,

note that thefirst four were printed , a lmost immed iately after the ir arriva lin E ngland , in a pamph let entitled Thomas Coriate, Traveller

for the Engli sh Wi ts Greeting, i llustrated with some roughwoodcuts . Apparently th i s production excited considerableinterest , for a reprint was i ssued with the same date .

1 The

fifth letter was publ ished in s im ilar form two years later, underthe title ofMr . Thomas Coriat to his Fri ends in England sendethGreeting, adorned by a picture of the author rid ing on a came] .

1 1 6 1 6 . Of course this would extend to March 24, 16 1 7 , according tomodern reckoning.

THOMAS CORYAT, 1 6 1 2—1 7 241

In 1 6 25 Purchas , in his Pi lgrimes (part i , book iv, chap .

reprinted large portion s of the first,th ird

, and fifth and the

fifth was aga in reproduced ,fiv e years later, in a volume con

ta ining the works of John Taylor, the Water Poet . The 1 7 7 6ed it ion of Coryat’s works gives the first four letters in full ,wh ile as regard s the fifth it i s content to fol low the abbreviatedversion supplied by Purchas . Since then there has been no

fresh ed it ion of the letters from Ind ia ,though Purchas

’sextracts from them were of course included in the recentre i ssue of the Pi lgrimes . The text now given i s from the

British Museum copie s of the 1 6 1 6 and 1 6 1 8 pamph lets,om itting the commendatory and other verses .

Most deare and beloved Friend, Maister L . W 1animce

dimidium meoe.

CORD IAL salutat ions in the Author of Salvat ion , Jesus

Christ . Where I writ unto you last I remember we] evenfrom Zobah , as the Prophet Samue l calleth it (2 Booke, 8 chap . ,

v er . that i s , Aleppo ,

2 the principa l] emporium of all Syria ,

o r rather of the orient world ; but when ,in trueth I have

forgotten , for I keepe not coppies of my letters , as I see most

of my countrey-men doe , in whatsoever place of the worlde

I finde them . Howbeit i f my con jecture doe not much fai leme , I may affirme that i t was about xv . moneths since , about

a month after I returned unto Aleppo from Jerusa lem after

wh ich time I rema ined there three month s longer, and then

departed therehence in a caravan into Persia , passing the noble

river Euphrate s (the cheefest of all that irrigated Paradise

wherehence , as from the ir origina l , the three other rivers were

derived ) about foure dayes journey beyond Aleppo ; on the

farther side of wh ich I entered Mesapotam ia ,a l ia s Chaldea ,

for the Euphrates in that place d isterm inateth Syria and

Mesopotam ia . Therehence I had two daye s journey to Ur

[Orfah] of the Chaldeans where Abraham was born , a very

1 LaurenceWhitaker,who (as shown by the next letter) was secretaryto Sir Edward Phelips. He contributed some laudatory poems to theCrudities , as well as a prose eulogy.

2 This identification is not accepted by modern commentators, who

place Zobah farther south.


del icate and pleasant c ittie . There I remained foure daye s

but I could see no part of the m ines of the house wher that

fa ithful servant of God was borne , though I much desired i t .From thence I had foure dayes journey to the river Tigris ,wh ich I passed a lso but in the same place where I crossed i t

I found it so shallow that it reached no h igher then the calfe

o f my legge for I waded over i t afoot . Now I we ] perceive,by mine occular experience , that Cha ldea i s named Mesopotam ia for that i t i s inclosed with the foresaid rivers . Traj ectoTigride, I entred Armen ia the Greater after that , Med ia the

Lower, and resided s ix dayes in the metropol is therof, hereto

fore called Ecbatana, the sommer seate of Cyrus his court ,a c ity eftsoone mentioned in the Scripture, now called Tauris

[Tabriz] . More wofull ru ine s of a c ity (saving that of Troy

and Cyz icum1 in Natolia ) never did m ine eies beholde . When

I seriously contemplated those e’

petm a [i . e . ruins] , the doleful test imon ies of the Turki sh devastations, I cal led to mindeOvids verse

Ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus .

2

And that of Hes iod,

7 a 8’

ime'

pr epa ve’

p'r epa 960 6 1 2 6 09 bdrt epe

'

rqsf’

From that I had two daies journey to a city that in Strabos

time was called Arsacia ,in Med ia the Higher, now Casbin,

once the roya l] seate of the Tartarian princes, 4 daies journyfrom the Caspian Sea . From Casbin I had 23 daies to Spahan ,

in Parth ia , the place of res idence of the Persian K[ing] but

at my being there he was in the countrey of Gurgistan , ran

sacking the poor Christians ther with great ho st il ity, with fireand sword .

‘1 There I rema ined 2 month s, and so with a caravan

travelled into the Basterne Ind ia , pa ss ing 4 months and odde

daies in my travel] betwixt that (through part of the tr ue

1 NowKyzik, on the southern shore of the sea ofMarmora.

2 Ep ist. exPonto, lib . iv , epist. iii , l. 49 .

3 Thi s is really from Aristophanes (Lysistrata, but, as Dr .

Thomas points out, Coryat was probably thinking of line 8 of Hesiod’sWorks and Days .

4 The campaign of Shah Abbas in Georgia is mentioned by Roe(Embassy, pp. 1 13, but he doubtless had his information fromCoryat.



they wil l induce him to bestow some princely benefit upon me .

Thi s I hope will be partly occasioned by my booke , for he i s

such a jocond prince that he wil l not be meanl ie del ighted with

d ivers of my facetious hieroglyphicks, i f thev are truel ie and

genu inely expounded unto him .

From the famous citie of Lahore I had twentie da ies journey

to another good ly citie , called Agra , through such a del icate

and eeven tract of ground as I never saw before, and doubt

whether the l ike bee to be found with in the whole circumference

of the habitable world . Another th ing a lso in th i s way bee ingno le sse memorable then the pla inenesse of the ground a row

of tree s on each side of th i s way where peop le doe trav ell,extend ing it se lfe from the townes end of Lahore to the townes

end of Agra the most incomparable shew of that kinde thatever my e ies surv aied . Likewise wheras ther i s a mountaine

some ten daies journey betwixt Lahore and Agra , but veric

meere ten m ile s out of the way on the left hand , the people

that inhabite that mountaine observe a custome very strange ,that al l the brothers of any fam il ie have but one and the selfe

samewife , so that one woman sometimes doth serve 6 or 7 men1

the l ike whereof I remember I have read in Strabo , concern ingthe Arabians that inhabited Arabia Fe l ix . Agra i s a veric

great citie , and the place where the Mogul d id alwaies (savingwith in the se two yeares) keepe h is court but in ev erie respect

much inferior to Lahore . From thence to the Mog ul s court

I had ten daies journey, at a towne called Asmere , where I

found a cape merchant of our Engl ish m en,with n ine more of

my countr imen , resident there upon termes of negotiationsfor the Right Worsh ipfull Company of Merchants in London

that Trade for East India . I spent in my journey betwixt

Jerusalem and th i s Mogul s court 1 5 moneths and odde daies

al l which way I traversed afoot , but with d ivers paire of shooes ,having beene such a propateticke (I wil l not cal l my se lfe

peripatetick, because you know it signifieth one that maketh

a perambulat ion about a place , n eptfl a‘r elu signifying to walk

about ) , that i s, a walker forward on foote , as I doubt whether

1 Polyandry is stil l common in parts of the Dehra Dan and otherHimalayan tracts. For a di scussion of the passage in Strabo, see

Robertson Smith’s Kinship andMarriage in EarlyfArabia, p. 133.

THOMAS CORYAT , 1 6 1 2—1 7 245

you ever heard of the l ike in your l ife for the total] waybetwixt Jerusa lem and the Mogul s court conta ineth two

thousand and seav en hundred Engli sh m iles . My whole perambulation of th i s Asia the Greater is l ike to bee a passage of

a lmo st sixe thousande m iles , by that t ime that in my returne

backe thorough Persia, afterward a lso by Babylon and N in iv ie ,

I sha l l come to Ca iro in Egypt , and from that downe the Nyinsto Alexandria , there to be one da ie (by Gods he lpe ) imbarqued

for Christendome a veric immense d imension of ground .

Now I am at the Mogul s court , I th ink you wou ld be glad

to rece ive some narration thereof from mee , though succinctly

handled : for I meane to be very compend ious , le st I shold

o therwise preoccupate that pleasure wh ich you may here after

th i s reape by my personal] relation thereof. Th is present

prince i s a veric worthy person , by name Se l im , of which

name I never read or heard of any more then one Mahometanking,

wh ich was Sultan Sel im of Constantinople , tha t l ived

about 80 years s ince ; the same that conquered Jerusa lem,

Damascus , Aleppo , Ca iro , etc ., adding the same to the Turkish

Empire . He i s 53 yeares of age ,1 his nativitie da ie having

beene celebrated with wonderful] pompe s ince my arriva l]

here for that da ie he weighed himselfe in a pa ire of golden

sca les , wh ich by great chance I saw the same day (a custome

that he observeth most inv iolablie every year) laying so muc

golde in the other scale as counterv aileth the we ight of h is

body, and the same he afterward d istributed to the poore .

Hee i s of complexion ne ither wh ite nor blacke , but of a m iddlebetwixt them I know not how to expresse it with a moreexpre ss ive and s ign ificant epitheton then ol ive an o l ivecolour his face presenteth . Hee i s of a seemelie composition

of bodie , of a stature l ittle unequal] (as I guesse, not without

grounds of probabilitie ) to m ine , but much more corpulent

then my selfe . The extent of his dom in ion i s veric spacious ,beeing in c ircu ite l ittle lesse then 4000 Engl ish m ile s, wh ichv er ie neere answereth the compas of the Turks territories ;or if any th ing be wanting in geometrical] d imension of ground ,

it i s with a great pleona sm s supplied by the fertility of his

soyle . And in the se two thinges hee exceedeth the Turks, in1 Jahangir was really only forty-six, having been born in 1 56 9 .


the fatnessc (as l have sa id ) of his land, no part of the world

yeelding a more fruitful ] ve ine of ground then a ll that wh ichl ieth in h is empire, saving that part of Babylonia where theterrestria l] parad ise once stoode ; whereas a great part of

the Turks land i s extreme barren and ster ill , as I have observed

in my peregrination thereof, e special ly in Syr ia, Mesopotam ia

andArmen ia many large portions thereof beeing so wonderful ]fru itelesse that it beareth no good th ing at all, or if any thing,there infelix lolium et steri les dominantur avence .

1 Secondly, in

the conjunction and un ion of all his territories together in one

and the same goodly continent of Ind ia, no prince having a

foote of land with in him . But many parce ls of the Turke s

countries are by a large d istance of seas and otherwise d ivided

a sunder . Aga in ,in his revenue he exceedeth the Turk and the

Persian his neighbour by just ha lfe ; for his revenues are

40 m il l ion s of crownes (of sixe sh il l ings value) by the yeare,2

but the Turkes are no more " then fifteene m ill ion s (as I was

certa inly informed in Constantinople) , and the Persians fiv em ill ion s, p lus minus (as I heard in Spahan ) . It i s sa ide thathe i s uncircumcised, wherein he d iffereth from all the Mahome

tan princes that ever were in the world .

of our Saviour, call ing him .

“

that i s the”

sorts, as lyons , e lephants, leopards, beares, antlops, unicornes

whereof two I have seene at his court , the strangest beasts of

the world .

3 They were brought h ither out of the countrie of

Benga la , wh ich i s a kingdom of most singular fertilitie with in

the compasse of his dom inion, about four moneths journey

1 This is from Virgil’s Georgics , bk. i, l. 154.

2 Presumably his informant gave the amount as 120 mill ions of rupees,which Coryat converted at the rate of 28 . to the rupee (the value he adoptselsewhere) . Even assigning a higher value to the rupee, and supposingthe figure to relate to land revenue only, it is probably too low an

estimate (cf. Hawkins, supra, p. 99 , and Thomas’s Revenue Resources,p.

3 In the original pamphl et a fanciful portrait of a un icorn is hereinserted. The beasts mentioned by Coryat were of course rhinoceroses.



you to recommend him very kindly unto him . Our cape

merchants name i s M . Will iam Edwards, an honest gentleman ,

that useth me with veric loving respect .

Dear M . L . W ., conve igh these twoe letters that I have sent

to you , to the parties to whom they are d irected my pooremother and m ine unckle William s . You may do me a kindeoffice to des ire him (with such conven ient termes and pathetica l]

perswasions as your d i scretion sha l l d ictate and suggest unto

you ) to remember me as his poore industrious peregrinatingkinseman , neerest unto him in blood of all the people in the

world to remember me , I say, with some competent gratuitie ,i f God should cal l h im out of the world before my returne intomy native countrie . I pra ie you , if hee be l iving, and doth

use to come to London as he was wont to doo, that you would

del iver my letter to him with your owne hands, and not send

it unto him .

You may remember to relate th is unto your friends that

I will now mention as a matter veric memorable I spent inmy ten moneths trave l s betwixt Aleppo and the Mogul s court

but three pounds sterl ing, yet fared reasonable we ll ev erie

da ie ; vi ctual s bee ing so cheape in some countries where I

travell ed, that I oftentime s l ived competentlie for a penn ie

sterl ing a day. Yet of that three pound I was cousened of no

lesse then ten sh ill ings sterling by certa ine lewd Christian s of

the Armen ian nat ion so that indeed I spent but fiftie sh i llings

in my ten moneths trav ailes . I have beene in a citie in th is

countrie , ca lled Detee [Delh i] , where Al exander the Great

joyned battell with Porus, K[ing] of Ind ia, and conquered him

and in token of his victorie erected a brasse pil lar, wh ichrema ineth there to th i s day.

1

Pray remember my humblest service to the Right

1 Terry, in his 1 6 55 edi tion (p. says I was told by Tom Coryat(who took special notice of thi s place) that he, being in the city ofDellee ,observed a very great pillar of marble, with a Greek inscription upon it

which Time hath almost quite worn out, erected (as he supposed)there and then by great Al exander, to preserve the memory of thatfamous v ictory [over King Porus] . Roe also mentions thi s monument

(Embassy, p. no doubt on Coryat’s authority. The reference seemsto be to the Asoka pillar described by Finch (sup ra, p . It is ofstone, not of brass as stated in the text.



of England ,saving for three dayes in Constantinople , where

I had an ague, wh ich with a l ittle letting blood was clean

ban ished the Lord be humbly thanked for His gracious

blessing of health that Hee hath given me . I was robbed of

my money, both golde and s ilver (but not all , by reason of

certa ine clande stine corners where i t was placed ) , in a cittie

cal led D iarbeck in Mesopotam ia , the Turks countrey, by a

Spahee [Spahi ] , as they call h im , that is , one of the horsemen

of the Great Turke ; but the occasion and c ircum stance of

that m isfortune would be too ted ious to relate . Notwith

stand ing that losse , I am not destitute ofmoney, I thanke God .

Since my arriva l] heere , there was sente unto th i s King one

of the richest presents that I have heard to be sent to any

prince in a] my l ife t ime . It consisteth of d ivers parce l s one

beeing e lephants, whereof there were 3 1 , and of those two so

gloriously adorned as I never sawe the l ike , nor sha] see the

l ike aga in wh ile I l ive . For they wore foure cha ine s about

the ir bod ies all of beaten gold two cha ins about the ir legges

of the same furn iture for the ir buttocks of pure gold twoe

lyons upon the ir heads of the l ike gold the ornaments of each

amounting to the value of a lmost e ight thousand pound

sterling ; and the whole present was worth ten of the ir leakes

[i . e . lakhs] , as they cal l them (a leak being ten thousand poundsterl ing ) the whole , a hundred thousand pounds sterl ing .

1

Pray commend me to M[aster] Protoplast and all the

Sireniacall 2 gentlemen ; to whom I wrote one letter from

Al eppo , after my being at Jerusalem , and another I intend

to write before my go ing out ofAsia . The ir most e legant and

incomparable safe-conduct that they have graciously be stowed

upon me I have left at Aleppo , not having made any use of it

as yet, ne ither sha l l I in all my peregrination ofAsia but when

I shal l one day arrive in Christendome , it wil l be very ava ilable

to me .

1 Thi s embassywas from theKing ofBijapur, and reachedAjmer aboutthe middle ofAugust 1 6 15 (see the Tazuk, v ol . i , p .

2 The members of theMermaid Club called themselves Sireniacs (cf. p .

25 6 )—a term due to the confusion of the mermaid wi th the Siren .

Possibly there was also a playful allusion to the Cyrenaic philosophers,who held that pleasure was the chief aim of life . Who was meant byMaster Protoplast has not been ascertained.

THOMAS CORYAT, 1 6 1 2—1 7 25 1

I have heere sent unto you the coppy of certa ine facetious

verses that"

were late ly sent to me to th i s court , from one of

my countrimen , one M . John Browne,lLa Londoner borne, now

resident, with d ivers other Engl ish merchants, at a citie in

Ind ia,five hundred m iles from the place where I abide, called

Amadav ers, about sixe dayes journey from the sea ; who,

understanding of my arrival] at th is court, and of my tedious

pedestriall peregrination all the way from Jerusalem h ither

(understand ing it , I say, by Latine and Ital ian epistles that

upon a certa ine occas ion I wrote to some of that company) ,made these pretty verses, and sent them me . You may reade

them to your friends, if you thinke fit , and especially to the

Sireniacall gentlemen for they are e legant and de lectable .

The superscription of h is letter was th i s : To the painefull

gentleman , M . Thomas Coryate . The t itle with in , prefixed

before the verses, th i s To the Odcombian wonder, our

laborious countriman, the generous Coryate .

2

Y et one post-script more by way of a corol lary, and so with

the same , beeing the fourth and the last , I will adde the fina l

umbilicke to thi s tedious English-Ind ian epistle . I have

written out two several] Coppies of these verses, and included

them with in the letters wh ich I have intreated you to d i stribute

for me , but so that the letters are not sealed upon them , onelythey l ie loo se with in the letters therefore they are subject to

losing, except you have an extraordinary care of them .

Wherefore I intreate you to del iver that to m ine unkle with

your owne hands, if he be i n London, or to conv eigh it to him

by such a one as will not lose that loose paper of verses . The

l ike care I des ire you to have of that to my mother, and to

send i t unto her by some other man then a carrier, i f you can

j et [meet with such an opportunity : for in truth I am afraide

the carrier will lose the inclosed paper . Pray take advice of

some of the M[aster] of the R olle s his people that are to ride

to Bu ill .3 Pray remember my commendation s with all respect

to M . William s the go ldsmith and his wife and to Benjam in

I Went out to India in 1 6 14. He was chief of the Ahmadabad factoryfrom early in 1 6 1 6 to his death inApril, 1 6 20 .

2 The verses have been omitted, as not worth quoting.

3 Yeovil , the nearest town to Odcombe.


Johnson , and to reade th is letter to them both l ikewise to

Mistris E l izabeth Balch ,if shee cont inueth with your lady .

One append ix more , and so an end . There happenedbetw ixt the day of the writing of thi s

.

letter and the day of

the seal ing of it up , a memorable occurrent not to bee om itted .

Wee rece ived newe s at th i s court the n inth day after the writingof th is letter (for n ine daies it was un sealed ) , being the e ight of

October, of the arrival] of foure goodly Engl ish sh ips at the

haven of Surat in India, and in the same of a very generous

and worthy Engl ish kn ight, a deare friend ofm ine, Sir Thomas

R owe , to come to the court with some mature expedition , as an

ambassadour from the Right Worshipful] Company of LondonMerchants that Trade for India . He cometh with letters from

our King and ce rtaine se lected presents of good worth from

the Company amongst the rest a gallant caroch , of 1 50 pounds

price .

1 Also there came with him 1 5 servant s, a] Engl ishmen .

Forty daies hence at the farthest , we expect (6 6 0 172)

his arriva l at th is court . Th i s newe s doth refocillate (I wil l

use my o lde phrase so well knowne to you ) .my spirits for

I hope he will use me graciously, for old acquaintance sake .

To The R ight Honourable S ir Edward Phi llips, Knight, and

Maister of the Rolles, at his house in Chancery-Lane, or

Wanstead.

3

Right Honourable,I am perswaded that if ever any accident worthy of admi ra

t ion ever happened unto Your Honor in a] your life time, it

will be the rece iv ing of th i s present letter from me out of the

1 Particulars of thi s coach are given in TheEmbassyofS ir Thomas Roe,p . 322.

2 God granting it.

’

3 Sir Edward Phelips, Speaker of the House of Commons (1 6 04) andMaster of the Rolls was the fourth son of Thomas Phelips,Coryat’s godfather. The family seat was atMontacute, near Odcombe.

In 1 6 12 Sir Edward rentedWanstead House (afterwards the residence of

Sir Josia Child) , and there entertained King James, at a cost (it is said)of £7 00 . He was dead at the time when Coryat was writing thi s letter.



Incarnation of our ’ SaViour . Yea , I hope my general ] countrie

of England shal l one day say that Odde-combe , for one part

of the word , may truel ie be so called (for Odde-combe con

s isteth of two words , odde and combe , wh ich latter word in

the o lde Saxon tongue signifieth , bes ides the vert ical po int

of a cocks head, the s ide of a h i ll , because the east side of

the hi ll whereon Od-combe standeth i s very conspicuous , andscene afar off in the country eastward) for breeding an odde

man , one that hath not his peere in the whole kingdome to

match him .

Three yeares and some few odde dayes I have spent already

in thi s second peregrination , and I hope with as much profite

(unpartially will I speake it of my selfe, without any over

ween ing opinion , to wh ich most men are subject) , both for

learning foure languages more then I had when I left mycountry (v iz . Ital ian , Arabian, Turkish , and Persian ) and

exact viewing of d ivers of the most remarkeable matters of theun iverse ; together with the accurate description thereof, as

most of my countri-men that are now abroad . Yet such i s

my insatiable greedinesse of seeing strange countries (wh ichexercise i s indeede the very queene of all the pleasures in the

world) that I have determined (i f God shal l say Amen) tospend full seav en yeares more, to the ende to make my voyage

an swerable for the time to the travels of Ulysses and then

with unspeakable joy to rev isite my country, which I wi ll ever

entitle (notwithstanding all the goodly regions that I have

scene in my two perambulations) with the stile of the true

Canaan of the world , that flowes with m ilke and hony . Onely

wish me good successe, I beseech Yo’

ur Honour , as I wi ll from

my heart to you and all your fami l ie heping to salute youafter the final] catastrophe of my exoticke wanderings , when

you shal l bee in the great climacterica l year of your age you

being about fifty three , i f my conjecture doth not fai le mee,

when I tooke my leave of you a th ing veric l ikely, by the

merciful] goodnesse of God,for your father, that was my

god-father, who impo sed upon me the name of Thomas , l ived

more then e ightie yeares .

Honourable Sir, take it not (I beseech you) for a discourtesie,in that I write nothing in thi s letter of my past travels. I

THOMAS CORYAT , 1 6 1 2—1 7 25 5

am certaine that a letter wh ich I have written to M[aster]Wh itaker, your learned and elegant secretary, where in I have

compendiouslie d iscoursed of some of my observations in Asia ,

will quickl ie come to your hands , at least i f hee rema ineth sti l l

in your service ; therfore it would be superfluous to have

repeated the same th ings . Dutie joyned with the recordationof the man ifo ld benefits and s ingular favours I have rece ived

from you , hath injoyned mee to send thi s letter to Your

Honour, from th i s glorious court of the Mogu l ; wherein,

see ing I relate not the singularitie s I have seene in those

oriental] regions , I will desist to be farther ted ious ; humbly

recommending Your Honour, and vertuous lady your wel l

beloved sonne and heire-apparant, Sir Robert1(to whom I

have written a few times [l ines also) and his sweet lady

M . Martin [see p . 249 ] also : M . Christopher Brooke ,2 whom

I thanke still for his no lesse elegant then serious verses

M . E qu inoctiall Pasticrust, of theMiddle Temple 3 M . William

Hackwell 4 and the rest of the worthy gentlemen frequentingyour honourable table , that favour vertue and the sacred

Muse s to the most heavenly cl ientele of the E ternal] Jehovah .

Your Honors most obsequ ious beadsman ,

THOMAS CORYATE .

From the court of the Great Mogul , res ident in

the towne of Asmere , in the Basterne Ind ia , on

Michaelmas day, Anno 1 6 1 5 .

I beseech Your Honour to speake courteously to th i s kind

m ini ster, M . R ogers , for my sake for he ever shewed himselfe

very lov ing unto me .

1 Sir Robert Phelips, a prominent parliamentarian. He was knightedat the same time as hi s father

2 Brooke was a lawyer and a friend of Ben Jonson . His poems werereprinted in 1872.

3 John Hoskins (see p. 258 ) was another friend of Jonson and a wellknown Wit.

4 William Hakewill , legal antiquary and parliamentarian.


To the H igh S eneschall of the R ight Worshipfull Fratern itie ofS ireniacal Gentlemen , thatmeet thefirstFridaie of every monethat the signe of the Mere-Maide in Bread-streete in London,

give these.

1

From the court of the Great Mogul , resident at the

towne ofAsmere , in the Easterne Ind ia .

Right generous , jovial ] , and mercurial] Sirenaicks, I have

often read th i s Greeke proverb, xeip Xeipa ve’

nr er,2 that i s

, one

hand washeth another, and in Latine , Mulus mulum scabit,3

one mule scratcheth another by wh ich the ancients sign ifiedthat courtesies done unto friends ought to bee requited withreciproca l] offices of friendsh ip . The serious consideration

heereof dooth make me to cal l to m ind that incomparablee legant safe-conduct , wh ich , a l ittle before my departure from

England ,your Fratern ity with a genera l suffrage gave me for

the security of my future peregrination , concinnated by thepleasant wit of that in imitable artizan of sweet e legancy,the moytie of my heart , and the quondam Seneschall of thenoblest Society, M[aster] L . W[h itaker] . Therefore , since iti s requ i si te that I should repay some—what for the same ,

according to the lawes of human ity, such a poore retribution

as I sent unto you from Aleppo , the metropol itan city of Syr ia ,

by one M. HenryAllare of Kent , my fe l low-pilgr ime therehence

to Jerusalem (I meane a plaine epistle,wh ich I hope long since

came unto your hands ) , I have sent unto you by a man no

lesse deare unto mee then the former, one M . Peter Rogers, a

Kentish man also ,from the most famigerated region of all

the East , the ample and large Ind ia assuring my selfe that

because I am not able to requite your love with any essentia l]

gratulation s, other then verbal] and scriptall ,you wil as lov ingly

entertaine my poore letters , beeing the certaine man ifestation

of an ingen ious m inde , as i f I shoul d send unto you the m ineral ]

riches or drugge s of the noble country .

1 Purchas notes that Rogers delivered thi s letter to him.

2 This proverb occurs among the fragments of Epicharmus , in the

form xelp xefpa wigs] .3 Ausonius (Idyllia ,

12) hasMutuummul i scabunl.



himselfe of wh ich if I should have written againe to you, it

would have proved C rambe bis Cocta .

The gentleman that bringeth th is letter unto you was

preacher to the Engl ish merchants conversant at the court of

the aforesa ide m ighty monarch in the towne of Asmere in

th is Basterne India ; and in d ivers loving offices hath bene

so kind unto me that I intreat your generosities to enterta ine

him friendly for my sake, to exhilarate him with the purest

qu intessence of the Spanish , French . and Rhen ish grape wh ich

the Merma id yeeldeth and e ither one in the name of you all ,

or e lse the total] univ ersalitie of the one after another, to thanke

him heart ily, according to the qual ity of his merits . Farewell ,noble Sirenaicks .

Your Generosit ie s most obl iged coun‘

treyman, ever to be com

manded by you, the Hierosolym itan-Syrian-Me sopotam ian

Armenian-Median-Parthian-Persian-Ind ian Leggestretcher of

Odcomb in Somerset ,THOMAS CORYAT

'

E .

1

1 In a postscript, dated 8 Nov . , 1 6 15 , is given a list of persons towhom Coryat desired to be commended. This includes the two Ladi esVarney, the mother and the daughter that famous antiquarie , SirRobert Gotten Master William Ford Preacher to our nation at

Constantinople George Speake, son of Sir George Speake JohnDonn e ; R ichard Martin , of the Mi ddle Temple Christopher Brooke , ofYork and Lincoln ’s In ; JohnHoskins, alias E quinoctiall PasticrustGeorge Garrat William Hackwell or Hakewill , of Lincoln’s InnBenjamin Johns on , the poet, at hi s chamber at the Black-FriarsJohn Bond, chi ef secretary to the Lord Chancellor ; Master DoctorMocket and Samuel Purchas. There is also a postscript containinga message to the Bishop of Bath andWells [JamesMontague] , promisingto write him a letter which shall not bee unworthy to bee read to theKings most excellentMaj estySome of the persons mentioned require no introduction to the reader,

and others have been already described on pp. 249 , 255 . Several ofthem had contributed laudatory verses to the Crudities. The LadiesVerney wereMary, thi rdwife of Sir EdmundVem eythe elder, andUrsula ,her daughter by a former husband, wife of Sir FrancisVerney. Bond was

a physician and classical scholar, secretary to Lord Chancellor Egertonand Dr. Richard Mocket was Warden of All Souls and a theologian of

some repute.

THOMAS CORYAT , 1 6 1 2—1 7 259

To his Loving Mother .

By th is present letter I am l ike to m ini ster unto you the

occasion of two contrary matters, the one of comfort , the

other of d iscomfort . Of comfort , because I have , by the

propitious assistance of the omn ipotent Jehovah, performed

such a notable voyage of Asia the Greater, with purchase of

great riches of experience , as I doubt whether any Engl ish man

th i s hundred yeares have done the l ike having seene and very

particularly observed all the cheefest th ings in the Holy-land ,

ca lled in times pa st Palastina as Jerusalem , Samaria ,Nazar

eth ,Bethl ehem ,

Jericho , Emaus , Bethan ia , the Dead Sea ,

called by the Ancients Lacus Aspha lt ites , where Sodome and

Gomorrha once stood . S ince that , many famous and renownedcit ies and countries Mesopotam ia ,

in the wh ich I entred by

the passage of the river Euphrates , that watered Paradise ;in wh ich the c itty of Ur, where Abraham was borne both theMed iaes , the Higher and the Lower Parth ia , Armen ia ,

Persia through a l wh ich I have trava iled into the EasternInd ia , be ing now at the court of the Great Mogul] , at a townecalled Asmere, the wh ich from Jerusalem i s the d istance of

two thousand and seaven hundred m iles ; and have tracedall th i s ted ious way afoote , with no small to ile of bodye and

d iscomfort .

Because that beeing so exceeding farre from my sweet andmost de l ic ious native soyle of England you will doubt

perhaps , how it i s possible for me to returne home againe

but I hope I sha ll qu ickly remove from you that opin ion of

d i scomfort (if at the least you shal l conce ive any such ) , becauseI would have you know that I alwayes go safely in the companyof caravan s from place to place . A caravan i s a word muchused in all Asia by wh ich i s understood a great mult itudeof people travell ing together upon the way, with camels,horses , mules , a sses , etc . , on wh ich they carry merchand i zes

from one country to another, and tents and pavill ions, under

wh ich instead of houses they she lter themselve s in open fields,be ing furn ished a l so with all necessary provision , and con

8 2


v enient implements to dresse the same ; . in which caravans

I have ever most securely passed betwixt Jerusalem and thi s

towne , a journey of fifteene months and odde dayes whereof

foure (wanting a weeke ) spent in Aleppo , and two and fiv e

and 0 d daye s spent in Spahan , the metropol itan citty of

Persia , where the Persian King mo st common ly keepeth hiscourt . And the occasion of my spend ing of sixe moneths ofthe foresa ide fifteene in those two citties, was to wa ite for an

opportun ity of caravans to trav a ile withall wh ich a travel ler

i s not sure to finde presently when he i s ready to take hisjourney, but must with patience expect a conven ient time

and the caravan in wh ich I travelled be twixt Spahan and

Ind ia conta ined 2000 came ls, 1 500 horse s, 1 000 and odde mules ,800 a sses , and sixe thousand people . Let th is therefore (deer

mother) m in i ster unto you a strong hope of my happy returne

into England .

Notwithstand all these l ine s for provision for your funera l] ,I hope for to see you a l ive and sound in body and m inde , about

foure yeares hence and to kneele before you with effus ion

of teares , for joy. Sweet mother, pray let not th i s wound

your heart, that I say four yeares hence , and not before ;I humbly beseech you , even upon the knees of my heart , witha ll submiss ive supplicat ions , to pardon me for my long absence

for verily, I have re solved , by the favour of the supernall

powers, to spend 4 entire yeares more before my returne , and

so to make it a pilgrimage of 7 yeares, to the end I may very ,

effectua lly and profitably contemplate a great part of thi s

worldly fabricke ; determining, by Gods specia l he lp, to go

from Ind ia into the countrey of Scythia ,now ca lled Tartaria ,

to the cittie Samarcanda , to see the sepulcher of the greatest

conqueror that ever was in the worlde , Tamberlaine the Great

th ither it i s a journey of two month s from the place I now

remaine . From that I meane to return into Persia and there

thence , by the way of Babylon and Ninivy, and the mountaine

Ararat, where Noahs arke rested , to Aleppo , to my country

men . From that, by the way o f Damascus , and once aga in to

Gaza in the land of the Philistims unto Ca iro in Egypt from

that downe the Nilus to Alexandria ; and therehence fina lly

I hope to be imbarked for some part of Christendome, as e ither



King Mogol , and 1 0 daies journy from hi s court at the said

Azmere .

From the same Azmere I departed the 1 2 day of September,

An . 1 6 1 6 , after my abode there 1 2 moneths and 6 0 da ies ;

which though I confesse it were a too long t ime to remaine in

one and the selfe same place, yet for two principal ] causes it

was very requ i site for me to remaine there some reasonabletime first

,to learne the languages of those countries through

wh ich I am to passe betwixt the bounds of the territories of

th i s prince and Chri stendome , namely these three, the Persian ,

Turkish , and Arab (wh ich I have in some competent measure

attained unto by my labour and industry at the said Kings

court ) , matters as av aileable unto me as mony in my purse ,as be ing the cheifest or rather onely meane to get me mony if

I should happen to be destitute , a matter very incidental] to

a poore footman pilgrim as my selfe , in these heathen and

Mahometan countries through wh ich I travel] secondly, that

by the helpe of one of those languages (I meane the Persian )I m ight both procure unto my selfe accesse unto the King,and be able to expresse my m ind unto h im about the matter

for the wh ich I shou ld have occasion to d i scours with him .

These were the reasons that moved me so long to tarry at the

Mogols court during wh ich time I abode in the house of the

Engl i sh merchants , my deare countrimen , not spend ing one

l ittle peece of mony, e ither for d iet , wash ing, lodging, or any

other th ing. And as for the Persian tongue, wh ich I stud ied

very earnestly, I attained to that reasonable skil l (and that in

a fewemoneths) that I made an oration unto the King before

many of his nobles in that language , and , after I had ended the

same, d i scoursed with His Majesty a lso in that tongue veryread ily and fam il iarly ; the coppy of which speech , though

the tong it selfe wil seem to an Engl ishman very strange and

uncuth , as hav ing no kind of affin ity with any of our Christianlanguages, I have for novelty sake written out in th i s letter,together with the tran slation thereof in Engl ish , that you may

shew it to some of my lerned friends of the clergy and al so of

the temporalty in Euil and elswere , who , bel ike , wi l l take some

p leasure in read ing so rare and unusual] a tongue as th i s i s .

The Persian i s th i s that followeth

THOMAS CORYAT , 1 6 1 2—1 7 26 3

The Cop i e of an Oration that I made, in the Persian tongue,to the GreatMogoll , before divers of his N obles .

1

Hazaret Aallum pennah salamet, fooker Daruces v e tehaun

geshta hastam kem ia emadam az wellagets door, ganne az

mu lk Inglizan ke kessana ion petheen mushacas cardand ke

wellagets, mazcoor der akers magrub bood, ke mader hamma

iezzaerts dunmast . Sabebbe amadane mari mia boosti char

cheez ast auval be dedane mobarreck deedars . Hazaret ke

secte caramat ba hamma Trankestan reeseedast ooba tamam

mulk Musulmanan der sheenedan awsaffe. Hazaret daueeda

amadam be deedane astawne akdas musharaf geshtam duum

1 The Persian has been printed exactly as it appears in the originaltext

, pr inter’s errors and al l . The late S ir Charles Lyal l kindly fur

h ished the follow ing transcript, wh ich does not, however, attempt tocorrect Coryat’s wording or grammarHazarat-i ‘

alam-panah salamat Faqi r darv i sh u jahangashtabastam,

ki inja amadam az w ilayat-i dur , ya'

n i az mulk-i Ingl istan,ki q i ssa-nav i san-i pi sh i n mushakhkhas karda-and ki w i layat-imagkur dar akh ir-i maghrib bad, ki madar-i hamah j aza i r-i dunya-st.Sabab-i amadan-i man i nja ba-wasita-e char chi z ast : awwal badidan-imubarak didar-iHazarat, ki si t-i karamat ba-hamah Farangistan

rasidast u batamam mulk-i Musalmanan : dar shan idan-i awsafi

Hazarat dav ida amadam ba-didan-i astan-i aqdas musharrafgashtamDuwam bara-e didan-i fi l-ha-e Hazarat

,ki chun iu janwar dar h ich

mu lk na-didam . Siwam bara-e didan-i daiya-e namwar-i shumaGanga, ki sardar

-i hamah daryaha-e dunya-st. Chaharum in ast,ki

yak farman-i‘al i-shan i nayat farmayand ,

ki bi tuwanamdar w ilayat-iUzbak raftan ba-shahr-i Samarqand

,bara-e z iyarat kardan o i qabr-i

Sah ib-Qiran ki awsafi jang u musakhkhara-e a dar tamam‘alam

mashhfi r ast, balki dar wi layat-i Uzbak i n-qadar mashhur n i st chunanki dar mu lk-i Ingl istan ast. Digar, bisyar i shtiyaq daram ba-di dan-i

mubarakmazar-i Sahib-Qiran-ra bara-e i n sabab, ki an zaman ki faqi rdar shahr-i Istambol budam , yak

‘aj ib kuhna imarat didam dar

m iyan-i yak khush bagh nazdik-i shahr-i mazkur, kuja ki padshah-iIsa

’

iyan ki namash Manue l bud ki Sah ib-Qiran-ra khush-m ihmani-yiazim karda bud, ba

‘d az gir i ftan

-i Sultan Bayazi d-ré az j ang-i

‘agim

ki shuda bud nazdik-i shah r-i Bursa, kianja ki Sahib-Qiran SultanBayaz id

-ré dar zanj i r-i tila’

i bastand u dar kafas n ihadand . In char

chi z mara az mulk-i man jumbani‘

d ta i nja, az mulk-i Rum 11‘Iraq

piyada gashta, az dur dar i n mulk rasidam ,ki char hazar farsang rah

darad bisyar dard u m ihnat kash idam ,ki hi ch kas dar in dunya i n

qadar mihnat na kash idast, bara-e di dan-i mubarak d idar-i Hazaratat

an ruz ki ba takht-i shahanshah i musharraf farmfidand.


bray deedane feelhay N azaret . kin chuum ianooar der heech

mulk ne dedam sen in bray deedane namwer daryaee shumma

Gauga ,ke Serdare hamma daryaha dumiest. Chaharum een

ast, keyec fermawne alishaion amayet fermoyand , ke betwanam

der wellayetts Vzbeck raftan ba shahre Samarcand , bray

zeerat cardan cabbre mobarrec Saheb crawncah awsaffe tangoo mosachere oo

'

der tamam aallum meshoor ast belkder

wellagette Vzbec eencader meshoor neest chunan che der mulc

Ingl isan ast digr, bishare eshteeac daram be deedane mobarrec

mesare Saheb crawnca bray een saheb , che awne saman che

focheer de shabr Stambo] boodam , ycaiaeb cohua amarat

deedam dermean yecush bawg nasdec shaht mascoor coia che

padshaw E ezawiawn che mamesh Manuel bood che Saheb

crawnca cush mehmannec aseem carda bood , baad as gristane

Sulten Baiasetra as iange aseem che shuda bood nas dec shahre

Bursa , coimache Saheb crawn Sul tan Baiasetra de Zenicera

tellaio bestand , oo der cafes nahadond een char chees meera

as mu lche man ium baneed tam ia , as mule Room 0 0 Arracpecada geshta ,

as door der een mule reseedam , che char hasar

pharsang raw darad , beshare derd oo mohuet casheedam che

beech ches der een dunnia een cader mohuet ne casheedast

bray deedune mobarrec dedare Haseretet awn roos che be

tacte shaugh ne shaughee musharaf fermoodand .

The English of i t i s this .

Lord 1 Protector of the World , all haile to you . I am a poore

traveller and world-seer, wh ich am come h ither from a farre

country, namely England ,wh ich auncient h i storians thought

to have been scituated in the farthest bounds of the West , and

wh ich i s the queene of al l the ilands in the world . The cause

of my eomming h ither i s for foure respects . F irst , to see the

blessed face of Your Majesty, whose wonderfu l] fame hath

resounded over all Europe and the Mahometan countries

when I heard of the fam e of Your Majesty, I hastened h ither

with speed, and travelled very cherefully to see your glorious

court . Secondly, to see Your Majesties elephants, wh ich kind

1 ‘This is the ordinary title that is given him by all strangers(marginal note) .



After I had ended my speech ,I had some short d iscourse

with him in the Persian tongue , who amongst other things

told me that , concern ing my travel ] to the city of Samarcand ,

he was not able to doeme anygood, because there was no great

am ity betwixt the Tartarian princes and himselfe ; so that

h is commendatory letters would doe me no good . Al so he

added that the Tartars did so deadly hate all Christians thatthey would certainely kill them when they came into their

country ; so that he earnestly diswaded me from the journy ,if I loved my l ife and welfare . At last he concluded his

d i scourse with me by a sum of mony that he threw downe from

a windowe through wh ich he looked out, into a sheete tied upby the foure corners , and hanging very neer the ground , a

hundred peeces of silver, each worth two sh ill ings sterling,

wh ich counterva i led ten pounds of our Engl i sh mony . Th i sbusines I carried so secretly

,by the help of my Persian , that

ne ither our Engl ish Ambassador, nor any other ofmy countri

men (saving one special] , private , and intrinsica l friend) had

the least inkl ing of it ti ll I had throughly accomplished mydesigne ; for I wel l knew that our Ambassador would have

stopped and barracadoed all my proceed ing therein If he

m ight have had any notice thereof ; as indeed he Signified

unto me after I had effected my project , aleaging th i s forsooth

for h is reason why he would have h indered me, because it

would redound some what to the d i shonour of our nation that

one of our countrey should present himselfe in that beggarly

and poore fash ion to the King, out of an insinuating humor to

crave mony of him but I answered our Ambassador in that

stout and resolute manner, after'

I had ended my busines ,

that he was contented to cease nibling at me . Never had I

more need of mony in all my l ife then at that time ; for in

truth I had but twenty sh i ll ings sterl ing left in my purse , by

reason of a m i schance I had in one of the Turkes cities called

Emert,

1 in the country of Mesopotam ia , where a m i screant

Turke stripped me of almost all my mon ies, accord ing as I

wrote unto you in a very large letter the last yeer , wh ich I

1 Coryat has already stated (p. 250 ) that this incident took place at

Diarbekr. Apparently he is here giv ing that town its alternative name

of (Kara) Amid.

THOMAS CORYAT, 1 6 1 2—1 7 2 6 7

sent from the court of th i s m ighty monarch by one of mycountrimen that went home by sea in an Engl ish shippe laden

with the commodities of th i s Ind ia wh ich letter I hope came

to your hands long since .

After I had been with the King, I went to a certaine noble

and generous Christian of the Armenian race , 1 two da ies

journy from the Mogols court , to the end to observe certain

remarkable matters in the same p lace to whom by mean s of

my Persian tongue I was so welcome that hee entertained me

with very civil] and courteous complement , and at my depar

ture gave mee very boun tifully twenty peeces of such kind of

mony as the King had done before , countervail ing 40 sh ill ings

sterl ing. About ten daies after that , I departed from Azmere,

the court of the Mogol Prince , to the end to begin my pilgrimage

after my long rest of fourteen moneth s back againe into Persia

at what time our Ambassador gave mee a peece of gold of

th i s Kings co ine worth foure and twenty sh ill ings ,2 wh ich I will

save (if it be possible) ti ll my ariv all in England . So that

I have received for benevolences since I came into thi s country

twenty markes sterling [1 3 3 . 4d. each] saving two sh ill ings

e ight pence ; and by the way uppon the confines of Persia

a l itle before I came into th i s country three and th irty sh illings

foure pence 3 in Persian mony of my Lady Sherly . At th i s

present I have in the city of Agra , where hence I wrote thi s

letter, about twelve pounds sterling, wh ich , accord ing to mymaner of l iv ing uppon the way at two-pence sterling a day

(for with that proportion I can l ive pretty well , such i s the

cheapnes of all eatable th ings in Asia , drinkable things costingnoth ing,

for seldome doe I drinke in my p ilgrimage any other

l iquor then pure water) , wi ll mainetaine mee very competently

three yeeres in my travel] with meate , drinke and clothes .Of these gratu it ies wh ich have been given me , willingly wouldI send you some part as a demonstration of the fil ial] love and

1 Thi s was probably the well-known Mirza Zulkarnain , who farmed

the salt works at the sambhar Lake , about forty miles north-east of

Ajmer . See Father Hosten ’s article on him in Memoirs of the AsiaticSociety ofBengal , v ol . v , no. 4, p . 122.

2 Agold mohur, valued by Coryat at twelve rupees.3 Doubtless a hundred shahis On p. 243 Coryat gives the sum as 403 .


affection wh ich every ch ild bred in civi lity and hum il ity ought

to performe to h is loving and good mother but the d istance

of space betwixt th i s place and E ngland , the hazard of mens

l ives in so long a journey, and al so the infidel ity of many men,

who though they live to come home, are unwill ing to render

an account of the th ings they have rece ived , doe not a l ittle

d iscourage me to send any precious token unto you but if

I l ive to come one day to Constantinople againe (for thither

doe I resolve to goe once more, by the grace of Christ , and

therehence to take my passage by land into Christendom over

renouned Greece) , I wil make cho ice of some substantial and

faithful ] countr iman , by whom I will send some prety token

as an expression of my dutiful ] and obed ient respect unto you .

I have not had the oppertunity to see the King of Persia as

yet since I came into th i s country, but I have reso lved to goe

to h im when I come next into his territories , and to search him

out wheresoever I can find h im in hi s kingdome for , seeingI can d i scourse with him in his Persian tongue , I doubt not

but that , going unto him in the forme of a pilgrime , he will not

onely entertaine me with good words , but al so bestow some

worthy reward upon me , beseem ing his d ign ity and person

for wh ich cause I am provided before hand with an excellent

th ing, written in’

the Persian tongue, that I meane to present

unto him . And thu s I hope to get benevolences of worthypersons to maintaine me in a competent maner in my whole

pilgrimage til l I come into E ngland wh ich I hold to be as

laudable and a more secure course then i f I d id continually

carry store of m ony about mee .

In the letter wh ich I wrote unto you by an Engl ish sh ip the

last yeere, I made relation unto you both of my journy from

the once holy Hierusalem h ither, and of the state of th is Kings

court and the customes of thi s country ; therfore I hold it

superfluous to repeat the same th ings againe . But what the

countryes are that I meane to see betwixt th i s and Christendome

, and how long time I will spend in each country, I am

unwill ing to advertise you of at th is present , desiring rather

to sign ify that unto you after I have performed my designe

then before . Howbeit , in few words I will tel l you of certa ine

cities of great renown in former times, but now partly ruined ,


27 0 EARLY TRAVELS IN I ND IA

th is shew,I wil with all expedit ion repa ire to the city of Lahore,

twenty daies journy from thi s , and so into Persia , by the helpe

ofmy blessed Christ .

Thus have I imported unto you some good accidents that

happened j i nto me since I wrote a letter unto you the last yeere

from the Kings court , and some l itle part of my resolution for

the d isposing of a part of my time of abode in Asia therefore

now I will draw to a conclus ion . The time I cannot l im it whenI shal l come home , but as my merciful] God and Saviour shall

d i spose of it . A long rabble of commendat ions , l ike to that

wh ich I wrote in my last letter to you , I hold not so requ i s ite

to make at th i s present therefore , with remembrance of

some fewe friends names , I will shut up my present epistle .

I pray you recommend me first in Odcombe to Master Gollop ,and every good body of his fam i ly, if he l iveth yet to Master

Berib, his wife and all his fami ly ; to all the Kni ghts ,1 Wil l iam

Chunt, John Selly, Hugh Donne, and their wi ves ; to Master

Atkins and his wife at Norton . I pray comm end me in Eui ll

to these to old Mr . Seward ,

2 i f he l iveth , his wife and chi ldren ,

the poore Widow Darby, old Master Dyer, and his sonne John ,

Master Ewins, old and young, with the ir wives , Master Phelpes

and his wife , Master Starre and his wife , with the rest of my

good friends there . I had a lmost forgotten your husband3

to him also , to Ned Barber and his wife , to William Jch ings .

Commend me al so , I pray you , and that with respectfull and

dutiful] termes , to the god ly and reverent fraternitie of

preachers that every second Friday meet at a rel igious exercise

at Bui l l at the least , i f that exercise doth continue, pray read

th is letter to them , for I thinke they wilbe wel l pleased with

it , by reason of the novelties of things . And so finally I comm it

you and all them to the blessed protection ofAlm ighty God .

Your dutiful] , lov ing, and obed ient sonne, now a

deso late pilgrim in the world .

THOMAS CORIAT .

1 Probably Sir Edward and Sir Robert Phelips.The Rev . John Seward, of Yeovil , to whom Laurence Whi taker

addressed a letter in praise of the Cmdities , printed as an introduction tothat work.

3 Coryat’s mother had ev idently married again (see a passage in thec ommendatory verses prefixed to the 1 6 18 pamphlet) .

THOMAS CORYAT,1 6 1 2—1 7

The copy of a speech that I made to a Mahometan in the I talian

tongue.

The coppy of a speech that I made extempore in the Ital ian

tongue to a Mahometan at a citie calledMoltan , in the Basterne

India , two daies journy beyond the famous river Indus , wh ich

I have passed, against Mahomet and his accursed rel igion ,

upon the occasion of a discurtesie offered unto m ee by the

said Mahometan in call ing me Giaur,1 that i s infidel] , by reason

that I was a Christ ian . why I spake to him in

Florent ines“

in agall eyle towards

'

Alexaii'

dra

but be ing by them interrupted by the way,he was carried to

a citie called Ligorne [Leghorn] in the Duke of Florencesdom in ions , where after two yeeres he had learned good Ital ian

but he was an Ind ian borne and brought up in the Mahometan

rel igion . I pronounced the speech before an hundred people ,whereof none understood it but himselfe but hee afterward

told the mean ing of somepart of it as far as he could remember

it to some of the others a lso . lIf I had spgken th_us_much inW ‘“ A

Turky or Persia aga inst Mahomet they would have rosted“MM M —‘m arw a-"I

“m ”tuc W a n; v s

me upon a spitt ; but in the Mogols dom i n ionsaChristian mayA ‘ nl a N m u g v l

speake lmuéh more“

freely then heecan in any other Mahometan-s.~ u ~ m u?m m 4 “N M -l it ) “ oa r cv

country in the world . The speech was th i s , as I afterward.

“ M ” m n m fl m w m ' n fi-i n

”

But~

I pray thee, tell me, thou Mahometan , dost thou in

sadnes [i . e . in seriousness] call me G iaur That I doe , quoth

he . Then (quoth I ) in very sobersadnes I retort that shameful]word in thy throate , and te ll thee pla inly that I am a Musulman

and thou art a Giaur . For by that Arab word Musulman thoudost understand that wh ich cannot be properly applied to a

Mahometan , but onely to'

a Christian ; so that I doe couse

quently inferre that there are two kindes ofMuselmen , the one

an orthomusulman , that i s a true Musulman ,wh ich i s a

Christian , and the other a pseudo-musulman ,that i s , a fal se

Musulman, wh ich i s a Mahometan . What thy Mahomet was,

1 Giaour, an infidel, i m the Persian gaur or gabr, through theTurkish gyam‘


from whom thou dost derive thy religion, a ssure thy selfe I

know better then any one of the Mahometans amongst many

m ill ions yea , all the particular circumstances of his l ife and

death ,h is nation , h is parentage , his driving camel s through

Egipt, S i ria , and Palestina , the marriage of his m istris, by

who se death he ra i sed h imselfe from a very base and contemt ible estate to great honor and riches , h is manner of cozeningthe sottish people of Arabia , partly by a tame pigeon that

did fly to his care for meat , and partly by a tame bul l that heefed by hand every day, with the rest of his action s both in

peace and warre , I know a swell as if I had l ived in h is time , or

had beene one of his ne ighbours in Mecca . The truth whereof

if thou d idst know a swell , I am perswaded thou wouldest spit

in the face of thy Alearon [al-Kurdn] , and trample it under

thy feete , and bury it under a jaxe [i . e . privy] , a booke of that

strange and weake matter that I my selfe (as meanely as thou

dost see me attired now) have a lready written two better

bookes (God be thanked ) , and will hereafter th i s (by Godsgratious perm ission ) write another better and truer . Yea ,

I wo ld have thee know (thou Mahometan) that in that renouned

kingdome of England where I was borne , learn ing doth so

flourish that there are many thousand bo ies of sixteene yeeres

of age that are able to make a more learned booke then thy

Alearon . Ne ither was it (as thou and the rest of you Mahome

tan s doe general ly beleve) composed wholy by Mahomet , for

hee was of so dul l a wit as he was not able to make it without

the he lpe of another, namely a certaine renegado monke of

Constantinople , cal led Sergis .

1 So that his Alcoran was l ike

an arrow drawne out of the quiver o f another man . ) I perceive

thou dost wonder to see me so much inflamed with anger ,“ u m w am np n nm or e a .1 1 4 . ”M m “?

Frit‘

I would have thee consider it i s not without

G iaur byu

a Giaur for

that incomparable d ign ity that , as thyMahomet i s not worthy

to be named that yeere where in my blessed Christ i s, so ne ither

1 Sergius or Georgius, known to Muhammadans as Bahira see the

Encyclopaedia of Islam, 8 . n . , and Hughes’

s2Dictionary of Islam, p .5 15 .

The assertion in the text is not accepted by modern scholars.



Alearon and in the seven and th irtyAsaria, 1 but expressed withthose m isticall and obscure termes that i s very d ifficult tounderstand it . For thi s Utopian Paradice , I say, as the

reward of a ] your superstitious mumbl ing in your praiers and

the often ducking downe of your heads , when you kisse the

ground w ith such a devoute humilitie forsooth , doe you Mahometans 11Ope in another world But wee Christians hope tol ive with God and His blessed ange ls for ever and ever inHeaven , as be ing a proper and pecul iar inheritance purchasedunto us by the precious blood of our Christ . Yet must wee bereputed Giaurs by those that are Giaurs

One th ing more will I tell thee (O thou Mahometan ) , and so

I will conclude th i s ted ious speech , whereunto thy d iscurtiouscal l ing of me Giaur hath inforced mee and I prethee observe

this my conclus ion . Learn ing (wh ich i s the most precious

j ewel] that man hath in th is l ife , by wh ich he attaineth to the

knowledge of d ivine and humane things) commeth to man

e ither by reve lation , wh ich we otherwise cal inspiration, or by

industry . Learn ing by revelation I cal that wh ich God dothinfuse from above by His special grace, unto those whom He

will use as the instruments of H is glory who without labour

or travel] doe aspire to a most em inent degree of knowledge .

Learn ing by industry, I call it that wh ich a man doth purchase

to h imselfe by continual ] writing and reading, by practi se and

med itation . Now by ne ither of these meanes have the Maho

metans acqu ired any meane , much less any singular, learningfor as Mahomet himselfe was a man of a very superficial ] and

meane learn ing, so never was there any one Of his d isciples in

any part of the world that was indued with any profound

knowledge . But wee Christians, by the one and the other

meane, have attained to the most exqu i s ite science that can

be inc ident to man .

2 Some of our men that never were brought

up in stud ies having been so expert in a general] learn ing (onely

by Gods special i llumination ) as those have spent forty yeeres

The Kura'

m is not divided into books but into chapters, known as

sarahs. Asaria is apparently meant‘

for some form of al‘é‘fl t‘ttlt

(as-Sarah) , which, in the Latin translation of 1550 , appears as azoara

The 37th Sarah is the one describing Paradise .

2 I mean the blessed Apostles of our Saviour (marginal note).

THOMAS CORYAT , 1 6 1 2—1 7 2 7 5

in the practise thereof and others , by continual] practise Of

writing and reading, have beene so excel lent that they became

the very lampes and stars of the countries where in they l ived .

These th ings be ing so ,it cannot poss ible come to passe that

the Omn ipotent God should deale so partia lly with mankind

as to rev eale His will to a people a ltogetherm i sled in ignorance

and blindnes as you Mahometans are, and conceale it from us

Chri stians that bestowe all our l ifetime in the practise of

d ivine and humane d iscipl ines, and in the ardent invocation

of God’ s ho ly name with all sincerity and purity of heart .

Goe to , then , thou pseudomusulman , that i s , thou false

beleev er , s ince by thy injurious imputation la id upon mee, in

that thou cal ledst m ee G iaur, thou hast provoked mee to speake

thus . I pray thee , let th i s m ine answere be a warn ing for thee

not to scandal ize mee in the l ike manner any more for the

Christian rel igion which I professe i s so deare and tender unto

mee that ne ither thou nor any other Mahometan shal scotfree

cal l me G iaur, but that I will qu it you with an answer much to

the wonder Of tho se Mahometans . D iwi .

I pray you , mother , expect no more letters from m e after

thi s t il l my arrival ] in Christendom because I have reso lved

to write no more wh ile I am in the Mahometans countries ,th inking that it will be a farre greater comfort , both to you

and to all my friends whatsoever, to heare newes that I have

accompl ished my trav elles in Mahometisme , then that I am

eomm ing up and down , to and fro in the sam e , without anycertainty of an i ssue therof. Therfore , I pray, have patience

for a time . About two yeers and a halfe hence I hope to fin ish

these Mahometan trav elles , and then e ither from the citie of

R aguz i [Ragusa] in Sclav on ia ,wh ich i s a Christian citie and

the first we enter into Christendome from those parts of Turkyby land nere unto the same , or from famous Ven ice, I will very

dutiful ly remember you aga ine with l ines full of fil ial] piety

and officious respect .

I have written two letters to myUncle Williams since I came

forth of England , and no more whereof one from the Mogolscourt the last yeere , just at the same time that I wrote unto

you ; and another now, wh ich I sent jo intly by the same

T 2

27 6 EARLY TRAVELS'

IN IND IA

messenger that carried yours out of Ind ia by sea . Once moreI recommend you and all our hearty wel-willers and friends

to the gratious tu ition of the Lord of Hosts . I pray you,

remember my duty to Master Hancoke, that reverend and

apostolical l good old man, and his wife, i f they are yet l ivingto their sonnes Thomas and John, and the ir wives .

Certaine observations written by Thomas Coryat.1

Whereas the beggers begge in th i s countrey of a Christianin the name of Bibee [Bibi , Lady] Maria , and not of Hazaret

Besa [see p . thereby we may gather that the Jesui ts have

preached Mary more then Jesus .

A great Raja, a Genti le , a notorious athe ist and contemnerof al l deitie (glorying to professe he knew no other God then

the King, nor beleev ing nor fearing none ) , sitting dal lyingwith his women , one of them plucked a haire from his brest

wh ich , being fast rooted, plucked off a l ittle of the skinne ,

that blond appeared . Th i s smal l skarre 2 festered and gan

grened incurably so that in few dayes he despa ired of l ife .

And beeing accompan ied with all his friends and d ivers

courtiers , he brake out into these excellent words Wh ich of

you would not have thought that I , be ing a man of warre,should have dyed by the stroke of a sword , speare , or bow

But now I am inforced to confesse the power of that great God

whom I have so long despised that Hee needs no other lance

then a l ittle ha ire to kill so blasphemous a wretch and con

temner of His majestie as I have beene .

3

Ecbar Shaugh had learned all kind Of sorcery ; who , beeing

once in a strange humour, to shew a spectacle to his nobles ,brought forth his ch iefest queene , with a sword cut off her

head, and after the same, perce iv ing the heav inesse and sorrow

of them for the death of her (as they thought ) , caused the head ,

1 From Purchas His Pilgrimes, part i , bk. iv, chap. 1 7 .

A term, now obsolete, for a crack or incision . It is quite distinctfrom our ordinary scar

3 For an account of other versions of thi s story see The Embassy ofS ir T. Roe, p. 3 1 1 n .



the same . and striving for it , was taken by My Lords peopleand bound a l l. etc . , a great controversie being about it

, etc.

Remember the charitie of two great m en that , in the time

o f th i s great drought ,1 were at the charge of send ing ten camel s

with twentie persons every day to the sa id river for water, and

did d i stribute the water to the poore wh ich was so dearethat they sold a l ittle skinne for e ight p i se .

Bebar Shaugh a very fortunate prince , and pious to his

mother his pietic appearing in th i s particular, that when h is

mother was carried once in a palankeen betwixt Lahor and

Agra , he , travell ing with her , tooke the pa lankeen upon his

owne shou lders, command ing his greatest nobles to doe the

l ike , and so carried her over the river from one s ide to the

other . And never denyed her any th ing but th i s, that shee

demanded of him , that our B ible m ight be hanged about an

asses necke and beaten about the towne of Agra ,for that the

Portugals , having taken a ship of the irs at sea , in wh ich was

found the Alcoran amongst the Moores , tyed it about the

necke of a dogge and beat the same dogge about the towne of

Ormuz . \But hee denyed her request , saying that , i f it werei l l i n the POff

'

ii gals to ri de so to the Alcoran , be ing it became

not a“

Kifig'

tb'

req il ite i l l with i ll , for that the contempt of anyrel igion was the contempt OfGod , and hewou ld not be revenged

upon an innocent bOOke ; the moral] be ing that God wou ld

not suffer the sacred bOoke of His truth to be contemned

among’

st'

th e infidelsf

One day in the yeere , for the solace of the Kings women , all

the trades-men s wives enter the Mohal [see p . 1 48] with some

what to sell , in manner of a faire where the King i s broker

for his women and with his ga ines that n ight makes his supper,no man present . 2 (Observe that whatsoever i s brought in o f

v irill shape , as instance in reddishes , so great i s the jealonsie ,

1 AtMandu,caused by Jahangir

’

s heedlessness in fixing his camp inthi s desei ted city. Roe (loc. cit. ) speaks of the pitiful misery caused bythe scarcity of water.

2 For accounts of these fairs see the Ain , v ol . i , p . 27 6 , Constable’strans. of Bernier, p. 27 2, and The Travels ofPeterMundy, vol. ii, p. 238 .

THOMAS CORYAT , 1 6 1 2—1 7 27 9

and so frequent the wickednesse of th i s people, that they are

cut and jagged for feare of converting the same to some

unnatural] abuse . ) By thi s meanes hee attaines to the sight

of all the prettie wenches of the towne . At such a kind of

fa ire he got his beloved Normahal .

After Shaof Freed [Sha ikh Farid] had wonne the battle of

Lahor 1 by a stratagem , the captaines being taken by the Kingand hanged upon flesh-hookes and stakes made an entrance

for the King to Lahor. H is sonne Cursaroo being then taken

prisoner and rid ing bare-footed upon an elephant , h is father

demanded him how hee l iked that spectacle of h is val iant and

fa ithful] captaines hanging in that manner, to the number of

two thousand . Hee answered him that hee was sorr ie to see

so much crueltie and injustice in h is father, in executing them

that had done noth ing but the ir dutie , for that they l ived upon

his bread and salt but hee shou ld have done right if hee had

saved them and pun ished him ,wh ich was the ir master and

the authour of the rebell ion .

For more cleere declaration of th i s excellent vertue , upbra iding the coldnesse of our charitie , you shal l understand a custome

of th i s King, who sleeping in his Gusle-can ,

2often when hee

awakes in the n ight , his great men (except those that watch )being retired , cals for certa ine poore and old men , making them

s it by him , with many quest ions and fam il iar speeches passingthe time and at their departure cloathes them and gives them

bountiful] almes often ,whatsoever they demand , tel l ing the

money into their hands .

For a close of th i s d i scourse , I cannot forget that memorable

1 The victory by which Khusrau ’

s rebellion was crushed . The

stratagem seems to be that mentioned on p . 1 59 , of pretending thatJahangir had arrived on the scene with all his forces (see also Herbert’sSome Ycares Travels , p. The conversation between Khusrau and

his father is recorded by Terry (ed . 1 6 55 , p. doubtless on Coryat’sauthority. Manucci (v ol . i , p . 13 1 ) has a similar story, but makes itrelate to Jahangir

’

s rebellion againstAkbar.2 Ghuzl-khana ,

‘bath-room and hence a private apartment. For

examples of Jahfmgir’

s respect for such devotees , see Roe , pp. 36 6 , 380


pietie, when at Asmere hee 1 went afoot to the tombe of the

prophet Hod . Mund in there buried, and kindl ing a fire with

h is owac hands and his Normahal under that immen se and

Heidelbergian-aequipollent

2 brasse-pot, and made kitcherie 3

for fiv e thousand poore , taking out the first platter with his

owne hands and serving one Normahal the second and so

his lad ies all the rest . Cracke mee thi s nut, all the 4 Papal ]

charitie vaunters .

An Armen ian , des irous to turneMoore, procured a noble-man

to bring him to the King ; whom the King asked why hee

turned Moore whether for preferment Hee answered No .

Some few monethes after, crav ing some courtesie of the King,hee denyed it h im , saying that hee had done him the greatest

favour that could bee, to let him save his soule but for his

bodie , hee himselfe should provi de as well as he could .

The King l ikes not those that change their rel igion hee

h i riiselfé beeing'

O'

f‘

1'

1'

Onébut Ofhi s]

owne making, and thereforenu t -ink" “ u g fi fi-N

‘s -‘ r h n- a

suffers all rel igion s in his kingdome wh ich by th i s notable

example I canmake manifest . The King had a servant thatM m”rm a r-‘A ‘

u im m “m. 1 M

was anArmenian , by name Scander 5 , to whom , upon occasion

of speech of rel igion , the King asked if hee thought e ither hee

or the Padres had converted one Moore to bee a true Christian ,

and that was so for conscience sake and not for money ; who

answered with great confidence that hee had one wh ich was

a perfect Christ ian and for no worldly respect would bee other

whom the King caused presently to bee sent for , and , bidd ingh is master depart , demanded why hee was become a Christian

who rendred certaine feeble, implicite, Jesuiticall reasons , and

1 Jahangir. The reference is to the ceremony still observed duringthe Urs Mela festival at the shrine of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti atAjmer, when, at the expense of some rich devotee, a gigantic mixture of

rice, spices, &c. , is cooked in a large cauldron and distributed to thepilgrims.

2 Equal in capacity to the Great Tun of Heidelberg (a descriptionof which was one of the features of Coryat’s Crudities) .

3 Khichri (whence the common Indian dish of rice,cooked with pulse and butter.

‘1 Probably this should be ye5 Possibly this was Mirza Sikandar, father of Mirza Zulkarnain (see

p. FatherHosten takes thi s v iew.



away . At wh ich he replyed By your law there i s no d ifference

of m eats , and are you a shamed of your lawes Or, to flatter

the Mahumetans , doe you in outward th ings forsake it Now

I see thou art neither good Christian nor good Mahumetan ,

but a d i ssembl ing knave with both . Wh ile I found theesincere , I gave thee a pension wh ich now I take from thee,and for thy d i ss imulation doe command thee to have a hundredstripes (wh ich were presently g iven h im in stead of his money)"and bade all men by his example take heed that , seeingw

heevm d ‘ c “" c ,

u q m —s

gave libertie to al l rel ig ions that which they“ ._choose and

professethey may sticke unt9 1 mvHW a g:

Terry’

s Account of Coryat.2

And now,R eader I would have thee to suppose me setting

my foot upon the E ast-Ind ian shore at Swally before named

on the banks whereof, amongst many more Engl ish that lye

there interred, i s la id up the body of Mr . Thoma s Coryat , a

man in his time notus nimis omnibus,very sufficiently known .

He l ived there, and there d ied wh i le I was in those parts , and

was for some months then with my Lord Embassadour

during wh ich time he was e ither my chamber-fellow or tent

mate , wh ich gave me a ful l acqua intance of h im . If he had

l ived, he would have written his last travel s to and in and out

of East-Ind ia ; for he resolved (if God had spared him l ife )to have rambled up and down the world (as sometime s Ulysses

did ) and though not so long as he , yet ten full years at least

before his return home in wh ich t ime he purposed to see

Tartaria ,in the vast parts thereof, with as much as he could

of Ch ina and those other large places and provinces interposed

betwixt East-Ind ia and Ch ina ,whose true names we m ight

have had from him , but yet have not . He had a purpose after

th i s to have visited the court of Prester John in E th iopia , who

i s there ca lled by his own people Ho B iot, the King and after

thi s it was in his thoughts to have cast h is eyes upon manv

1 This anecdote bears a strong resemblance to one recorded in a letterfrom Father Jerome Xav ier in 1 604,

which is reproduced by Sir EdwardMaclagan in his article on JesuitMissions to the Emperor Akbar. In thatversion the present was a live pig and was intended for a Portuguese .

2 From the 16 55 edition of the Voyage to East-India , p. 5 7 .

THOMAS CORYAT , 1 6 1 2—1 7 2 83

other places wh ich i f he had done , and l ived to write those

relations , see ing (as he did or should ) such variety of countries .cit ie s, nations , th ings , and been as particular in them as he

was in h is Venet ian journa l , they must need s have swoln into

so many huge v olumns as would have prevented the perish ingof paper . But undoubtedly, if he had been continued in l ife

to have written them,there m ight have been made v ery g

G ood

use of his observations ; , for , as he wasfl

a very particular, so

was he without questionm “

fa ithful , relator of th ings hed i sclaim ing that bold liberty

" “

WBTCW

hM M

l eI‘S

afl

nd do take byspeaklng and wr 1t1ng anythfig

‘

the'

y”

please of“

remote parts when theycannot easilvfl fl fl M -L h

1 a , . .f“

be contradi cted, takinga pride in the ir feignedd

relations to“w k

r—I fl n- l zm g 1 . P I N «M f

ov em th ings . . And because he could not live to give

an accouhtw

iihto theworld of h is own trave ls , I shal l here by

the waymake some l ittle d i scovery of his footsteps and flittings

up and down, to and fro with someth ing besides of h im in

h is long peregrinations , to satisfie very many yet l iving, who ,

if they shal l please to read th i s d i scourse, may recal l that man

once more into the ir remembrance who ,wh i le he l ived , was

l ike a perpetual motion , and therefore now dead should not be

qu ite forgotten .

1

From hence [Shi raz] they journ ied afterwards to Candahor,the first province north east under the subjection of the Great

Mogo l and so to Lahore, the ch iefest city but one belongingto that great empire ; a p lace (as I have been often told by

Tom . Coryat and others ) of very great trade , wealth ,and

del ight , lying more temperately out of the parch ing sun than.n

any other of his great cities do . And to th i s city he wanted

not company, nor afterwards to Agra , the Mogol’

s metropol i s

or ch ief city . And here it i s very observable that from Lahoreto Agra it i s four hundred Engl ish m i les , and that the countrey

betwixt both these great cities i s rich , even , p leasant , and flat,a campania ; and the rode-way on both sides all th is longd istance p lanted with great trees , wh ich are all the year

1 Terry’s lengthy account of the earlier stages of Coryat’s j ourneyhas been omitted , partly because they are sufficiently described in hisletters and the introduction ,

and partly because the reverend gentleman’s

statements are unreliable.

2 8 4i EARLY TRAVELS IN IND IA

cloathed with leaves , exceed ing beneficial unto travel lers for

the shade they afford them in those hot climes . Th i s verymuch extended length of way

’twixt these two places i s cal led

by travellers the Long Wa lk, very full of villages and towns

for passengers every where to find provision .

At Agra our traveller made an halt , being there lovingly

rece ived in the Engl ish factory, where he sta id ti ll he had

gotten to his Turkish and Morisco or Arabian languages some

good knowledge in the Persian and Indostan tongues ; in

wh ich study he was alwaies very apt, and in l ittle time shewed

much proficiency . The first of those two , the Persian , i s the

more qua int ; the other, the Indostan , the vulgar language

spoken in East-Ind ia . In both these he sudden ly got such

a knowledge and mastery that it did exceed ingly afterward s

advantage h im in h is travel s up and down the Mogol’

s terri

tories ; he wearing alwaies the habit of that nation and

speaking their language . In the first of these, the Pers ian

tongue , he made afterwards an oration to the Great Mogo l .

Then, lard ing his short speech with some other pieces of

flattery, wh ich the Mogol l iked well , concluded . And when he

had done , the Mogo l gave him one hundred roopies , wh ich

amounts to the value of twelve pounds and ten sh ill ings of

our Engl ish money looking upon him as a derv eese or votary

or pilgrim (for so he called him ) , and such as bear that name

in that countrey seem not much to care for money and that

was the reason (I conce ive) that he gave him not a more

plentifu l reward .

After th i s , he having got a great mastery l ikewise in the

Indostan or more vulgar language, there was a woman , a

landress belonging to my Lord Embassadors house, who had

such a freedome and l iberty of speech that she would some

times scould, brawl, and ra i l from the sunrising to sun-set .

One day he undertook her in her own language , and by e ight

of the clock in the morn ing so s ilenced her that she had not

one word more to speak .

1 He was a man of a very coveting eye, that could never be

satisfied wi th seeing (as Salomon speaks , E ccles . i . though

he had seen very much and I am perswaded that he took

as much content in see ing as many others in the enjoying of



James (then l iving) enquired after h im , and when he had

certified the King of his meeting h im on the way, the Kingreplied : Is that fool yet l iving Wh ich when our pilgrim

heard, it seemed to trouble him very much ,because the King

spake no more nor no better of him saying that kings wouldspeak of poor men what they pleased .

At another time , when he was ready to depart from us , myLord Embassadour gave him a letter, and in that a bill to

rece ive ten pounds at Aleppo when he should return th ither .

The letter was d irected unto Mr . L ibbeus Chapman , there

consul at that t ime in wh ich that wh ich concerned our

traveller was thus Mr . Chapman , When you shal l hand these

letters , I des ire you to rece ive the bearer of them ,Mr . Thomas

Coryat , with curtesy, for you sha l l find him a very honest poor

wretch . And further I must intreat you to furn i sh him with

ten pounds, wh ich sha l l be repayed, etc . Our pilgrim lik’d the

gift wel l, but the language by wh ich he shou ld have rece ived

it did not at all content him tell ing me that my Lord hadeven spoyled his curtesy in the carriage thereof ; so that , if

he had been a very fool indeed , he could have said very l ittle

less of him than he did (Honest poor wretch ) and to say no

more of him was to say as much as noth ing . And furthermore

he then told m e that , when he was formerly undertaking his

journey to Ven ice , a person of honour wrote thus in h is behalf

unto Sir Henry Wotton , then and there Embassadour : MyLord , Good wine needs no bush , ne ither a worthy man letters

commendatory, because wh ithersoever he comes he i s h is own

epistle , etc . There (sa id he) was some language on my behalf

but now for my Lord to write noth ing ofme by way of commen

dat ion but Honest poor wretch i s rather to trouble me than to

please me with his favour . And therefore afterwards his letter

was phras’

d up to his m ind but he never liv ’

d to rece ive the

money . By wh ich his old acqua intance may see how tender

th i s poor man was to be touched in any th ing that m ight in the

least measure d isparage him . 0 what pa ins th i s poor man took

to make h imself a subject for present and after d iscourse ;being troubled at noth ing for the present , unless with the fear

of not l iving to reap that fruit he was so ambitious of in all his

undertakings . And certainly he was surprized with some such

THOMAS CORYAT , 1 6 1 2—1 7 2 87

thoughts and fears (for so he to ld us afterwards) , when upon

a time , he be ing at Mandoa with us, and there standing in a

room aga inst a stone pillar, where the Embassadour was and

myself present with them , upon a sudden he fell into such a

swoon that we had very much ado to recover him out of it .

But at last come to h imself, he to ld us that some sad thoughts

had immediate ly before presented themselves to h is fancy,wh ich (as he conceived) put him into that d i stemper ; l ike

Fannius in Martial 1 : N e moriare mori , to prevent death by

dying. For he told us that there were great expectations inEngland of the large accounts he shou ld give of h is travel s

after h is return home and that he was now shortly to leave

us, and he being at present not very well, if he should dye in

the way toward Surat , wh ither he was now intended to go

(wh ich place he had not as yet seen) , he m ight be buried in

obscurity and none of h is friends ever know what became of

him , he travell ing now, as he usually d id , alone . Upon wh ich

my Lord willed him to stay longer with us but he thankfully

refused that offer, and turned his face presently after towards

Surat , wh ich was then about three hundred m i les d istant from

us . And he l ived to come safely th ither ; but there be ingover-kind ly used by some of the Engl ish , who gave him sack

wh ich they had brought from England ; he call ing for it as

soon as he first heard of it , and crying Sack, sack i s there

such a thing as sack I pray give me some sack and drinkingof it , though , I conceive , moderately (for he was a very tem

perate man ) , it increased his flux wh ich he had then“

upon him .

And th i s caused him with in a few daies, after his very ted ious

and troublesome travels (for he went mo st on foot) at th i s

p lace to come to h is journies end for here he overtook Deathin the month of D ecember, 1 6 1 7 , and was buried (as aforesa id )under a l ittle monument , l ike one of those are usually made in

our church-yards . 2

1 Epigrammata , bk. 1 1 , no. 80 .

Terry adds a poetical epitaph (from his own pen ) which, he suggests,might have commemorated Coryat, if it could hav e been there engravedupon his tombe

1 6 1 6—1 9

EDWARD TERRY

TERRY ’S account of India, wh ich , to adopt the qua int

language of his editor Purchas , -is here offered as‘a good

fare-we ll draught of Engl ish-Ind ian l iquor was the outcome

ch iefly of h is own observations during the two and a half yearswh ich he spent in that country as chapla in to Sir Thomas R oe .

It owes someth ing to Coryat , who , as we have seen ,was the

reverend gentleman’s compan ion for a considerable period

something a lso to the gossip of other members of the ambassador’s su ite or of the merchants at Surat but in the main it i sa record of what the author h imself had observed . It bearstraces of a vigorous and penetrating m ind ,

st imulated by a

strong interest in its strange surround ings—an interest furtherevidenced by the fact that , a lthough he had no intent ionof staying in the country, Terry took the pains to acqu iresome knowledge of the Persian language .

The opportun ity of seeing the East at close quarters came

to our author a lmost as a matter of chance . Born in 1 590 ,and educated at Rochester School and Christ Church , Oxford,

in the spring of 1 6 1 6 he accepted an engagement for a voyageto the Ind ies and back as one of the chapla in s in the fleetcommanded by Capta in Benjam in Joseph . On the way out

a Portuguese carrack was overtaken and destroyed, after asmart encounter in wh ich the Engl ish commander was sla inand Swally Road was safely reached on September 25 , aftera voyage of nearly e ight months . Roe ’s chapla in had d ieda month earlier, and he had written to the Surat factors toprov ide him with another . As Terry was wel l commended

and was will ing to rema in in India , he was engaged for the

post . He jo ined the ambassador near Ujja in towards theend of February 1 6 1 7 , and accompan ied him to Mandu , Wherethe Emperor fixed h is court until October of that year,_whenhe removed to Ahmadabad . R oe and his su ite fo llowed himthither and spent about n ine month s in attendance upon himin that city . Then , in September 1 6 1 8 , the ambassador tookhis leave and proceeded to Surat to enjoy a few months’ restbefore embarking for England on February 1 7 , 1 6 1 9 . ThusTerry had only h imself seen parts ofMalwa and Gujarat—a factto be borne in m ind when read ing his general izations aboutInd ia .


EDWARD TERRY , 1 6 1 6—1 9 2 89

The Anne, in wh ich the ambassador and his su ite returned,

anchored in the Downs about the m iddle of September 1 6 1 9 .

The next we hear of Terry i s on October 22 , when he appearedbefore the Court of Comm ittees of the East India Companyto beg to be released from paying freight on a quantity of

cal icoes he had brought home . His act ion was , in fact , a breachof the regulations, since the trade in piece-goods was reservedto the Company ; but on hearing Roe

’s commendat ions of

Terry’s sober, honest , and c ivil ] l ife in Ind ia , the Comm itteeswere contented to pas over th i s fault and to excuse himfrom any payment of freight . Further, on learning that hehad spent about £1 4 on books , most of wh ich he had givento the factors in Ind ia, they ordered that th i s sum should bemade good to him .

The reverend gentleman now went back for a wh ile to hisOxford col lege . Probably it was there that he wrote the

re sult s of his observations in Ind ia, as now reprinted . Thi sdocument in 1 6 22 he presented in manuscript to the Princeof Wa les , afterwards King Charles I . How it came into thepossession of the R ev . Samuel Purchas , who published itthree years later in his P i lgrimes (part i i , book ix, chap . i snot known but it i s not un l ikely that the Prince h imself (towhom, by the way, the first volume of the Pi lgrimes i s ded icated) had made it over to that ed itor . That Terry h imselfwas not consu lted i s suggested by the fact that , in the prefaceto his own ed it ion of 1 6 55 , he makes no a llusion to the previou sappearance of the work in Purchas’s volumes and it may be

that he was further aggrieved by the prun ing (slight as it was)to wh ich the ed itor had subjected his manuscript , on the pleathat part of its contents had been anticipated in the narrat ivesof Roe and others .However th i s may be , Terry did not trouble about the

matter, but settled down contentedly to his pastora l dut iesas Rector of Great Greenford ,

near London , a l iving wh ichhe held from 1 6 29 t ill his death . There h is m in istrationsappear to have afforded genera l sat isfact ion , to judge fromthe account given of him by Anthony aWood in h is AthenaeOmonienses, as an ingen ious and pol ite man , of a pious andexemplary conversation , a good preacher, and much respectedby the ne ighbourhood Only once , so far a s we know , did

the East India Company take any notice of the ir formerchapla in . Th i s was in 1 6 49 , when they pa id him the compl iment of asking him to preach before them on the occasion of

the a lmost s imultaneous return of no less than seven of the irsh ips from the East Ind ies . The sermon was duly del iveredat the Church of St . Andrew Undershaft in Leadenhall Street ,on September 6 , and was afterward s printed under the titleof TheMerchants andMariners Preservation and Thanksgiving

U


while the occasion was further celebrated by a d inner at a

tavern in Bishopsgate Street, to wh ich the preacher wasdoubtless invited .

Six years later Terry’s account of his experiences reappearedin separate form as a dumpy volume of 5 7 1 pages , under thet itle ofA Voyage to East

-India . In the preface he tell s us thatthe init iative in the matter had been taken by a printer, whohad somehow acqu ired his origina l manuscript and had

persuaded him to rev i se it . Terry certainly made the mostofhis opportun ity, for, not content with amplifying his previousstatements and add ing fresh deta il s (in some of wh ich his

memory evi dently betrayed him) , on all possible pegs he hunglong mora l and rel igious d isqui sitions , in the avowed hopethat they who fly from a sermon and wil l not touch soundand wholesom and excellent treatises in d ivinity, may happily

(if God so please) be taken before they are aware , and overcome

by some d ivine truths that l ie scattered up and down in man ieplaces of th i s narrative With such zest did the reverend

gentleman moral ize that he expanded his work to seven or

e ight times the length of its origina l form as given by Purchasand made it exceed ingly wearisome to readers who have no

taste for seventeenth-century d ivinity . It i s largely on th i saccount , but partly a lso because the earl ier text conta inssome interest ing detail s wh ich were struck out in the revi sedversion , that we have here preferred to reprint the narrativeas we find it in Purchas’ s collection . At the same t ime wehave given in notes many extracts from the 1 6 5 5 ed it ion ,

where these correct or amplify in any important respect theauthor’ s earlier statements . The rather lengthy account of

the voyage out, wh ich appears in both versions, i s here om itted,

as having no bearing on Terry’s experiences in Ind ia itself .

Despite its d idactic pro siness, the work in its separate formattained a considerable degree of popularity, as was shown byits republi cat ion ten years later (sl ightly condensed and without the author’s name) in a fol io vo lume conta in ing a l soHavers

’

s translation of the letters of De lla Valle ; wh ile longafterwards (1 7 7 7 ) a reprint of the 1 6 55 ed it ion was i ssued .

Terry h imself l ived on quietly at Great Greenford, just longenough to witness the restoration of the monarchy—ah eventhe ce lebrated by the publ ication of A Character of KingCharles I I—and then d ied in October 1 6 6 0 Under theportra it prefixed to his Voyage he had wr itten

In Europe , Africk, Asia have I gonneOne journey more , and then my travel

’s donne .

And now he had set out on that long last journey .



west joynes with Persia . 4 . Hajacan ,

1 the kingdome of the

Baloches (a stout warl ike people) . It hath no renowned citie .

The famous river Indus (called by the inhabitants Skind)borders it on the east and Lar (a province belonging to Sha

Abas, the present King of Persia) meetes it on the west .

5 . Buckor 2 the chiefe citie called Buckorsuccor . The river

Indus makes a way through it, greatly enrich ing it . 6 . Tatta

the chiefe citie so cal led . The river Indus makes many ilands

in it, exceeding fruitfull and pleasant . The chiefe arme meetes

with the sea at Synde,3 a place very famous for curious hand i

crafts. 7 . Soret [Scrath , in Kathiawar] the chiefe citie i s

called Janagar [J iinagarh] . It i s a l ittle prov ince, but rich ,

lyes west from Guzarat, and hath the ocean to the south .

8 . Jeselmeere [Jaisalmer, in Rajputana] the chiefe citie so

cal led . It joyneth with Soret , Buckor, and Tatta, lying to

the west of it . 9 . Attack [Attock] the chiefe citie so called .

It lyeth on the east s ide of Indus, wh ich part s it from Hajacan .

1 0 . Penjab, which signifieth fiv e waters, for that it is seated

among fiv e rivers, all tributaries to Indus, wh ich somewhat

south of Lahor make but one current . It is a great kingdome,

and most fruitfull, etc. Lahor, the chiefe citie, i s wel l bui lt ,very large, populous, and rich the chiefe citie of trade in all

Ind ia . 1 1 . Chishmeere [Kashmir] the chiefe citie is called

Siranakar [Srinagar] . The river Phat [Bihat : see p . 1 6 9] passeththrough it , and so, creeping about many i lands, sl ides to

Indus . 1 2 . Banchish the chiefe citie i s called Bishur .

4 It

lyeth east southerly from Chishmeere, from wh ich it i s dividedby the river Indus . 1 3 . Jengapor

5 the chiefe citie so cal led .

It lyeth upon the river Kaul , one of the fiv e rivers that water1 Baluchistan , or more specifically the lower Derajat, ruled by the

descendants ofHaj i Khan , whose overlordship was recognized by all theBaloch tribes.

2 The di strict round the fortress of Bukkur, on the Indus . It wasa sarkar of the province ofMultan .

3 Sindee (i. e . Dinl-Sind, or Lahribandar) in the 1 6 55 edition .

4 Professor Blochmann identified Banchish with Bangash, in N.W.

Kohat, and Bishur with Bajaur, a di strict still farther north. Possibly,however, Peshawar is intended.

5 Roe’s Jenupar It is probably Jaunpur. The Kaul (i. e. Kali )

is the Gogra, a tributary of the Ganges ; but Jaunpur is on anothertributary (the Gumti).

EDWARD TERRY , 1 6 1 6—1 9 29 3

Penjab . 1 4 . Jenba 1 the chiefe citie so cal led . It lyeth east

of Penjab . 1 5 . Dell i ; the chiefe citie so cal led . It lyeth

twixt Jenba and Agra . The river Jemn i (wh ich runneththrough Agra, and fal leth into Ganges) begins in it . Dell i i s

an ancient great citie, the seate of theMogols ancestors, where

most of them lye interred . 1 6 . Bando 2 the chiefe citie so

called . It confineth Agra on the west . 1 7 . Malway [Malwa] ,a very fruitfull prov ince Rantipore

3 i s the chiefe citie . 1 8 .

Ch itor, an ancient and great kingdome the chiefe citie

so cal led . 1 9 . Guzarat, a goodly kingdome and exceed ingrich , inclos ing the Bay of Cambaya . The river Tapte watereth

Surat . It trades to the R ed Sea, to Ach in , and to d ivers other

places . 20 . Chand i s [Khandesh] the chiefe citie cal led

Brampoch [Burhanpur] , wh ich i s large and populous . Adjoyning to th i s prov ince i s a petie prince called Partapsha [seep . tributarie to the Mogo l and th is i s the southermost

part of all hi s territories . 2 1 . Berar the chiefe citie i s called

Shapore,4 the southermost part whereof doth l ikewise bound

th i s empire . 22 . Narv ar5 the chiefe citie called Gehud . It

is watered by a fa ire river wh ich emptieth itselfe in Ganges .

23 . Gwaliar the chiefe citie so called, where the King hath

a great treasury of bul l ion . In th i s citie l ikewise there i s an

exceed ing strong castle, where in the Kings prisoners are kept .

24 . Agra, a principall and great province ; the chiefe citie

so called . From Agra to Lahor (the two cho ise cities of th i sempire) i s about foure hundred Engl ish m i les the countrey

in al l that d i stance even without a h i l l, and the h igh wayplanted on both s ides with trees , l ike to a del icate walke .

25 . Sanbal 6 the chiefe citie so called . The river Jemni

parts it from Narv ar and after, at the citie Helabass [Al lahabad] , fall s into Ganges , cal led by the inhabitants Ganga .

1 Chamba , one of the Pun jab hill states .2 Banda district in the Un ited Provinces, south west of the Jumna.

3 Ranthambhor seems to be meant but it is not inMalwa .

4 Shahpur, about eleven miles south of Balapur (see p . Afterthe annexation of Berar to the Mughal Empire in 1596 , Pri nce Muradestabli shed hi s quarters there, and , according to Abul Fazl , the placegrew into a fine city. It is now quite insignificant.

5 Narwar, in Gwali or territory. Gehud seems to be Gohad.

6 Sambhal , in Moradabad district, United Prov inces.

294 EARLY TRAVELS IN'

INDIA

26 . Bakar [Bikaner, in Rajputana] ; the chiefe citie calledBikaneer . It lyeth on the west side of Ganges . 2 7 . Nagra

cutt [see p . 1 7 9] the ch ief citie so cal led, in wh ich there i s a

chappel most rich ly set forth , both seeled and paved with

plate of pure gold .

1 In th i s place they keepe an idol] , which

they cal l Matta, visited yeerly by many thousands of the

Indians, who out of devotion cut off part of their tongues tomake a sacrifice for it.

2 In th i s province there i s l ikewiseanother famous pilgrimage to a place called Jallamakae,

3

where out of cold springs and hard rocks there are dayly to

be seene incessant erupt ions of fire, before wh ich the idolatrous

people fal l downe and worsh ip . 28 . Syba4 the chiefe citi e

i s call ed Hardwair, where the famous river Ganges seemed to

begin , i ssu ing out of a rocke wh ich the superstit ious Gentiles

imagine to bee l ike a cowes head,

5 wh ich of all sen sible creatures

they love best . Th ither they l ikewise goe in troopes daily forto wash the ir bodies . 29 . Kakares 6 the pr incipall cities are

cal led D ankalee [Dangal i] and Purho la [Pharwala] . It i s verylarge and exceed ing mountaynous, d ivided from Tartaria bythe mountaynes of Caucases . It i s the farthest part northunder the Mogols subjection . 30 . Gor [Gaur, in Bengal] the

1 In his 16 55 edition (p. Terry substitutes silver for gold and

adds most curiously imbossed over head in several figures, whichthey keep exceeding bright by often rubbing and burnishing itCoryat was hi s authority for these statements, as also for his accountof JawalaMukhi and Hardwar.

2 The reference is to the famous temple ofMata Devi or BajreswariDevi at Bhawan , a suburb of Kangra. For the sacrifice of tongues, seeFinch (sup ra, p. the Ain , v ol . ii , p . 3 13 , and the account publishedby John Oranus in 1 6 0 1 of the labours of the Jesuits in India , China, andJapan .

3 JawalaMukh i she of the flamingmouth a temple built over somejets of combustible gas, believed to be a manifestation of the goddessDevi . See the Ain, v ol . ii , p . 3 14.

Siba, now part of the Kangra district, but formerly an independentprincipality. The town of that name is about seventeen miles S W . of

Kangra. Baflin in hi s map wrongly extended Siba to include Hardwar,and Terry improved upon this by making the latter the capital of theformer.

5 The gau-mukh, or cow’s mouth,is the glacier cavern from which the

head-waters issue . It is at Gangotri, in the state of Tehri.6 The country of the Ghakkars, in the north of the Punjab.



provinces were more then I am able to under-take ; yet outof that I have observed in some few I will adventure to ghesse

at all ;'

and thinke for my particular that the Great Mogol ,cons iderin

‘

g‘

h 1sterritor1es h1sweal th“

, arid‘

hi s rich commod ities,n

i s the greatestknowne king of the E ast, i f not

To make my owhe céfi‘

jéé’

thr'

éfi Bi-‘

é appariifit"

to

wide monarch ie'

IS very rich and fertile so much abounding in

all necessaries for the use of man as that it i s able to subsist

and flourish of it selfe , without the least helpe from any

neighbour . To speake first of that wh ich nature requires

most , foode . Th i s land abounds in s ingular good wheate ,

rice, barley, and d ivers other kindes of graine to make bread

(the static of l ife) . Their wheate growes l ike ours, but the

gra ine of it i s somewhat bigger and more wh ite of wh ich the

inhabitants make such pure wel l-rel ished bread that I may

speake that of it wh ich one said of the bread in the Bishoprick

of Le ige it i s p anis p ane melior .

1 The common people make

the ir bread up in cakes , and bake it on smal l iron hearths,wh ich they carry with them when as they journey, making use

of them in their tents it should seeme an ancient custome,

as may appeare by that pres ident of Sarah , when shee enter

tayned the angel s (Genes . To the ir bread they have great

abundance of other good prov i s ion, as butter and cheese, byreason of the ir great number of kine , sheepe , and goats .

Bes ides they have a beast very large, having a smooth , thicke

skinne without haire, cal led a buffelo, which gives good mi lke

the flesh of them i s l ike beefe, but not so wholsome . Theyhave no want of ven ison of d ivers kinds , as red deare, fallow

deare , elkes , and antelops but nowhere imparked . The

whole kingdome i s as it were a forrest , for a man can trav ell

nowaybut he shal l see them , and (except it bee with in a smal l

d i stance off the King) they are every mans game . To these

they have great store of hares ; and, further to furn i sh out

the ir feasts, varietie of fish and fowle . It were as infinite as

needl esse to relate particulars to write of the ir geese, duckes,pigeons, partridges, quailes, peacockes, and many other

s ingular good fowle , all which are bought at such easie ratesas that I have seene a good mutton [i . e . a sheep] sold for the

1 Asuper-bread , in the jargon of the present day.

EDWARD TERRY , 1 6 1 6—1 9 29 7

value of one sh ill ing, foure couple of hennes at the same price ,one hare for the value of a penie , three partridges for as l ittle,and so in proportion all the rest . ) There are no capons amongst

them but men?The beeves [oxen] of that countrey difféi‘h

from

ours, in that t ey have each of them a great bunch of gr isselly

flesh wh ich growes upon the meeting of their shoulders . The ir

sheepe exceed ours in great bob-tayles, wh ich cut off are very

ponderous . The ir wool] i s generally very course ; but the

flesh of them both i s a ltogether as good as ours .Now, to season th i s good provision , there i s great store of

salt and to sweeten all , abundance of sugar growing in the

countrey, wh ich , after it i s wel l refined, may be bought for two

pence the pound or under . Their fruits are very answerable

to the rest the countrey ful l of musk-melons , water-melons ,

pomegranats, pome-citrons ,1 l imons , oranges , dates , figs,

grapes , plantans (a long round yellow fru it, in taste l ike to

a Norwich peare) , mangoes (in shape and co lour l ike to our

apricocks , but more luscious ) , and , to conclude wi th the best

of all , the ananas or pine,2 wh ich seemes to the taster to be a

pleasing compound made of strawberries , claret-wine , rose

water, and sugar , well tempered together . In the northermost

part s of th i s empire they have v arietie of apples and peares

every where good roots , as carrets, potatoes,3 and others l ike

them as pleasant . They have on ions and garlicke , and choyce

herbs for salads and in the southermost parts , ginger growingalmost in every place . And here I cannot choose but take

notice of a pleasant cleere l iquor called Taddy [toddy] , i ssuingfrom a spongie tree that growes straight and tall , without

boughs to the t0 p, and there spreads out in branches (some

1 The lime, or possibly the pomelo . In his later edition Terry added tothi s list of fruits prunelloes [i . e . dried plums] , almonds, coco-nuts, andmyrobalans.

2 The pine-apple (ananas), which had been introduced into India from

America by the Portuguese.

2 In the 16 55 edition Terry mentions (p. 210) potatoe_s excellentlywell dressed as having been serv ed at a banquet given byAsafKhan toSir Thomas Roe in Nov . 1 6 1 7 . According to Sir GeorgeWatt (Commercial Products of India , p . this is the first mention of the ordinary

potato in connexi on with India. It is, however, possible that Terry wasreferring to the sweet potato , which was common in Indi a at that time

and was well known in England under the name of potato

29 8 EARLY TRAVELS IN'

IND IA

what l ike to an Engl i sh colewort ) , where they make incisions ,under wh ich they hang smal l earthen pots to preserve the

influence .

1 That wh ich d istills forth in the night i s as pleasingto the taste as any wh ite wine, i f drunke betimes in the

morning but in the heat of the day the sunne alters it so as

that it becomes heady, i ll rel i shed , and unwholsome . It i s a

piercing med icinable drinke , i f taken early and moderately ,as some have found by happie experience , thereby eased from

their torture inflicted by that shame of physicians and tyrant

of all malad ies , the stone .

At Surat , and to Agra and beyond , it never raines but one

season of the yeere, wh ich begins neere the time that the

sunne comes to the Northerne Tropicke , and so continues til l

his returne backe to the Line . These violent raines are ushered

in, and take their leave, withmost fearefull tempests of thunder

and l ightn ing, more terrible then I can expresse , yet seldome

doe harme . The reason in Nature may be the subtiltie of the

a ire , wherein there are fewer thunderstones made then in such

cl imates where the a ire i s grosse and cloudy . In those three

moneth s it ra ines every daymore or lesse, sometimes one whole

quarter of the moone scarce with any interm ission ; wh ich

aboundance of m ine , with the heat of the sunne , doth so

enrich the ground (which they never force) as that , l ike Egypt

by the inundation of Nilus , it makes it fruitfull all the yeere

after . But when th i s tim e of ra ine i s passed over, the skie i s

so cleere as that scarce ly one cloud i s scene in their hem isphere

the n ine moneth s after . And here the goodnesse of the soyle

must not escape my pen most apparent in th i s , for when the

ground hath beene destitute of raine n ine moneths , and lockes

l ike to barren sands , within seven dayes after the ra ine begins

to fal l it puts on a greene coate . And further to confirme thi s ,amongst many hundred acres of com e I have beheld in those

parts , I never saw any but came up as th icke as the land could

well beare it . They till the ir ground with oxen and foot

ploughs . The ir seed-time i s inMay and the beginn ing of June

the ir harvest in November and December, the most temperate

moneths in all the ir yeere . Their ground i s not enclosed,unlesse it be h eere townes and villages , wh ich (though not

1 i. e . that which flows in.



IND IA

they cal l tankes some of them more then a m i le or two in

compasse,made round or square, girt about with faire stone

walls, with in wh ich are steps of well-squared stone wh ich

encompasse the water, for men every way to goe downe and

take it . These tankes are filled when that abundance of raine

fal ls , and keepe water to rel ieve the inhabitants that dwel l

farre from springs or rivers, ti ll that wet season come againe .

Thi s ancient drinke of the world i s the common drinke of

Ind ia . It i s more sweet and pleasant then ours, and in thosehot countries agreeth better with mens bodies then any other

l iquor . Some smal l quantitie of wine (but not common) i s

made among them . They cal l it Baack [arrack] , d istilled fromsugar and a spicie rinde of a tree, called Jagra .

1 It i s very

wholsome, i f taken moderately . Many of the people who are

strict in the ir rel igion drinke no wine at all . They use a l iquor

more healthful ] then pleasant , they cal l Cohha [coffee Arabickahwa] a blacke seed boyled in water, wh ich doth l ittle alter

the taste of the water . Notwithstand ing, it i s very good tohelpe d igestion , to qu icken the Spirits, and to clense the blond .

There i s yet another helpe to comfort the stomacke for such

as forbeare wine, an herbe cal led Beetle or Paune [see p .

It i s in shape somewhat l ike an iv ie leafe, but more tender .

They chew it with an hard nut some-what l ike a nut-megge,

and a l ittle pure wh ite l ime among the leaves and when they

have sucked out the juyce, put forth the rest . It hath many

rare qual ities for it preserves the teeth , comforts the bra ine ,strengthen s the stomacke, and cures or prevents a tainted

breath .

The ir bui ldings are generally base, except it be in the ir

cit ie s, wherein I have observed many fa ire piles . Many of

the ir houses are bui lt h igh and flat on the toppe, from whence

in the coole seasons of the day they take in fresh ayre . They

have no chimnies to their houses , for they never use fire but

to dresse the ir meate . In their upper roomes they have many

l ights and doores to let in the ayre , but use no glasse . The

materials of their best bu i ld ings are bricke or stone , wel l

squared and composed wh ich I have observed in Amadavat

1 Jagra is a coarse sugar made from the sap (not the rind) of variouspalms (see p.

EDWARD TERRY,1 6 1 6—1 9 3 0 1

(that one instance may stand for al l) , which i s a most spacious

and rich citie, entred by twelve faire gates, and compassedabout with a firme stone wal l . Both in their vil lages and cities

are usual ly many fa ire trees among the ir houses, wh ich are

a great defence aga inst the violence of the sunne . They

commonly stand so th icke that, i f a man behold a citie or

towne from some conspicuous place, it wil l seeme a woodrather then a citie .

The staple commod it ies of th i s kingdome are indi co 1and

cotton-wool] . For cotton-wool] they plant seedes wh ich grow

up into shrubs l ike un to our rose-bushes . It blowes first

into a yel low blossome, wh ich fall ing off, there remaynes a

cod about the bignesse of a man s thumbe , in wh ich the

substance i s moyst and yel low, but, as it ripens , it swels

b igger t il l it breake the covering, and so in short time becomes

wh ite as snow, and then they gather it . These shrubs beare

three or foure yeares ere they supplant them . Of th i s wool]

they make d ivers sorts of pure whi te cloth , some of wh ich I

have scene as fine, if not purer then , our best lawne . Some of

the courser sort of it they dye into colours, or else stayne in it

v arietie of curious figures .

The sh ip that usually goeth from Surat to Moha [Mokha] i s

of exceed ing great burthen . Some of them , I beleev e, at the

least fourteene or sixteene hundred tunnes but i ll bu i lt , and,though they have good ordnance, cannot wel l defend them

selves . In these sh ips are yeerely abundance of passengers

for instance , in one sh ip return ing thence , that yeere we left

Ind ia, came sev enteene hundred, the most of wh ich number

goe not for profit but out of devotion to visite the sepulchre

of Mahomet at Medina , meere Meche , about one hundred and

fiftie leagues from Moha . Those wh ich have beene there are

ever after cal led Hoggeis [Haj i] , or holy men . The sh ip bound

from Surat to the R ed Sea beginnes her voyage about the

twentieth of March, and finisheth it towards the end of

September following. The voyage i s but short and might

1 Purchas omitted Terry’s account of indigo cul ture , referring the

reader instead to Finch’s narrative (see p . The omitted portionwill be found in the 16 55 edition (p. but it scarcely merits quotation here.


eas ily bee made in two moneths but in the long season of

ra ine , and a l ittle before and after it , the winds are commonly

so violent that there i s no eomm ing, but with great hazard,

into the Indian Sea . The ship return ing i s usually worth two

hundred thousand pounds sterling, most of it in gold and

s i lver . Bes ides, for what quantitie of mon ies comes out of

Europe by other meanes into Ind ia , I cannot answere ; th i s

I am sure of, that many silver streames runne thither, as all

rivers to the sea, and there stay, it be ing lawfu l] for any nation

to bring in s i lver and fetch commodities , but a crime not lesse

then capital] to carry any great summe thence . The coyne Or

bul l ion brought th ither i s presentlymelted and refined, and then

the Mogols stampe (wh ich i s his name and title in Persian

letters) put upon it . Thi s coyne i s more pure then any I know,

made of perfect si lver without any allay so that in the

Span i sh rial] (the purest money of Europe) there i s some losse .

They cal l their pieces of money roopees, of wh ich there are

some of d ivers values the meanest worth two shi llings,1Land

the best about two shil l ings and n ine pence sterl ing. By these

they account the ir estates and payments . There i s a coyneof inferiour value in Guzarat cal led mamoodies [see p .

about twelve pence sterl ing. Both the former and these are

made l ikewi se in balfes and quarters 2 so that three pence i s

the least piece of s ilver currant in the countrey.

3 That which

passeth up and downe for exchange under th i s rate i s brasse 4

money, wh ich they cal l pices whereof three or thereabouts

countervai le a peny . They are made so massie as that the

brasse in them , put to other uses, i s wel l worth the s ilver they

are rated at . The ir s i lver coyne i s made e ither round or square,but so thi cke that it never breakes nor weares out.

5

Now,farther for commod ities, the countrey yeelds good

store of s ilke, which they weave curiously, sometimes mingled

with s i lver or gold . They make velvets , sattins, and taffataes

but not so rich as those of Italy . Many drugs and gummes are

1 Thi s is amended in the 16 55 edi tion to 23 . 3d.

2 Some few in quarters (16 55 edition).And very few of them to be seenOr copperThey have pure gold coyn likewise, some pieces of great value ;

but these are not very ordinarily seen amongst them (16 55 edition).



the breath of it . But God doth so provide for those parts that

most commonly he sends such a strong gale as wel l tempers the

hot ayre . Sometimes the winde blowes very h igh in those

hot and drie seasons, raysing up thick clouds of dust and sand ,

wh ich appeare l ike darke clouds full of rayne . They greatlyannoy the people when they fal l amongst them . But there i s

no countrey without some d i scommod ities for therefore the

wise D isposer of all things hath tempered bitter th ings withsweet , to teach man that there i s no true and perfect content

to be found in any kingdom but that of God .

But I will returne againe whence I disgressed , and looke

farther into the qualitie of the countrey ; that affords very

good horses, wh ich the inhabitants know wel l to manage .

Bes ides the ir owne , they have many of the Persian, Tartarian,

and Arabian breede, wh ich have the name to be the cho ise

ones of the world . They are about the bignesse of ours , and

valued among them as deare, i f not at a h igher rate then we

usual ly esteeme ours . They are kept daintily, every good

horse being al lowed a man to dresse and feede him ; their

provender a kind of graine, called Donna [a a, gra in] , some

what l ike our pease, wh ich they boyle, and when it i s cold ,

give them m ingled with course sugar and twise or thrise in

the weeke butter to scoure their bodies . Here are l ikewise a

great number of camels, dromedaries, mu les , asses , and some

rhynocerots, wh ich are large beasts as bigge as the fayrest

oxen England affords their skins lye platted, or as it were in

wrinkles upon the ir backs . They have many elephant s the

King for h is owne particular being master of fourteene

thousand, and his nobles and allmen of qualitie in the countrey

havemore or lesse of them , some to the number of one hundred .

The elephants , though they bee the largest of all creatures the

earth brings forth , yet are so tractable (unl esse at times when

they are mad) that a l ittle boy i s able to ru le the biggest of

them . Some of them I have seene thirteene foot h igh but

there are amongst them (as I have beene often told) fifteene

at the least . The colour of them all i s black ; their skins

th ick and smooth without ha ire . They take much del ight to

bathe themselves in water, and swim better then any beast

I know . They lye downe and arise againe at pleasure, as other

EDWARD TERRY , 1 6 1 6—1 9

beasts doe . The ir pace i s not swift , about three m i le an houre

but of all beasts in the world are most sure of foot , for theynever fal l nor stumble to endanger the ir rider . They are most

docile creatures and , of all those we account meerely sensible,come neerest unto reason . L ipsius

1 in his Ep istles (1 Cent. 1

Epist. 50 ) out of his observations from others wr ites more of

them then I can confirme, or any (I perswademy selfe) beleev e

yet many things remarkable, wh ich seeme indeed acts of reason

rather then sence, I have observed in them . For instance, an

elephant will doe any th ing almost that his keeper commands

him as, i f he would have him affright a man, he wil l make

towards him as i f hee would tread him in pieces, and when he

i s come at him , doe him no hurt i f he would have him to

abuse or d i sgrace a man, he will take d irt or kennel] water in

his trunke and dash it in his face . Their trunks are long

grisselly snouts hanging downe twixt the ir teeth ,by some

called the ir hand , wh ich they make use of upon all occasions .

An Engl ish merchant ofgood cred it upon his owne knowledge

reported th i s of a great elephant in Adsmeere (the place then

of the Mogols res idence ) , who be ing brought often through the

bazar or market place, a woman who sate there to sel l herbs

was wont usual ly to give him a handful] as he passed by . Th i s

elephant afterward, be ing mad , brake his fetters and tooke his

way through the market place . The people, all affrighted ,

made haste to secure themselves amongst whom was thi s

herbe-woman , who (for feare and haste) forgat her l ittle ch ild .

The elephant , come to the place where shee usually sate,stopt , and , see ing a ch i ld l ie about her herbs, tooke it up gently

with his trunke , not do ing it the least harme , and layed it

upon a stal l under a house not farre off and then proceeded

in his furious course . Acosta (a travell ing Jesuite) relates thel ike of an elephant in Goa , from his owne experience .

2 Some

elephants the King keeps for execution of malefactors who

be ing brought to suffer death by that m ightie beast , i f his

keeper bid him d ispatch the offender speed ily, will presently

with his foot pash him into pieces ; i f otherwi se he would

Justus Lipsius (Joest Lips) , the Dutch humanist, 1547—1 6 06 .

3 See Christoval Acosta’s Tractado de las Drogas y Medecinas de las

Indies Orientales (Burgos, p. 41 7 .

X


have h im tortured ,th i s vast creature will breake h is joynts

by degrees one after the other, as men are broken upon the

wheele .

The Mogol takes much del ight in those stately creatures, andtherefore oft when hee s its forth in his majest ic call s for them,

especially the fa irest ; who are taught to bend to him as it

were in reverence , when they first come into his presence .

They often fight before him , beginn ing their combat l ike ram s ,by runn ing fiercely one at the other after, as boares with the ir

tusks , they fight with the ir teeth and trunks . In th i s violent

opposition they are each so careful] to preserve his rider, as

that very few of them at those times rece ive hurt . They are

governed with an hook of steele, made l ike the i ron end of a

boat-hook, with whi ch the ir keepers , sitting on their neckes,

put them back or pricke them forward at their pleasure . The

King traines up many of his e lephants for the warre ; who

carrie each of them one iron gunne about sixe foot long, lyingupon a square strong frame of wood, fastned with gi rts or

rope s upon him , wh ich l ike an harquebuse i s let into the timber

with a loop of iron . At the foure corners of th i s frame are

banners of s ilke , put upon short poles with in sits a gunner

to make his shot accord ing to his occasion . The peece carrietha bul let about the bignesse of a l ittle tenn i s-ball . When the

King travel s , he hath many elephants thus appointed for

guard . Hee keeps many of them for state to goe before him ,

who are adorned with bosses of brasse , and some of them are

made of massie silver or gold , having l ikewi se d ivers bel lsabout them , in wh ich they del ight . They have fa ire coverings ,e ither of cloth or velvet or cloth of si lver or gold and for

greater state , banners of s ilke carried before them , in wh ich i sthe ensigne of their great king (a l ion in the sunn e)

1 imprinted .

These are allowed each three or foure men at the least, to waiteupon them . Hee makes use of others to carrie himselfe or his

women, who s it in pretie conven ient receptacles fastned on

the ir backes (wh ich our painters describe l ike to castles ) , made

of sl ight turu’

d pillars, r ichly covered,that wi ll hold foure

s itters . Others he employes for carriage of his necessaries .

See The Embassy of S ir Thomas Roe, v ol . 11 , p. 56 3.



almost of every people in Asia ,

1 i f not of Europe , that have

residence here . Amongst them are some Jewes, but not

beloved , for their very name i s a proverbe or word of reproch .

For the stature of these Basterne Indians, they are l ike us,

but general ly very streight , for I never beheld any in tho se

parts crooked . They are of a tawnie or ol ive co lour the ir

haire blacke as a raven, but not curl’d . They love not a man

or woman that i s very wh ite or faire, because that (as they say)i s the colour of lepers (common amongst them ) . Most of the

Mahometans , but theMoolaes (wh ich are their priests) or thosethat are very old and retyred , keepe their chinnes bare , but

suffer the haire on their upper l ip to grow as long as Nature

will feed it .

2 They usually shave off all the haire from their

heads , reserv ing onely a locke on the crowne for Mahomet to

pul l them into Heaven . Both among the Mahometans and

Gentiles are excellent barbers . The people often wash their

bod ies , and ano int them selves wi th sweet oyles .

The habits both of the men and women are l ittle d ifferent ,made for the most part ofwh ite cotton-cloth . For the fash ion ,

they are close, streight to the m iddle, hanging loose downward

below the knee . They weare long breeches underneath , made

close to the ir bodies, that reach to their ankles , rufl‘ling l ike

boots on the smal of their legs . Their feet are bare in their

shooes , wh ich most commonly they weare l ike slippers , that

they may the more readily put them off when they come into

their houses, whose floores are covered with excel lent carpets

(made in that kingdom , good as any in Turkic or Persia) or

somwhat else (according to the qualitie of the man) more base,upon wh ich they sit , when as they conferre or cate, l ike taylors

on their shop-boards . The mens heads are covered with a longthinne wreathe of cloth , wh ite or coloured , which goes manytimes about them they cal l it a shash . They uncover not

the ir heads when as they doe reverence to the ir superiours, but

in stead of that bow their bod ies , putting their right hands to

the top of their heads , after that they have touched the earth

1 In the later edition Terry avers that he saw some Chinese and

Japanese in Indi a.

2 The 16 55 edition says that the hair is kept black by combing itcontinually with black lead combes

EDWARD TERRY , 1 6 1 6—1 9 30 9

with them as much as to say, the partie they salute shall, ifhe please, tread upon them . Those that bee equals take one

the other by the chinne or beard, asJoab didAmasa (2 S am. 20 )but salute in love , not treacherie . They have good words to

expresse their wel-wi shes, as th i s Greeb-a N emoas that i s

I wish theprayers of thep oore ;1and many other like thesemost

sign ificant .

The Mahometan women , except they bee d ishonest or poore ,come not abroad . They are very well favoured , though not

fa ire ; their heads covered with v eiles . Their ha ire hangs

down beh ind them twisted with s ilke . Those of qualitie are

bedecked with many jewel s about the ir neckes and wrists .

Round about the ir eares are holes made for pendants and

every woman hath one of her nostri ls pierced , that there, when

as shee please, shee may weare a ring . It should seeme an

ancient ornament (E s[aiah] 3 . The women in those parts

have a great happinesse above all I know, in their easie

bringing forth of ch ildren for it is a th ing common there , forwomen great with ch ilde one day to ride , carrying the ir infants

in the ir bodies, the next day to ride againe, carrying them in

the ir armes .

For the language of th is empire, I meane the vulgar, it i s

called Indostan a smooth tongue , and easie to be pronounced,which they wr ite as wee to the right hand .

2 The learnedtongues are Persian and Arabian , wh ich they write backward ,as the Hebrewes, to the left . There i s l ittle learning amongthem a reason whereofmay be their penury of bookes , wh ich

are but few, and they manus But doubtlesse they are

1 The phrase is really a form of address ghari‘

b-nawaz, considerateto the poor Sir Charles Lyal] points out that Terry has confusednawaz with namaz (prayers) .

2 It is expressed by letters whi ch are very much di fferent from thosealphabets by which the Persian and Arabian tongues are formed( l 6 55 edi tion, p . Terry is referring to either Hindi or Gujarati

,

written in the nagari characters.3 Possibly Terry had heard him referred to as al failsaf, i . e. the

philosopher.


of his bookes translated into Arabian . Avicenna , that noble

physician, was borne in Samarcandia , the countrey of Tamer

la ine in whose science they have good skill . The common

d iseases of the countrey are bloudie fluxes , hot fevers and

ca lentures in all wh ich they prescribe fasting as a principal]

l remedie . That fil thy di sease , the consequence of inconti

neneie , i s common amongst them . The people in general ]

l ive about our ages ; but they have more old men . They

del ight much in musicke , and have many stringed and wind

instruments , which never seemed in my eare to bee any thi ngbut di scord . They write many wittie poems, and compose

stories or annal s of their owne countrey and professe them

selves to have good skill in astro logie . And in men of that

profess ion the King puts so much confidence that hee wi ll not

undertake a journey, nor yet doe any th ing of the least couse

quence, unlesse his wizards tel l him ti s a good and prosperous

houre .

The Gentiles beginne the ir yeare the first of March . The

Mahometans the irs at the very in stant (as the astrologers

ghesse) that the sunne enters into Aries from whi ch tim e the

King keepes a feast that i s called the Nooros,1 s igni fying

nine dayes, wh ich time it continues (l ike that Ahasuerus made

in the third yeare of his raigne E ster the first ) where all his

nobles assemble in their greatest pompe, presenting him with

gifts , hee repaying them againe with princely rewards at

wh ich time being in his presence, I beheld most immense and

incred ible riches to my amazement in gold, pearles , precious

stones , jewel s , and many other gl ittering vanit ies . Thi s feast

I tooke notice of at Mandoa [Mandu] , where the Mogo l hatha most spacious house, larger then any I have seene in which

many excellent arches and vaults speake for the exqui site skil l

of hi s subjects in arch itecture . At Agra hee hath a palace

wherein two large towers, the least ten foot square , are covered

with plate of the purest gold .

2

There are no hangings on the walls of his houses , by reason

1 See p. 1 17 . Terry’s explanation of the term is of course wrong.

He has confused naa (new) with nah (nine ) .2 In the 1 6 55 edition Terry adds this I had from Tom Coriat, as

from other English merchants who keep m a factory at that place



their horses . They are naturally nimble to whi ch use makes

them so fitting to performe that labour, as that they will goetwentie miles a day or more with good speed . The better sort

ride on elephants, or else are carried upon mens shoulders

a lone, in a slight thing they cal l a palankee [palanquin] , whichi s l ike a couch or standing pallat, but covered with a cannOpie .

Thi s should seeme an ancient effeminacie sometimes used in

Rome, Juv enal1 thus describing a fat lawyer that fil ’d one of

them Causidici novacumveniat lecticaMathonisp lena ipso

For past imes they del ight in hawking, hunting of hares ,deere , or wi lde beasts . Their dogs for chase are made some

what l ike our gray-hounds, but much lesse they open not 2

in the pursuite of the game . They hunt l ikewi se with leopards,whi ch by leaping sease on that they pursue . They have a

cunning dev ice to take wild-fowle where a fellow goes into

the water with a fowle of that kind he desires to catch, whose

skinne i s stuffed so artificially as that it appeares al ive . He

keepes all his body but the face under water, on which he layesthi s counterfe it thus eomming among them, plucks them bythe legs under water .

3 They shoote for pastime much in bowes ,wh ich are made curiously in the countrey of b

'

uffeloes hornes,

glewed together to which they have arrowes made of little

canes, excellently headed and feathered . In these they are so

skilfull that they wil l ki ll birds flying . Others take delight in

managing their horses on wh ich they ride, or else are otherwise

carried, though they have not one quarter of a mi le to goe

the men of qualitie holding it d i shonorable to goe on foote .

In their houses they play much at thatmost ingenious game

we call chesse, or else at tables -4 They have cardes, but quited ifferent from ours . Sometimes they make themselves merry

In his first Satire adds the 1 6 55 edition where the followingtrans lation is given

Matho the pleader comes in his new chaire,Fild with himself, when he takes the air .

’

Do not give tongue .

3 This practice is described in the l ira(vol. i, p. 295) also byOvington(Voyage to Suratt, p.

The old English name for backgammon. The Indianequivalent herereferred to, v iz . the game ofchaapar, is described in theAin (vol . i, p.

An account of Indian cards w ill be found at p . 306 of the same volume .

EDWARD TERRY, 1 6 1 6—1 9 3 1 3

with cunn ing jugglers or mountebankes, who will suffer snakesthey keepe in baskets to bite them, and presently cure the

swell ing wi th powders or else they see the trickes of apes and

monkeyes.

In the southerne partsl

of Indostan are great store of large

wh ite apes ; some, I dare boldly say, as tall as our biggest

gray-hounds . They are feareful ] (as it should seeme) to birds

that make the ir nests in trees wherefore Nature hath taught

them th i s subtiltie, to secure them selves by bui lding the ir l ittle

houses on the twigs of the utmost boughs , there hanging l ike

purse-nets , to wh ich the apes cannot possibly come .

1

Every great towne or citie of Ind ia hath markets twice a dayin the coole season presently after the sunne i s risen , and a l ittle

before his setting. They sell almost every th ing by weight . In

the heate of the day they keepe their house s where the men

of better fashion, lying on couches or s itting on their carpets,have servants stand about them who , beating the ayre with

broade faunes of stiffe leather or the l ike, make winde to coole

them . And taking thus their ease , they often call the ir barbers ,who tenderly gripe and sm ite the ir armes and other parts of

the ir bodi es, instead of exercise , to stirre the blond . It i s a

pleasing wantonnesse, and much used in those hot cliines .

he ir

and

arrowes for their defence and by reason of great plentie of

provision in that kingdome , a man may h ire them upon easie

cond it ions, for they will not desire above fiv e shi ll ings the

moone, paide the next day after the change (Quibus hinc toga,calceas hinc est et panis famusque domi to provide them

selves all necessaries, and for it doe most dil igent service . Such

1 He is describing the nest of the weaver bird.

2 Another quotation from Juvenal ’s Satires . The 16 55 editiontranslates the passage thus

Their coat, their shooes, their bread, their fire,And all besides, bought with this hire.

’

3 1 4 EARLY TRAVELS IN'

IND IA

i s their pietic to their parents that those which have no greater

meanes will impart halfe of it at the least to releev e their

necessities , choosing rather for to fam ish themselves then to

see them want .

There among the Mahumetans and Gentiles , men

of und'

au—rit

-

cd_courage . Those of note among theMahumetaffsare cal led Baloches,1 inhabiting Hajacan , adjoyning to the

kingdome of Persia , or else Patans, taking their denomination

from a prov ince in the kingdome of Bengala .

2 These wil l

looke an enemie bo ldl y in the face and maintaine with their

l ives the ir reputation of valour . Among the many sects of

Gentiles there i s but one race of fighters , called Rashbootes,

a number of wh ich l ive by spoyle who in tr0 0 pes surprize

poore passengers , cruelly butchering those they get under theirpower . Those excepted , all the rest in the countrey are in

general] pusilanirnous, and had rather quarrel] then fight ;having such poore spirits in respect of us Chri stians that the

Mogo l i s pleased often to use thi s proverbe that one Portuga l

wi ll beate three of them , and one Engl ish-man three Portugals .

Touch ing their mun it ion for the warre, they have good

ordnance, made (for ought I could gather) very anciently in

those parts . Iron peeces carr ied upon elephants (before

described ) , and lesser gunnes made for foot-men, who are

somewhat long in taking their ayme, but come as neere the

marke as any I ever saw . They fire all the ir peeces with

match . As for gun-powder, they make very good . They use

lances and swords and targets [sh ields] , bowes and arrowes .

Their swords are made crooked l ike a faulch ion, very Sharpe ,but for want of skil l in those that temper them , wi ll breake

rather then bend ; and therefore wee often sel l our sword

blades at h igh prices that wi ll bow and become streight againe.

I have seene horse-men there , who have carr ied whole armories

about them , thus appointed : at the ir sides good swords ;under them shev es of arrowes on their shoulders bucklers,and upon their backs guns fastned with belts at the left side

bowes hanging in cases , and lances about two yards and a halfe

1 The Baluchi s were scattered all over Northern andWestern India,owing to the general use of their camels for the transportation of goods.

2 Thi s is, of course, a mistake.

—¢H ‘ a . 4 m



kindred, encompassing with a firme wal l a good circuit of

ground, neere some tanke (about wh ich they del ight for to

burie the ir dead ) or else in a place n igh springs of water that

may make pleasant fountaynes ; meere wh ich hee erects a

tombe, round or square , vaulted upon pillars, or el se made

close, to be entred with doores ; under wh ich are the bodies

1of the dead interred . The rest of the ground they plant with

trees and flowers , as i f they would make Elysian fields such as

the poets dreamed of, where in thei r soules might take the ir

repose . They burie not wi th in their churches . There are

many goodl y monuments of th i s kinde , rich ly adorned , built

to the memorie of such as they have esteemed sa ints, of wh ich

they have a large kalender . In these are lamps continuallyburning, whi ther men transported with bl inde devotion da ily

resort , there to contemplate the happines these Pieres [see

p . 1 80 ] (for so they cal l them) enjoy . But among many fa irepiles there ded icated to th i s use, the most excel lent i s at

Secandra, a village three m i les from Agra . It was beganne by

Achabar-sha, th i s Kings father, who there lyes buried , andfini shed by th i s present King, who meanes to lye beside

him .

The ir Moolaas imploy much of the ir time l ike scriveners, to

doe businesse for others . They have libertie to marrie as well

as the people , from whom they are not d istingui shed in habite .

Some l ive retyred , that spend their dayes in med itation or

else in giving good moral] precepts unto others . These are

of high esteeme ; and so are another sort called Seayds [see

p . who derive themselves from Mahomet . The priests doe

neither reade nor preach in their churches ; 1 but there i s a set

forme of prayer in theArabian tongue , not understood bymost

of the common people, yet repeated by them as wel l as by theMoolaas . LThey l ikewise rehearse of God and

m —u —:fi . M “ fi -o w

Mahomet certayne times every day upon beads,. 1 “ v s -A v .C U M

i j " ( m y C v F‘" “ fl n w a

m isSel led" ’

Papist, who seemes to regard the number rather

1 In the 16 55 edition this statement is corrected to one that themullahs read some parcells out of their Alcoran upon Frydays (whichare their Sabboths or days of rest) unto the people assembled in theirmosqui t or churches, and then further deliver some precepts, which theygather out of it, unto their miserably deluded hearers

EDWARD TERRY , 1 6 1 6—1 9 3 1 7

then the we ight of prayers . Before they goe into the i r churches

they wash their feete, and entring in put off their shooes . As

they beginne their devotions , they stop the ir cares and fixe

their eyes , that noth ing may d ivert their thoughts . Then in

a soft and stil l v oyee they utter their prayers wherein are

many words most significantly expressing the omnipotencie ,

greatnesse, eternitie , and other attributes of God many words

ful l of humi liation, confessing with divers subm i ssive gestures

their owne unworthinesse when they pray, casting them selves

low upon their faces sundrie times , and then acknowledge

that they are burthens to the earth and poi son to the aire, and

the l ike, and therefore dare not so much as looke up to heaven ,

but at last com fort themse lves in the mercies of God through

the mediatio

shame of us

y fiv e times every day, at 5 1x_‘ w r A N A

M ” 1

the clock .‘ZbBut, by the way,

~

they d'

fi inguigh their time 1 11 a dl fferent manner from us,

dividing the day into foure and the n ight into as many parts ,wh ich they call Pores [pahar] . These are againe subdivided

each into e ight parts wh ich they cal l Grees [ghari ] , measured

according to the anc1ent custome by water dropping out of

one l ittle vessel] into another, by wh ich there alwayes stand

servants appointed for that purpose , 1 sm it ing with an hammer

a concave piece of pure metal] , l ike the inner part of an ord i

narie platter, hanging by the brim on a wyre , the number of

Grees and Pores as they passe .

For the temperance of many, both among the Mahometan s

and Gentiles , i t i s such as that they will rather die (l ike the

mother and her seven sonnes 2 Mac[cabees] 7 ) then eate or

drinke any th ing their law forbids . Such meate and drinke

as their law allowes they use onely to satisfie nature , not

appetite ; hating gluttonie , and esteem ing drunkennesse (as

indeed it i s ) a second madnesse , and therefore have but one

word in their language (mest) for a drunkard and a mad-man .

2

They keepe a solemne Lent , wh ich they cal l the Ram-Jan ,

1 To turn that vessel] up again when it is all dropped out, and thento strike &c. (1 6 55 edi tion ).

2 This is an overstatement, thoughmasthas a wide connotation .


about the moneth of August ,1 wh ich continues one whole

moone during wh ich time those that bee strict in thei r

rel igion forbeare the ir women , and will take neither meate nor

drinke so long as the sunne i s above their horizon but after

he i s set, eate at pleasure . Towards the end of th i s Lent theyconsecrate a day of mourning to the memorie of their dead

friends when I have beheld d ivers of the meaner sort make

bitter lamentation . (Beside th i s common sadnesse, there are

many fool i sh women who often in the yeere , so long as they

surv ive , moysten the graves of their husbands or ch i ldren with

affectionate teares . ) But when the n ight begins to cover the

day of general] mourn ing, they fire an innumerable compan ie

of lamps and l igh ts , wh ich they set on the s ides and tops of

the ir houses and all other most conspicuous places and when

these are ext ingui shed, take foode . The Ram-Jan fully ended ,themost devout Mahometans assemble to some famousmisquit,where by a Moola some part of theAlcoran (whi ch they will nottouch without reverence ) i s publikely read . They keepe a

feast in November, cal led Buccaree [Bakarah-id] , signi fying theR am-feast , when they solemnely kill a ram , and roast him in

memorie of that ram wh ich redeemed Ishmael (as they say)when Abraham was readi e to make him a sacrifice . Manyother feasts they have in memorie of Mahomet and thei rPieres .

They have the bookes of Moses , whom they cal l Moosa

Garym-Alla : Moses the righteous of God . I brahim Calim

Alla : Abraham the faithful] of God .

2 So Ishmael , the true

sacrifice of God Dahoode [Dead] , Dav id the prophet of

God ; S elimon [Sulaiman] , Salomon the wisedome of God ; all

expressed, as the former, in short Arabian words . To whose

particular remembrances they da i ly sing d itties . And more

1 Terry was misled by the fact that both in 1 6 1 7 and in 1 6 18 the

beginning of Ramazan fell w ithin the month of August. The 16 55

edition substitutes which begins the first newmoon which happens inSeptember but thi s is also wrong. As the Muhammadan year islunar, any gi ven month in time mov es round the calendar of the solaryear.

2 These epithets should be Mitsa Kalimul ldh, Moses, the man who

conversed with God ; Ibrahim Kha li lwl li ih, Abraham , the friend ofGod .



IND IA

often cut their flesh with kn ives and launcers . Others I have

seene who out of devotion put such massie fetters of iron upon

their legs as that they can scarce stirre with them and so ,

1

as fast as they are able, goe manymi les in pilgrimage barefoote

upon the parch ing ground , to vi sit the sepulchres of their

deluding saints Sthus 1& n morem p'

ajngs to hel l,

(tantum relligio pota it suadere malorum2) then any Chrisitianl

know doth to goe toh eay en, These—iigh

w

as doe ,Mah

'

o’

mbtallowes foure wives . Besides they take l ibertie to

keepe as many women as they are able . Only the priests

content themselves with one . Notwithstanding th i s polygam ie,the hot jealousies of the lustful] Mahometans are such that they

will scarce endure the brothers or fathers of their beloved wives

or women to have speech with them , except in their presence

and Time , by thi s restraint , hath made it odious for such

women as have the reputation of honestie to be scene at any

time by strangers . But i f they di shonour their husbands beds

or , being unmarried, are found incontinent , professing chastitie ,rather then they shall want pun i shment , their owne brothers

will bee their executioners who for such unnatural] acts shal l

be commended rather then questioned . Yet there is toleration

for impudent harlots , who are as l ittle ashamed to entertayne

as others openly to frequent the ir houses . The women of better

fashion have eunuchs in stead of men to wa it upon them

who in their minoritie are deprived of all that may provoke

jealousie .

Their marriages are solemn ized in great pompe . For after

the Moola hath joyned their hands, with some other ceremoni e

and words of benedict ion, the first watch of the n ight they

begin their jollitie the man on horse-backe, be he poore or

riche, with his friends about him , many cresset l ightly 3 beforehim , with drum s and wind instruments and other pastimes .

The woman followes with her friends in coaches, covered and

after they have thus passed the most emi nent places of the

citie or towne they l ive in, returne home and there part with

a banquet, the men and women separated . They marry for1 The 16 55 edition adds (p. 283) covered with blew mantles2 Awell-lmown quotation from Lucretius . The 16 55 edition gives the

whole passage.2 Lights

EDWARD TERR Y, 1 6 1 6

—1 0 32 1

the most part at the ages of twelve or thirteene , their mothers

most commonly making the matches .

Now more particularly of the Gentiles , which are there

d i stracted in fourscore and foure several] sects , all d ifferingmainly in opin ion 5) wh ich had oftentimes fild me with wonder,but that I

a .

who,Tm I could ever gather, are so sottish and inconstant in

their grounds that they scarce know what they hold . They

have l ittle churches wh ich they cal l Pagodes , bu ilt round , in

wh ich are images for worsh ip made in monstrous shapes . Some

of them dreame of Elysian fields , to wh ich their soules must

passe over a Styx or Acharon , and there take new bod ies .Others hold that ere long the world shall have a period after

wh ich they shall l ive here againe on a new earth . Some

Bram ins have told me how that they acknowledge one God ,

whom they describe with a thousand hands , with a thou sandfeete, and as many eyes , thereby expressing his power . They

talke of foure books , which about s ix thousand yeeres since

were sent them from God by their prophet Ram whereof two

were scaled up and m ight not be opened the other to be readonely bythem selves .1 They say that there are seven orbes ,above which IS the seate of God that God knowes not pet ie

th ings , or , i f He doe , regards them not . They circum scribe

God unto place . saying that He may be scene, but as in a mi st

1 The version in the 1 6 55 edition (p. 349 ) is as follows : ThoseBramine talk of two books , whi ch , not long after the Creation , when theworld began to be peopled, they say were delivered by Almighty God toBramon one of which books (they say), contain ing very high and

secret and mysterious things, was scaled up and might not be opened

the other to be read , but onely by the Bramine or priests. And thisbook thus to be read came after, as they further say, into the hands of

Bremaw and by him it was communicated unto Ram and Permissar,two other fam’

d prophets amongst them , whi ch those heathen do likewise exceedingly magnifie, as they do some others whose names I havenot. Now that book, which they call the Shester, or the book of theirwritten word, hath been transcribed in all ages ever since by the Bramine,out of which they deliver precepts unto the people .

’In this Bramon

is Brahma , the primeval spirit : Bremaw the god Brahma RamRama Permissar Parameshvra (i. e . Shiva) and Sheeter the

Shd slra.


afarre off, not neere . They beleev e that there are devils, but

so bound in cha ines that they cannot hurt them . They cal la man Adam [Hind . ddmi ] , from our first father Adam , whose

wife , tempted with the forbidden fruit , tooke it (as they say)and cate i t downe but as her husband swallowed it , the hand

of God stopped it in his throat whence man hath a bunch

there , which women have not, called by them Adams apple .

As anciently among the Jewes , their priesthood i s hereditarie

for every Bramins sonne i s a priest , and marries a Bramins

daughter . And so among all the Genti les the men take the

daughters of those to bee the ir wives whi ch are of their fathers

tribe , sect , and occupation ; for instance , a merchants sonne

marries a merchant s daughter . And every mans sonne that

l ives by his labour marries the daughter of him that i s of his

owne profession by wh ich meanes they never advance them

selves . These Gentiles take but one wi fe of wh ich they are

not so feareful ] as the Mahometans of their multitude , for they

suffer them to goe abroad . They are married yong, at s ix or

seven yeeres old (their parents making the contracts) , and

about twelve come together . Their nuptial s , as those of

the Mahometans , are performed wi th much pompe and

joll itie .

For their habit , it d iffers l ittle from the Mahometans but

many of the women weare rings upon their toes, and therefore

goe barefoote . They have l ikewise broad rings of brasse (or

better metal] accord ing to the qualitie of the woman) about

the small of the legges to take off and on ; haply such as

the Prophet meant by the tinkl ing ornaments about the feete ,or the ornaments of the legs , wh ich the Jewish women were

wont to put on (E say And such as these they have about

their armes . The flaps or nether part of their cares are hoared

when they are yong, wh ich hole , daily stretched and made

wider by th ings kept in it for that purpose, at last becomes so

large that it wi ll hold a ring (I dare boldly say) as large as a

l ittle sawcer, made'

hollow on the sides for the flesh to rest in .

Both men and women wash their bodies every daybefore they

cate wh ich done , they keepe off their clothes (but the coveringof modestie ) till they have fed . Th i s outward wash ing apper

taines, as they thinke, to their clensing from sinne not unl ike


32.—l EAR LY TRAVELS IN IND IA

\in their vocations . There are amongst them most curious

artificers , who are the best apes for im itation in the worldfor they wil l make any new th ing by patterne . The Mahome

tans are generally idle who are all for to morrow (a wordcommon in their mouthes ) . They live upon the labours of theGentiles . Some of wh ich poore seduced infidels will cate of

nothing that hath l ife and these l ive upon herbs and m i lkeand butter and cheese and sweet-meates, of wh ich they maked ivers kindes , whereof the most wholsome i s greene ginger,as wel l preserved there as in any part of the world . Others

will cate fish , and no l iv ing thing else . The R ashbootes cateswines-flesh , most hateful] to the Mahometans . Some will eateof one kinde of flesh , some of another but all the Gentiles

abstaine from beefe , out of the excel lent esteeme they have of

kine ; and therefore give the King yeerly (beside his other

exactions) great summes of money as a ransome for thosecreatures ; whence among other

.good provi sion we meete

there but wi th l ittle beefe . Those most tender heartedidolaters are called Banians who ho ld Pithagoras his perqu

ipéxwm g as a prime article of their faith . They thinke that

the soules of the best men and women when their bodies let

them out of prison , take their repose 1n kine, wh ich in their

opin ion are the best of all creatures . So the soules of the wicked

goe into viler beasts as the soules of glutton s and drunkards

into swine the soules of the voluptuous and incontinent into

monkies and apes ; the soules of the furious , cruel] , and

revengeful] into lyons, tygers, and wolves the soul es of the

envious into serpents and so into other creatures accordi ngto their qualitie and d i sposition , successively from one to

another of the same kinde , ad infini tum ; by consequence

beleev ing the immortalitie of the world . So that there i s not

a silly flie but , if they may bee cred ited , carries about some

soules (haply they thinke of l ight women )1

and will not be

perswaded out of these grosse opin ions , so incorrigible are the ir

sotti sh errours and therefore will not deprive the most

offensive creatures of the ir l i fe (not snakes , that wil l kill them ) ,1 The 1 6 55 edition adds that probably they further believe that thesouls of froward , peevi sh , and teachy [i . e. touchy] women go intowaspes

EDWARD TERRY , 1 6 1 6—1 9 325

saying it i s their nature to doe harme how that they have

reason to shunne , not libertie to destroy them .

For their workes of charitie many rich men bu i ld Sarraas,or make wells or tankes neere to h igh-wayes that are much

travelled , where passengers may drinke or else allow pension s

unto poore men , that they may s it by the h igh-way sides and

offer water unto those that passe .

Their day of rest i s Thursday as the Mahometans Fr iday .

Many festival s they have wh ich they keepe solemne ; and

pilgrimages , whereof the most famous are specified in the briefe

descriptions of Negracut and Cyba where people out of

devotion cut off part of their tongues , wh ich (ifMaster Coryat ,who strictly observed it , may be beleev ed ) in a few daies

became whole againe . It were easie to enl arge , but I will not

cast away inke and paper in a farther de scription of the ir

stupid idolatries . The summe i s that both Mahometans andm a n—“ m ' n a —w ._ M a s

Gentiles ground their o“op in ions upon tradi tion , not reason

m m am-N M ;nw_.aM k w

and are content to perish with the ir fore fathers , out of _aF~

ofi that they maintayne , l ike to uncleane beasts wh ich chew‘

not the 0 1111;Now

—”both these Mahometans and Gentiles are under the

subjection of the Great Mogol] , whose name signifieth a circum

cised man,

1and therefore he i s called the Great Mogo l] , as

much as to say the Chiefs of the C ircumcision . He i s l ineally

descended by the father from that famous conquerour of the

East , called in our stories Tamberlaine, in theirs Temar

[Timfir ] who towards his end ,by an unh appie fall from his

horse , wh ich made him halt to hi s grave , was called Temar-lang,

or Temar the Lame . The present King i s the n inth in a d irect

line from that his great ancestor . The Emperour stiles him

selfe the King of Justice, the Light of the Law ofMahomet, the

Conquerour of the World.

2 H imselfe moderates in all matters

1 The same statement is made by Salbank (Letters Received, v ol. v i ,

p . by Roe (Embassy, p. and by Bluteau (Vocabular io , 1 7 1221 ) but there 1s no ground for it.

The original of the first epithet can only be guessed at, though it

may be a perversion of Ghufran pariah the asylum of pardon whichappears as one of the Emperor

’s titles on his tomb . The rest is Nii r-ud


of consequence wh ich happen neere h is court , for the most part

judging secundum a llegata et probata . Tryals are qu ieke , and

so are executions hangings , beheading, impal ing, ki ll ing with

dogges, by elephants , serpents , and other l ike , according to

the nature of the fact . The execution i s commonly done in

the market place . The gov ernours in cities and provinces

proceed in l ike forme of justice ."I could never heare of lawfl h fi u‘m

written amongst them the King and his substitutes”

infi ll-i;

fi s

-

vicefgerq

e

'

h—t'

s’

chntinue not long in a place, but, to

prevent popularitie , rece ive usually a remoov e yearely. They

rece ive his letters with great respect . They looke for presentsfrom all wh ich have occasion to use them , and i f they be not

often visited will aske for them yea,send them backe for

better exchange . The Cadee [Kazi ] will impri son debtors andSureties , bound with hand and scale and men of power for

payment wi ll sell the ir persons , wiv es , and chi ldren which

the custome of the land wi ll warrant .The King shewes himselfe thrice a day first , at sun-rising

at a bay-window 1 toward the east , many being there assembled

to give him the salam, and crying Padsha salament [Padshahsalamat] , that i s L ive, 0 King. At noone he sees his elephantsfight or other pastim es . A l ittle before sun-set he shewes

himselfe at a window to the west, and , the sunne being set ,

returneth in with drum s and wind instrum ents , the people s

acclamations add ing to the consort . At any of these three

times , any sutor, hold ing up his petition to be seene , shal l be

heard . Betwixt seven and n ine he sits private ly , attended with

his nobles .

lNo subject in th i s empire hath land of inh rphaxe,

otli éT’

fitIE‘

bfif‘

of the

gran‘

des tol iVéW hfiEhto'

fm

their meanes merchants also

to conceale their riches , lest they should be made spunges .

Some meane meanes the King allowes the ch ildren of those

great ones ; whi ch they exceed not , except they happily

dinMuhammad Jahangir but in thi s Muhammad is a personal nameand has no relation to the preceding word, as Terry supposed.

1 In a place very like unto one of our balcon ies, made in his houses or

pav ilions for his morn ing appearance directly opposite to the east, aboutseven or eight foot high from the ground (16 55 edition, p.



in glorious thrones and rich jewels . Hee hath a throne in his

palace atAgra , ascended by degrees [steps] , on the top whereofare foure l ions made of massie silver, gilded,

set with precious

s tones , supporting a canopie ofmassie gold .

1 By the way I may

mention a tame l ion l iving in his court wh ile I was there, go ingup and downe without hurt l ike a dogge . His jewels , where

with hee i s daily adorned about h is head, necke , wrists , andh ilts of his sword and dagger, are invaluable . He i s on his

birthday, the first of September, (now sixtie times renewed )

yearely weighed , and account kept th ereof by his physicians ,thereby ghessing at h is bodi ly estate .

2

Part of two letters to His Majestie i s here translated out of

Persian ; sent by Sir Thomas Roe, but written one a yeare

before the other .3

When Your Majestie shal l open th is letter, let your royal lheart be as fresh as a sweet garden ; let all people make

reverence at your gate let your throne be advanced h igher

amongst the greatnesse of the kings of the Prophet Jesus . Let

Your Majestie be the greatest of all monarches, who may

derive their coun sell and wisedome from your brest as from a

fountayne, that the law of the majestic of Jesus may rev iveand flourish under your protection . The letters of love and

friendsh ip wh ich you sent me, and the presents (tokens of

your good affection toward mee) , I have rece ived by the handsof your embassadour Sir Thomas Roe , who we ll deserveth to

be your trusted servant del ivered to me in an acceptable andhappie houre . Upon wh ich m ine eyes were so fixed that I

could not easi ly remoov e them to any other object , and haveaccepted them with great joy,

’etc .

The last letter hath th is beginn ingHow gracious is Your Majestic, whose greatnesse God

preserve . As upon a rose in a garden , so are m ine eyes fixed

upon you . God maintayne your estate, that your monarchie

may prosper and be augmented , and that you may obtayne

In the 1 6 55 edition Terry says that he had this information fromEnglish merchants who had been atAgra . He adds that the lions stoodon pedestals of cur iously coloured marble .

3 See notes on pp. 1 1 8 , 245 , supra.

3 Both letters are given at full length in The Embassy (pp. 557 ,

EDWARD TERRY , 1 6 1 6—1 9 3 29

all your desires, worthy the greatnesse of your renowme . Andas your heart i s noble and upright , so let God give you a

glorious raigne , because you strongly defend the majestie of

Jesus , wh ich God yet made more flourish ing, because it was

confirmed by m iracles ,’

etc .

That wh ich fo lloweth in both letters i s to testifie his care

and love toward the Engl ish . These letters be ing written , their

Copies were sent to the Lord Embassadour , and the original s ,rolled up and covered with cloth of gold and sealed up at both

ends whi ch i s the letter-fash ion of those parts .

W e travelled two yeares with the Great Mogoll in progresse ,in the temperate moneths twixt October and April , there beingno lesse then two hundred thousand men , women , and chi ldren

in th i s leskar or campe (I am hereof confident ) , bes ides elephants ,horses , and other beasts that eate corne all wh ich notwith

standing, wee never fe lt want of any provision , no , not in our

n ineteene dayes trav ell from Mandoa to Amadav ar , thorow a

wildernesse , the road be ing cut for us in the mayne woods .

The tents were of divers colours , and represented a spacious

and specious citie . The Kings tents red , reared on poles very

h igh , and placed in the m idst of the campe , covering a large

compasse , incircled with canats [kandt, a screen] (made of red

cal ico stiffened with canes at every breadth , stand ing upright

about n ine 1 foot h igh ) , guarded round every n ight with

souldiers . He remoov ed ten or twelve m i les a day, more or

lesse , accord ing to the conven ience of water . H is wives and

women of all sorts (wh ich are one thousand at least , providedfor in h is tents) are carryed in palankas or upon elephants , or

else in cradles hanging on the sides of dromedaries , covered

close and attended by eunuches . In wiving,he respects fancie

more then honour , not seeking aflinitie with neighbour princes ,but to p lease his eye at home . Noore-Mahal , the name of h is

best beloved , signifieth the L ight of the Court. Shee hath much

advanced her friends , before meane , and in manner commands

the commander of that emp ire by engrossing his affections.

The King and his great men maintayne the ir women , but l ittle

affect them after thirtie yeares of the ir age .

Ten in the 16 55 edition.


Thi s multitude of women notwithstanding, the Mogoll hathbut sixe ch i ldren fiv e sonnes and a daughter . All h is sonnes

are cal led Sultans or Princes the e ldest Sultan Cursero , the

second Sultan Parv eis, Sultan Caroon the th ird , Sultan Shahar

the fourth . The last i s Sultan Tanet , wh ich word in the Persiansignifieth a throne so named by the King, who the first houre

o f his qu iet possessing the throne had newes of his birth , about

n ineteene yeares since .

1 The first sonne , by any of his marryed

wives,by prerogative of birth inherits ; the elder brother bee ing

there called the Great Brother .

2 Although the younger be not

put to death , as with the Turkes , yet it i s observed that they

surv ive not long their father, employed commonly in some

dangerous exped ition . Achabar-sha had threatned to dis

herit the present King, for abuse of Anar-kalee (that i s Pome

granate Kernell) , his most beloved wife [see p . 1 6 6 ] but on

his death-bed repealed it . Thi sAchabars death i s thus reported .

He was wont upon d i spleasure to give pils to his grande s to

purge their soules from their bodies wh ich intending aga inst

one , and hav ing another cordiall pill for him selfe , whi les hee

entertayned the other with faire flatteries , by a happ ie

unhappie m istake hee tooke the poyson himselfe wh ich

with a mortal] fluxe of bloud in few dayes killed him .

3

N egiue enim lea: j ustior ulla est quam neci s artifices arte p erire

sud.

4

Th i s Kings d i sposition seemes composed of extreames very

1 Jabandar (see note on p. 100 ) was born in 16 05 .

Budda Bij , their great brother (16 55 edition ). This phrase standsfor buddha bhai , old brother

3 Thi s story of Akbar’s death, though not accepted by modern hi s

torians , had evidently a Wide currency in Indi a at thi s time . It is to befound also in the Chronicle appended to De Laet

’

s De Imperio Magni

Mogolis , and in PeterMundy’s j ournal under date of 16 32 (v ol . 11 , p .

In both of these the intended v ictim is identified asMirza Ghazi, son of

Mirza Jani Beg, ruler of Sind though the tradition among the Rajputswas that he was Raja Man Singh of Amber (see Tod’s Raj asthan) .Herbert (Some Yeares Travel l , p . 7 2) has a somewhat different versionand yet another is given byManucci (v ol . 1, p .

4 In the 1 6 55 edition Terry translates the couplet thusWhen some to kill most deadly engines frame,Tis just that they themselves be caught i

’

th’ same.

It is from Ovid’

s ArtofLove (i ,



by Mahumetane l ibertie for women and the debauched l ives

of some Christ ian-unchristian men amongst them , per quorum

latem patitur E vangelium.

1 Hee wh ich hath the Key of David,

op en the ir eyes , and in His good time send labourers into this

v ineyard. Amen .

Bywhom the Gospell of Jesus Christ is scandalized and exceedinglysuffers is the translation given in the 1 6 55 edition.

INDEXAbashed 138.

Abbas, Shah. See Persia , King of.Abdul lah Khan, 1 7 n . , 98 , 198 n .

Viceroy of Gujarat, 206 .

Abdurrahim ,Mirza , 7 1 , 7 8 , 80 , 98 ,106 , 108 , 13 1 1 37—8 , 155 n . ,

16 2, 207 influence of, 1 6 5 , 207hi s gardens, 138 , 207 .

Abdurrahim , Shaikh , 72—3 , 7 7 ,126

Ab-i-barik, 1 6 8 .

Abraham , the Patriarch, 47 , 241—2,259 , 3 18

Abfilbi Uzbeg, 99 .

Abfilfath Dekhani , 99 .

Abfil Hasan , Khwaja , 6 6 —8, 85 ,99 , 146—7 .

Abu Rish, 9 .

Abyssinians, 1 38 , 307 .

Achin , 35 , 41 , 128 , 200 n . , 293.

Acosta , Christov al , 305 .

Ada , 21 .

Adam, 1 7 7 , 322.

Aden , 6 0—2; 6 8 .

Adi l Shah, 14, 15 .

Agates, 22, 27 , 1 74.

Agra, 47 , 59 , 278 , 293, 295 Fitchat, 5 , 1 7 Mi ldenhall at, 55—9Hawkins at, 64—5 , 80—95 , 192 ;Finch at, 146—8 ; Canning at,

189 , 200—2 ; Withington at,

19 1—3 , 222—8 ; Sherley at, 212 n . ;

Coryat at, 236—7 , 244 , 26 1 , 26 7 ,283 , 3 15 ; described , 1 7 , 182—5 ,226 centre of the Mogul

’sdomini ons , 100 ; palace-fortressat, 100 , 182—5 , 226 , 310, 328black thr one at, 1 15 ; stonefigures at, 183 Jesuits at, 49 , 55 ,222 ; Chr istian cemetery at,

20 1 fires at, 146 , 1 85 plagueat, 237 Governor of, 192, 224.

Ahadi , 99 , 1 64, 184 27 7 , 327 .

Ahmadabad,106 , 1 70 , 1 93 ~

5 , 213, 21 6—17 ; descri bed, 1 73,

206 , 300 ; English at, 190 , 203—4 ,

206—7 , 25 1 Jesuit at, 207

Jahangir at, 288 , 329 ; Governor of, 133 ; Diwan of, 197 .

Ahmadnagar, city of, 130 , 146 .

Ahmadnagar, King of, 13, 15 , 1 301 , 1 38 , 29 1 subdued byAkbar,130 n .

Ajmer, 5 1—2, 225 , 305 described ,

1 70—1 ; Akbar’

s pilgrimage to,148 , 150 , 1 7 1 , 225 Jahangir at,192, 225 , 236—7 , 280 English at,1 92 230 , 236 , 244, 253 ;Edwards at, 192, 227—3 1 , 236 ;Withington at, 1 93-4 , 224 , 228

Sherley at, 212 n . Roe at, 194,237 Coryat at, 236—7 , 244, 256 ,259 , 26 2, 26 7 factory closed,23 7 .

Aj odhya , 1 7 6

Akbar, the Emperor, 2, 3 n . , 4 n

1 6—18 , 6 2 n . , 85 , 107 , 139 n . , 142,1 6 8 , 1 70 ; hi s conquests, 1 3 , 1 7 ,23—4,26 , 28 , 106 , 130, 140 , 208defeats Sher Shah, 152 ; bui ldsAllahabad castle , 1 7 7 ; foundsFatehpur Sikri , 149 , 1 60 leavesit, 150 , 182 ; his pilgrimage toAjmer, 148 , 1 7 1 , 225 ; Jahangir

’

s

rebellion , 107 , 159 , 1 7 7 , 279 n

deals with the succession , 107—8,159 , 330 Bairam Khan and

,

1 6 5 ; Partab Shah and, 1 37

Anarkikali and , 1 6 6 , 330 Fitchand , 5 , 1 7 , 18 ; Mi ldenhall and,49 , 50 ; pictures of, 1 6 3—4 ; hismagic powers, 27 6 his pietytowards hi s mother, 278 ; his

death, 49 , 330 ; his widows, 186his tomb see S ikandra.

Akbarpur (Malwa ) , 140.

Akbarpur (Muttra District) , 155 .

Akbarpur (Oudh) , 1 7 6 .

Albuquerque , Mathias de , 1 1 , 12Alearon. See Kuran.

3 34 EARLY TRAVELS IN'

IND IA

Aldea, 132, 134, 136—7 , 140 , 14315 1 , 215 .

Aldworth,Thomas, Chief at Surat,

189-90 , 192, 202, 219-20 , 222—3ill

, 196 n . atAhmadabad , 20 4

8 , 21 7 .

Al eppo, 2, 3 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 18, 47—8, 53 ,5 7 , 124—5 , 19 1 , 202 ; Coryat at,235—7 , 241 , 243 , 250, 256—7 , 2601 consul at, 7 , 286 .

Alexander the Great, 1 7 7 , 248.

Alexandria, 202—3 , 245 , 26 0 , 27 1 .Alfandega , 128 , 134.

Aliad indigo , 153 .

Ali Akbar Kul i, Mirza , 99.

Ali Boghan , 1 6 8.

Ali Mardan Khan Bahadur, 99.

Ali Masj id, 1 6 8 .

Alkin , John , 203.

Allahabad, 5 , 1 9 , 107 , 1 7 7—8 , 293the castle at, 159 , 1 7 7—8.

Allare , Henry, 256 .

Ally Pomory, 7 7 .

Almonds , 297 n . used as money,25 .

Almora , 18 1 n .

Alawa sarai, 158 .

Amara, 237 .

Amar Singh of Udaipur, 100, 107 ,1 14, 1 70 , 225 ; hi s son , 225 .

Ambala , 123 , 158.

Amber, 22, 47 , 6 7 n .

Ambere, 1 6 7 .

Aminabad, 1 6 7 .

Amirulumara , the, 98 .

Am-Khas , 159 .

Anah, 9 n .

Ananas , 297 .

Anang Pal, Raja, 155 n.

Anarkikali , 16 6 , 330.

Ana sagar, the, 1 7 1 .

Angeli , 25—6 .

Anil , 40.

Anne, the, 289.

Antelopes, 243, 246 , 296 .

Antri, 144 .

Anap Rai, 154.

Apes, 3 13 .

Aplis , 309 .

Apples , 297 .

Arabia. S ee Mesopotamia , RedSea, etc.

Arabic language, the, 249 , 254,284

,309—10, 3 1 5—16 , 318 .

Arail , 1 78 .

Arakan , 26 , 29 , 182.

Ararat, mt 26 0.

Aravad , 137 .

Areca nuts, 38, 300.

Ar istotle, 309.

Armada , 76 139 .

Armenia, 1 , 10, 47 , 242, 246 , 259 .

Armenians , 53, 5 7 , 64, 85 , 133,1 38—9 , 1 6 7 , 206 , 21 7 , 223 , 240 ,248 , 26 7 , 280-1 , 307 , 33 1 .

Arrack, 300 .

Arrows, 218 , 3 12—14 .

Arsacia , 242.

Arz , 56 , 9 1 .

Asafetida , 18.

AsafKhan (ItikadKhan), 6 8, 94n297 n.

Asaf Khan (Jafar Beg), 98 , 139 ,16 3 , 1 6 5 .

Ascension , the, 64—5 , 85 wrecked,

86 , 132 ; survivors of, 6 5 , 86 ,132-3 , 155 n her pinnace, 85 ,13 1—2.

Ashrafi, 101 .

As ir, 100, 140.

Asoka pillars, 156 n . , 157 , 1 7 7 ,248 n .

Asses , 209, 304.

Astrology, 3 10 .

Atescanna . See Yatish-khana.

Attock, 16 8 , 292.

Austin of Bordeaux, 5 1—2.

Ava , 39, 182.

Av icenna, 3 10.

Ayuthia, 33.

Aziz Koka, 59 , 98 155, 162,27 7 71. hi s son, 1 73.

Babel, Tower of, 10.

Babur, the Emperor, 1 64—5 , 16 8 .

Babylon. See Bagdad.

Badakhshan , 87 n. , 1 6 8 .

Bad-ki -sarai, 155 .

Baffin’

s map of India, 240 , 29 1 n. ,

294 n . , 295 n .

Bafta , 1 75 , 206 n. , 218 .

Bag and baggage 130 .

Bagdad, 2, 9—1 1 , 47 59 , 124 -5 , 245 ,

26 0 , 26 9 described, 9 Basha



Bollodo , 209.

Bond,John , 258 i t.

Book cal icoes , 1 75 .

Bora, 143.

Bore at Cambay, 1 74, 21 7 .Borgaon ,

139.

Borneo , 35 , 46 .

Bottia , 27 .

Bowma , Ragee, 21 1 .

Bows, 3 12—14.

Boy 231 .

Boys, Thomas, 124, 146 , 16 7 .

Brahma , 321 .

Brahmans,passim their doctrinesand ceremonies, 18 , 19 , 2 1—2,226 , 321 .

Brama (Burma), 39 , 40 .

Brass, 21 , 22, 34-5 , 40 , 1 83 , 226 ,248, 302—3 , 306 , 322.

Bread-making, 296 .

Broach, 140 , 1 74, 205 n . , 21 7 , 27 7 .

Broadcloth, 35 , 64, 1 92, 205—6 ,306 , 327 .

Brokers in Pegu, 35 .

Brooke , Christopher, 255, 258 n.

Brown , John, 25 1 .

Buck, Francis, 70, 74, 126Budde-Charbag, 16 8 .

Buddha Bhai , 330 n .

Buffaloes, 1 7 , 24, 38, 104, 184, 218

described, 296 horns of, 3 12.

Bukkur, 155 n .

Bukkur-Sukkur, 16 1 , 218, 292.

Bull Bull , Sultan , 21 1 .

Bulsar, 134.

Buray, R iver, 137 .

Burdiano, 210 .

Burhanpur , 5 , 16 , 7 1 n 78 , 93 , 100 ,131 , 1 33-4, 136—7 , 143 , 146—7 ,222n . , 293 Hawkins at, 79, 80Finch at, 1 38-9 castle at, 1 38 ,222 n . ; elephant rock at, 138

Governor of, 1 39.

Burials, 3 15 .

Burma, 39 , 40. See also Pegu.

Bushire , 2.

Butkhak, 1 6 8 .

Butter, 19 , 152, 296 , 304, 324.

Byaval , 138 .

Cabie 18 .

Cacchegate, 25

Cairo , 48 , 245 , 26 0, 26 9.

Calentures, 3 10 .

Calicoes, 1 75 , 205 n . , 289 , 327 , 329 .

Calicut, 44—5 King of, 45 , 129 .

Calivers, 45 .

Callitalowny, 208 n .

Callwalla , 208.

Gambals (camboline) , 27 , 36 .

ambay, 12, 6 2—3 , 84, 130, 1 73,203 ; Finch

’s account of, 1 74 ;sacked, 133, 1 73 Portuguesetrade with, 7 6 n . , 1 74 bore at,1 74, 217 Jesuits at, 83, 95-6Hawkins returns v ia, 6 7-8 , 93 ,95—6 Mukarrab Khan in

charge of, 7 1—2, 8 7 n . Withington at, 190—1 , 206 , 21 7 Governor of, 206 .

Camels, passim.

Camla, 140.

Camphor, 35, 46 .

Candere , 15 1 .

Cann ing, Lancelot, 189 , 200—1 .

Canning, Paul , 189 , 1 97 , 200 1death of, 190 , 20 1 n . , 202.

Canton , 41 .

Caplan , 39.

Capons , 297 .

Caraemit, 53.

Caravallo, Albert, 28 .

Caravans described , 259.

Cards , 3 12.

Careless, R .

, 127

Carpets, 18 , 1 7 7 , 308, 3 1 1 .

Carrots, 297 .

Cartaz, 129—3 1 , 135 .

Cartwright, John, 53—4.

Cassumparo , 208 n.

Caste , 138, 218, 220-1 , 226 , 322 ;caste—marks , 19 , 20, 323 .

Cathaia , 102.

Cats, 25 , 33.

Caucasus, the Indian, 243 n. , 29 1 ,294.

Cavalero, 147 .

Ceylon , 28 , 43—5 King of, 43—4 .

Chabatara , 158 n .

Chalani rupees. 101 n .

Chaldea , 241—2.

Chamba , 293 .

Chambal, R . , 145 .

Chandangaon , 170.

INDEX 3 37

Chaudeau , 26 .

Chand Rai , 28 .

Chaparghata , 1 7 9 .

Chapman, Libbeus, 286 .

Charikar, 16 8 .

Charke, Charles, 155 .

Charles, Prince, 289.

Chatsu, 1 70.

Chaulc, 183 n.

Cha uki , 144, 184.

Chaul, 6 , 13 , 46 , 129 , 207 n.

Chaush, 53 .

Chautri , 158 n .

Cbay-root, 34.

Cheese , 1 52, 296 , 324.

Cheetahs, 1 7, 104, 3 12.

Chenab , R , 1 6 7 .

Chess , 3 12.

Chia-yii-kuan, 1 6 9 n .

Childbirth easy, 309 .

Chima Gakkhar, 16 7 .

China, 1 , 2, 25 n. , 27 , 47 , 18 1 , 282.295 goods from , 13, 34, 38 , 41 ,46 , 102 : trade with India, 1 6 9 ;account of, 41-2.

China di sh, story of a , 109 .

China-Machine , 109Chinches, 303 .

Chinese in India, 308 n.

Chingas Sarai , 16 9 .

Chin Kili j , Mirza, 99.

Chintz , 1 6 , 34, 43 , 215 , 227 , 301.Chitor, 1 70 , 293 .

Chittagong, 5 , 26—7 .

Chitthi , 130 .

Chopra, 137 .

Chounter, 158, 1 62—6 .

Chuna'm, 42.

Cinnamon, 44—5 .

Clarke , Charles, 227 .

Clarkson , Robert , 204.

Claxton, Robert, 204.

Cloves , 46 . See also Spices.Coaches, Indian, 31 1 , 320 , 327

English coach for Jahangir, 252.

Cochin, 6 , 14, 43—6 , 129 ; King of,45 .

Cochin-China , 25 , 42, 46 .

Coco-nuts , 1 1 , 13. 29 , 38, 297 71 .S ee also Palmeiro. Dabhol , 96 .

Coffee, 300. Da Cunha, Nuno, 188.Cogi A111, 45 . Daka, 16 8 .

Coir, 1 1 .

Colombo , 43 .

Comorin , Cape , 44 , 13 1 , 182 .

Conowa, 1 6 9.

Consent, the, 6 1—2.Constantinople , 1 , 18 , 48 , 53 , 58 ,258 n . , 27 1 Coryat at, 235 , 243 ,250 , 257 , 265 , 26 8, 273 .

Coolies. See Kolis.Cope, SirWalter, 50.

Copper, 22, 34-5 , 38, 41 , 299 n. ,

303 ; ornaments , 1 1, 22-3, 28 ;coins, 302 n .

Coral, 102, 1 15 .

Corn , 1 1 , 13, 16 , 20 1 , 38 , 44, 296 ,298.

Cornelians , 102.

Comet-player. See Trully.

orsi , Francisco, 55 , 148 n ., 331 .

Coryat, Thomas, 157 n . , 3 15 ; ac

count oi , 234—41 ; his letters , 2417 6 ; notes by, 276—82 ; hi s

address to Jahangir, 26 3, 284 ;his speech to a Muhammadan ,

27 1 ; King James and, 258 n . ,

286 : Terry and : see Terryhis death, 239 , 287 his place of

burial, 239—40 , 282, 287 his

mother, 248 , 25 1 , 259 , 26 1 his

stepfather, 270 his uncle , 248 ,25 1 , 275 .

Costus , 1 79 .

Cotton , Sir Robert, 258 n .

Cotton , 1 7 , 24 ; goods, 16 , 1 7 , 20 ,24—6 , 28 , 34, yarn34 ; the shrub , 301 .

Coulthrust, R ichard, 53 .

Course . See Kos .

Covert, Robert, 49 , 6 5 , 6 5 n . , 6 7 n. ,

122, 155 n.

Cows venerated, 14, 22, 133 , 2 18 ,220 , 294, 324.

Crocodiles, 30, 175, 303.

Crusado, 41 .

Curdes , 1 6 1 .

Curka , 136

Cypress trees, 158 178 .

Cyrus , King, 242.


Dal-in , 30.

Daman , 13, 7 7-8 , 134, 192—3 , 196 71 .

Dana , 304.

Dana/c, 10

Dancing gi rls, 183 , 208.

Dangali , 294.

Daniyal , Prince, 108 , 147 , 16 2 ;hi s mother, 16 6 .

Darab, Mirza , 99 .

Darbar, 1 6 2, 16 4, 1 78 , 183—5 .

Dari lchana , 1 7 .

Darshah i , 15 1 , 1 6 3 , 1 7 7 , 183 , 326 .

Darwaza , 1 6 6 , 183 .

Darwiz , 284, 3 19 .

Dates, 1 1 , 297 date-trees, 1 75 .

Dav id , King, 3 18.

De Castro, Martin Alfonso, 128 .

Deccan, the, 100 , 1 14, 291 wars in ,

7 9 , 94—5 , 1 13 , 130-1 , 1 37—9 , 143 ,146—7 , 154—5 ; 155 n . See also

Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, etc.

Deer, 1 7 , 25 , 104, 157 , 184, 209 ,296 , 312 .

De Feyra , Conde , 88 n. , 129—3 1 .Dekawara , 209.

Dela, 29 , 30 .

De Laet, Johannes , 122.

Delhi , 47 , 236 , 248 , 293 ; the

capital of India, 100 , 156

Finch’s account of, 155—7 ;Asoka pillars at, 156 n . , 157 ,248 early kings of, 1 52 n . ,

155 n. , 156—7 , 1 72, 1 8 1 ; Faujdar of, 157 .

Delout,De Mascarenhas, Francisco, 12 .

DeMendoca , André Furtado, 1283 1 .

De Menezes, Al eixo , 1 28 , 130 .

Deo , 134, 1 6 3.

Dergee Seraw, 194.

Dermain , 27 .

Derv ishes. See Darwiz.

De Seine, Jean , 207—8.

Deura 155 .

Dhaita , 1 36—7 .

Dhameri , 1 79.

Dharm Parkash, 180 n.

Dhaulagiri , 18 1 .

Dholpur . 145 .

Dhooly, 1 72,Diamonds, 15 , 18 , 41—2, 47 , 1 1 1 ;

theMogul’

s, 102—3 , 1 1 1mines , 15 , 47 , 181 .

Diarbekr, 53, 236 , 250 , 26 6 .

Dipalpur, 142.

Diu , 12, 6 8 , 84, 94, 129Dinl Sind , 292.Diwan, 125.

Diwan-i-am and Diwan-i-Ichas,8 1 n . , 159 n .

Diwan/charm, 151 , 155 , 162-5 , 1 721,1 78 .

Doaba, 16 8 .

Dogs, 22 , 25, 33 , 104, 312, 326 .

Donne, John , 258 n.

Dopydj , 3 1 1 .

Doraha , 158.

Dorchester, John , 127 .

Downton , Nicholas , 84 n. , 192—3 ,223—4 , 229 ; defeats the Portuguese, 6 8 , 193 , 224.

Dragoman , 57 , 72, 78-9.

Dragon , the , 6 1—2, 188 , 1 91 , 198

Dress of Indians , 308 .

Dromedaries, 104 n . , 105—6 , 304,3 1 1 , 329 .

Drugs, 1 1 , 13, 1 7 , 41 , 47 , 1 74, 1 7 9 ,206 , 302.

Ducats, 15 , 3 1 , 57 .

Ducks, 296 .

Durga , 180.

Dutch, the, 6 , 97 , 127 , 146 ; English declared to be, 7 4, 125—6warwith the Portuguese, 1 28—31 .

East India Company, the , 1 , 7 , 48 ,50, 6 0, 289 (2) andWithington ,

195 -6 , 232-3 ; their offices, 232n .

Ecbatana , 242.

Edwards , Will iam , at court, 192,227—3 1 , 236—7 , 248 ; beaten, 230 ;stabbed , 230 ; his title , 1 92,224—5 , 229 ; Withington and ,

193—5 , 225 , 227—8 his donationfrom Jahangir, 229—30 ; goeshome , 23 1 n . , 232 .

Eglisham, George , 233.

Eldred , John , 2.

Elephantiasis, 44 .

Elephants, in Pegu, 27 , 30-3 , 35 ,38 , 44 ; in Ceylon , 43—4 ; in

India , pass im ; the Mogul’s ,



Ghuzl-khana , 279.

G iaour, 27 1—5 .

Ging 126 .

Ginger, 46 , 297 , 324.

Glass , 23 not used , 300 .

Goa ,6 34 , 92—3 , 131

135 , 203 , 305 ; described ,

14 ; customs dues at, 12 tradewith Cambay, 7 6 n . , 1 74 Fitchat, 3 , 6 , 14, 15 , 46 Viceroy of,3—5 , 12, 14 , 1 5 , 83—4, 88-9 , 92,95 , 128—3 1 , 146 , 188 , 1 93 , 1 97 ;Mukarrab Khan’s mission to, 6 6 ,85 , 87—90, 93 .

Goats, 1 1 , 25 , 296 .

Gobins 155 .

Godown , 30 .

Gogha , 6 2, 130, 1 99 .

Gogra ,R . , 292 n .

Gohad, 293 .

Goj ri , 135 n .

Golconda , city of, 4, 182.

Golconda ,kingdom of, 15 , 182 ;

King of, 15 , 1 31 , 182, 29 1 .

Gold , 15 , 33—6 , 38 , 41 , 1 80 , 185 ,187 , 26 9 , 294, 302, 3 10—1 1 , 323,328 ; ornaments, 12, 250, 306 ;digging and washing for , 23 , 42,1 7 6 ; coins, 101 , 159 , 26 7 , 302 n.

Gold , cloth of, 1 1 7 , 206 , 213 , 306 ,329 .

Gondoree, 135 .

Gondwana , 295 .

Goobad e, 158 .

Gopi Talao, the, 132, 134.

Gosains , 155 n .

Grapes, 16 6 , 297 .

Grassias , the , 143.

Grav ener , Stephen , 84.

Greeks , 223 .

Greet, Hugh, 96 .

Gujarat, 8 , 12—14, 34, 47 , 6 4—5 ,100 , 1 14, 1 73 , 293 ; the ancientdynasty, 100 , 205 conqueredby Akbar, 106 , 207—8 Viceroyof, 7 6 . See al so Ahmadabad ,

Cambay, etc.

Gujarati language, the, 309 n .

Gaj ars , 152 156—7 .

Gujrat (Pun jab) , 1 6 7 , 1 6 9.

Gumlac. See Lac.

Gundajaw, 21 1 .

Gunpowder, 3 14.

Guns, 28 , 32, 43 , 45 , 218 , 3 14 See

also Ordnance.

Ganth, 18 1 .

Gwalior, 293 ; castle at, 100 , 144

293 Finch describes, 144

Governor of, 145

Haggatt, Bartholomew, 124—5 .

Hai-nan , 47 .

Haj i , 30 1 .

Haj i Khan , 292, 3 14.

Hakewill , William , 255 , 258 n .

Hakluyt , R ichard , 6—8 , 40 n . , 52.

Hardwar, 238, 26 9 n . , 294.

Hares , 296—7 , 3 12.

Hasan Abdal , 1 6 8 .

Hasan Ali , Khwaja , 7 7 .

Hassward , King, 1 72.

E ast Caunk, 16 9 .

Batya , 1 6 8 .

Hawkins, Wil liam, account of,6 0—70 ; his narrative , 70—121at Surat , 70—9 , 125-9 ; his

journey to court, 78—80 at

Agra ,6 5—8 , 80—95 , 146—8 ; hi s

return , 95—7 Finch and, 70 ,122—5 , 146 his wife, 64, 6 7-70 ,84—5 , 92—3 , 96 , 133.

Hawks , 1 7 , 104, 3 12.

Hay, the , 198 .

Hazarat I sa, 246 , 27 6 , 3 15 , 3 19.

Hector , the , 52, 60—3 , 6 8—9 , 122.

Henri IV of France, 1 6 7 .

Henry, Prince, 234—5 , 257 .

Herba cloth,26 .

Herbert, Sir Edward , 27 7 .

Herbert , Thomas, 122, 239 , 27 7 .

Hermodactyle , the, 150 .

Hijili , 25—6 .

Hindaun ,1 70 .

Hindi language , the, 309 n .

Hindustani language, the , 284, 309.

Hing, 18 .

Hira Nand, 1 1 1 .

Hit, 10 .

Hodal, 155 .

oghe Moheede, 1 60 .

olland , Hugh, 249.

orses, in Indi a ,passim in Tibet,27 none in Ceylon , 44 ; Persian ,

12, 304 Tartarian andArabian ,

INDEX

304 special breeds of, 1 74 , 18 1 ,218 , 304 ; the Mogul

’s , 103 ,104 n . , 105—6 , 137 , 185 .

Hoshang, Prince , 154 ; made a

Chr istian , 86 , 1 16 , 147—8 .

Hoshang, Shah, 141 n .

Hosiander, the , 188 , 197-8 .

Hoskins, John , 255 , 258 n .

Howdahs, 306 .

Hfigli , 5 , 18 n . , 25 , 182.

Humam , Hakim , 10 1 .

Humayfin , the Emperor, 142 n . ;

Sher Shah and, 141—2, 1 6 1 , 1 6 5 ;his tomb , 156 , 156 n . ,

1 64—5 .

Hunt, Edward , 200 .

Hyderabad, 13 1 n. , 182.

Ibrahim Lodi , 16 5 .

Idr is Khan, 98 .

Indigo , 40 , 92, 149 , 15 1—2, 155 , 206 ,227 301 how made , 152-4

purchase of, 148 , 190—2, 222—3 ;Bayana , 15 1-2 , 1 74, 1 79 ; Koil,1 7 9 ; Sarkhej , 1 74, 207 ; S ind ,

218 .

Indus, R . , 16 1 , 16 8 , 243 , 291—2, 299 .

lnj il , 273 .

Iraj,Mi rza , 99 .

Iron , 72, 303, 306 , 3 14, 320 .

Isa Khan , 28 , 18 1 .

Ishmael, 3 18Ispahan , 5 1 , 54 Coryat at, 236—7242, 26 0 , 273.

Italians in India , 3 , 59 , 220 , 223 .

Itibar Khan , 99 .

Itikad Khan , 6 8, 94 n . , 297 n .

Itimadpur, 1 7 9 .

Ivory, 13 , 22, 28 .

Jackals, 303.

Jacob (a German), 204.

Jacobuses, 6 9 .

Jade. See Eshim.

Jafar, Mir , 1 97 .

Jafarabad, 198, 20 1 .

Jafar Beg. SeeAsaf Khan.

Jagannath, 295 .

Jagannath, Raja, 105 , 16 3.

Jagdalak, 1 6 8 .

Jaghal-aghli , 16 1 n.

Jagir, 16 1 .

Jagra, 13, 300 0

341

Jahan , Khwaja, 90 , 99.

Jahandar, Sultan , 100 , 330 .

Jahangir, the Emperor, 52, 6 3 ,1 79—82, 189—90 , 299 ; Mi ldenhall and , 58—9 hi s birth-name,102 ; rebels against his father,10 7 , 159 , 1 7 7 , 279 n . ; succeedsto the throne , 108 , 330 ; hisdaily routine, 1 14, 183—5 , 247 ,3 1 1 , 326 birthday festiv ities,1 18 , 245 , 328 ; his income , 99 ,246 , 324 ; his treasures, 10 1—3 ;hi s chi ef ‘

officials, 327 ; hisemblem, 306 ; hi s titles, 325 ;his age, 245 , 328 ; his dress,327—8 ; his appearance , 245 ;unpopular, 108 ; his cruelty,108—1 1 , 1 13 , 184-5 , 279 , 326 ,33 1 ; a drunkard , 6 7 , 1 1 6 , 185 ,33 1 unorthodox , 147 ; uncircumcised, 246 his trust in astrolo

gers, 3 10 ; his fondness for

hunting, 154 ; his predilectionfor devotees, 279 ; his intendedplace . of burial , 3 16 ; rumoursof his death, 157 ; pictures of,1 6 2—4 ; hi s memoirs, 6 5 ; Khusrau rebels against him , 82 n . ,

108 , 158—60 , 1 78 n . , 1 79 , 279 ; his

relations with Anarkikali , 1 6 6 ,330 ; he makes his nephewsChr istians, 86 , 1 16 , 147-8 ;attacked by a lion , 154 ; his

relations with the Jesuits,192,

20 1 , 222—3, 280 , 33 1 story of an

Armenian and , 280 , 33 1 ; his

wives, 90 n . , 94, 101 ,1 70 , 1 78 , 247 , 278 , 306 , 329 ;his mother, see Maryam ; his

sister, 94, 107 ; his children(see also Khusrau 98 ,100—1 , 184, 330 ; royal lettersto and from see James I.

ahangiri rupees, 102.

Jahangir Kuli Khan , 99 , 1 73.

Jaisalmer, 291 n . , 292.

Jaju, 146 .

Jalalabad , 16 7 -8;

Jalal-uddin Firoz, 1 72 n .

Jalap , 1 79 .

Jalnapur , 13 1 , 137 .Jalor, 1 7 1-2, 174.

342

Jamalpur, 155 n.

Jamba, 42.

Jambusar, 1 74.

James I, letters to the MughalEmperor from, 6 1—3 , 6 7 , 70—4 ,80—2, 132, 189 , 192, 200 , 206 ,229 , 252 answer refused, 92,95 ; replies to , 328 ; abused bythe Portuguese , 74—5 , 78 Coryat and, 258 n . , 286 .

Jampda, 1 70 .

Jangoma , 38 , 46 , 182.

Jani Beg, Mirza, 330 n .

Japan , 41-2.

Japanese in India, 308 n .

Jari indigo , 153 .

Jaswan , 295 .

Jaunpur, 1 76—7 , 1 79 , 292 71 .Java, 303. See also Bantam.

Jawala Makhi , 238, 294.

Jaxe , 272.

Je , 180 .

Jenba, 293 .

Jengapor, 292.

Jerusalem, 235 , 241 , 244—5 , 249 ,253, 256 , 259 , 26 1 , 26 8 .

Jesuits at Goa , 3 , 15 ; at Surat,64 atAgra , 190 , 192, 20 1 , 222

3 at court, 49—52, 6 4,83—4 , 229 , 276 , 280 , 33 1 . See

al so Corsi, De Seine, Pinheiro,Xav ier, etc.

Jesus Chr ist, 276 , 328—9 ; reverenced in India, 246 , 3 19 , 331 ;pictures of, 1 15 , 16 3, 184.

Jews in Indi a, 308 .

Jhr'

rsi , 1 78 .

Joagek Hately, 16 9 .

So“

gaon , 1 7 1 .

Joffs/

bu , Robert, 203.

Johnson, 1 22.

Johor, 128Jonas , the Prophet, 26 9.

Jones, Inigo, 249 .

Jonson , Ben , 234, 252, 255 n . ,

258 n .

Joseph, Benjamin , 232 n. , 288 .

Jorn'dain ,John , at Surat, 148 his

narrative , 6 4—7 , 70 , 85 n . , 9 1 n . ,

95 n . , 96 n 104n . , 109 n. , 1 1 1 n . ,

1 12 n . , l 23

Julia, 54.


Juma , 210.

Jumna, R . , 1 7—19 , 156 , 17 7—80 ,182, 185 , 226 , 293

Janagarh, 292.

Junkseylon , 41 .

Junnar, 13 1 n .

Juno, 210 .

Kabul , 100 , 1 14, 154, 159—60 , 16 78 , 29 1 route to , 16 6—8 .

Kabul R . , 1 6 8, 29 1 .

Kachahri , 183Kacha Sarai, 1 6 7 .

Kachner Sarai , 143 .

Kachua , 5 , 28 n .

Kafila , 6 3 n. , 143, 206 , 208 n.

Kahwa , 300 .

Kaim Khan , 10 1 .

Kakarwar, 143.

Kalabag, 143 .

Kalandar, 150 , 164.

Kalapani , 16 8 .

Kalsi , 180 .

Kanasia , 142.Kanat, 329 .

Kanauj , 1 75 .

Kandahar, 48 , 54, 100 , 1 14, 16 1 ,1 6 7 , 236 , 283 , 291 ; Kingsee Rustam.

Kangra , 1 79 , 238 , 294 n .

Kanwal kakri , 150 n.

Karan , Prince, 225 .

Kama] , 158 .

Karod , 1 33 , 136 .

Karoli, 78 .

Karvan, 205 n.

Kashan , 54.

Kashgar, 16 6 , 16 8—9 , 1 79 .

Kashmir , 104, 16 9 , 292 ; shawls ,1 6 9 .

Kasim , Mirza, 99.

Kathiawar,Kaul or Kali , R . 292.

Kazi , 183 , 326 .

Kazmi Khan, 99 .

Kazv in , 48 , 50, 54 , 59 , 236 , 242.

Keeli ng, William, 6 1—2, 6 2 n . ; at

Surat, 193, 227 , 229 ; and

Withington, 193-5 , 23 1.

Kerman, 54.

Kerridge , Thomas , 5 1—2, 193—5 ;sent to court, 190 , 192, 202 ;



London, Treaty of, 6 0.LongWalk the, 244, 283—4, 293 .

Loure-Charebage, 16 8 .

Lucknow, 1 75 .

Lunera , 142.

Macao (China) , 41.Macao (Pegu), 5 , 30Mace, 46 . See also Spices.Machado, Anthony, 55.

Madder, Indian , 34.

Magarmachh, 1 75 .

Mahabat Khan , 98, 155 , 159 , 16 3 ,327 .

Mahal , 148‘ 9 , 15 1 , 158

16 3—6 , 1 78, 183, 185—7 , 278 .

Mahdawi , 3 19 .

Mahdi Kuli , 72, 125—6 .

Mahi , R . , 205 .

Mahmiid I , 141 , 142 n.

Mahmadis , 127 , 129 , 13 1 , 146

216—17 , 223 ; coinage of, 136

value of, 7 7 n . , 216 , 302.

Ma idan, 134,

Mal-am, 138 , 142—3.

Malabars, the, 43—5 pirates, 126 ,129 and the Portuguese , 128—9 ,139.

Malacca, 8 , 26 , 28, 30 , 34, 182Fitch at, 5 , 41 , 43 ; siege of,128 130—1 Captain of, 41 .

Malays, the, 41 .Malik Ali , Khwaja, 159.

MalikAmbar, 100 , 130, 138.Malik Shah, 1 72 n.

Malwa, 100 107 , 142, 293.

Manar pearl fishery, 44, 47 .

Mandu, 17 , 152, 222 n . ; palace at,3 10 Finch’s account of 140-2Jahangir at, 238 , 277-8 , 285 , 288 ,329 ; Roe at, 238—9 , 27 7 , 285 ,287—8 Coryat at, 238 , 285, 287 .

Mango trees, 134, 144.

Mangoes , 297 .

Manihpur, 1 78.

Manillas, the, 128.

Mansabdar, 98 , 230.Man Sah, Raja , 180.Man Singh, Raja , 98 , 16 2, 16 4 n . ,

1 70 , 1 79 , 330 n. ; sent to theDeccan , 131 , 138-9 , 143 ; his

palace, 145 .

Mardin, 47 .

Markets , 26 , 3 13 .

Marlow, Anthony, 6 2 n. , 6 3, 73—4,126 .

Marriage ceremonies , 16 , 22, 220—1,320 , 322.

Martaban, 34, 41 , 43 .

Martin, Richard, 249 , 255 , 258 n.

Marwar , 1 70 .

Mary, the Virgin , 276 , 33 1

pictures of, 1 15 , 16 3. 184.

Maryam-zamani , 98 107 , 1 18 ,148 , 331 her trading operations, 123 , 129 , 191, 203.

Masha lc, 147 .

Mashalchi , 16 2.

Massage, 3 13.

Mast, 317 .

Masulipatam , 16 , 34, 95 , 133 , 182Dutch at, 97 , 12 7 .

Mata Dev i , 294.

Maund, 102-3 , 105 .

Mecca , 14, 35 , 1 6 5 , 202, 30 1 .

Media, 242, 259.

Medina, 202 n., 30 1 .

Medines, 9 .

Medon , 29.

Melons, 297 .Mendaker, 145.

Mendee, 3 19.

Menhapoore , 148 .

Mermaid Club, the . 234, 236 , 250—1256 .

Merta, 1 7 1 .

‘Meskites ’

, 140—2, 144, 149 , 16 6 ,1 72, 1 76 , 3 16 n. , 3 18 ; described,

315 .

Mesopotamia, 9-1 1 , 47, 241—2, 246 ,259 , 26 6 .

Mewat, 295.

Mhowa trees , 136 ; wine , 136 , 143.

Michelborne, Sir Edward, 72, 125 .

Middleton , Sir Henry, 85 , 95

at Surat, 6 8 , 94, 96 , 124 n . , 203

is ordered to leave, 6 8 , 188 ;retaliates in the Red Sea , 6 8 ,

96 , 188 , 197 , 20 1, 203 goes east,6 8, 96—7 .

Mildenhall , John , 19 1, 222 n . , 223

account of, 48-52 ; his letters ,52—9 .

Mindr, 157 .

INDEX

Mirrors, Venetian, 1642Mirza, title of, 98 , 327 .

Mitford, Thomas , 227 , 230.

Mithkal , 1 1 1-12.

Mocket, Richard, 258 n.

Modra, 1 73.Mogargaon, 140 .

Mogen , the, 26 , 29.

Mogul , the Great see Akbar,Jahangir, etc. origin of theterm, 325.

Mohurs, 10 1, 159 , 26 7 .

Mokha , the English and ,

6 8 , 93, 96 , 132 ; Indian tradewith, 6 8 , 7 6 , 123 , 129 , 135 , 197 ,202, 30 1 . See al so Red Sea.

Moluccas , the, 41 , 46 , 303 .

Monkeys, 1 74, 3 13 .

Monsoon , the , 135 , 303 .

Montague , Bishop, 258 n .

Moses, 26 9 , 3 18Mosques. S ee MeskitesMosquitoes , 303 .

Mosul, 47 .

Mota , 136 .

Mozabad, 170 .

Mozambique, 129—30 .

Mubarak Shah, 84—5.

Mughalsarai , 1 70 .

Mugs, the , 26 , 29 1 .

Muhammad , the Prophet, 202, 30 1 ,308 , 3 16 18 , 320 ; Coryat on,

27 1—2, 274, 3 15 .

Muhammadan devotions, 2734 .

Muhammad Hakim , Mirza , 10 1 ;his son , 148.

Muinuddin Chishti , 148 , 1 7 1 , 280 .

—9 ;and Hawkins, 6 3-4, 6 6 , 7 13 ,

75—80 , 85-7 , 95 , 127 , 146—7 and

Finch, 127 , 130 , 132 ; his nego

tiations with the English, 6 8 ,189 , 201 at court, 65 , 86 , 188 ,229 ; complaints against, 6 5—6 ,86—7 sent toGoa , 6 6 , 85 , 87—90 ,93 favours the Portuguese , 834 , 88—90 ; sent against them,

93 his brother, 6 3 .

Mulberry trees , 186 .

Mules , 104—5 , 304, 3 1 1 .Mulher, 136 .

Mullahs, 308, 3 15—16 , 3 18 , 320.

345

Multan, 1 14, 16 1 236 , 27 1,29 1 .

Mundiakhera, 145.

Mundiapura , 148 n.

Munition 183.

Murad , Sultan , 108, 162, 293 n.

Murtherers 183 .

Musafi Khan , 205.

Muscovy. See Russia.

Musical instruments , 103 , 3 10 .3 15 .

Musk,25 ,27 , 35, 38,41,46—7 ,18 1 .

Muzaflarabad , 198, 201 .

Muzaffar Shah III, 100 , 133 .

Myrobalans , 1 79 , 297 n.

Nagarkot, 1 79 , 294.

Nagar Parkar, 19 1 , 209 , 214—17 .

Nairs, the, 44—5 .

Naites, the , 135 .

Nakchiv an , 54.

Nakodar, 158 .

Nandurbar, 137 .

Narayanpur , 136—7 .

Narbada, R . , 140 , 27 7 .

Narela , 156 .

Nariad, 206 .

Narnaul , 295 .

Narwar, 100 , 144, 293.

Nasiruddin Ghazi , 157 .Naubat, 16 6 .

Nauroz feast, 1 1 7 , 3 10.Nausari, 134.

Nawab, title of, 132, 327 n.

Negapatam, 26 , 44, 182.

Negrais, 29 , 34.

Newbery , John , 1—6 , 8 , 18 .

Newman, R ichard, 5 1—2.

Newport, Christopher, 9 7 n . , 21211.New Year’s feast. See Nauroz .

Nicobars, the , 6 .

Nilab, R . , 29 1 .

Nimgul , 137 .

Nimla , 168.

Nineveh, 47 , 245 , 260 , 26 9.

Nizam, Khwaja , 7 6 .

Noah, the Patriarch, 17 7 , 260.

Nondogue , 2 15 .

Nonnigong, 1 70 .

Notee indigo , 153.

Nuraquimire, 210 .


Nar Jahan , 101 , 247 , 27 7 n. , 279

80 ; married to Jahangir, 6 8 ,94 ; her great influence, 329.

Nr'

rr Mahal. See Nfir Jahan.

Narpur, 1 79 .

iiruddin,Governor ofSurat, 70-17 3—4 , 7 7 , 79 , 126—7 , 13 1—3 .

Nfirullah Ibrahim, 209.

Nutmegs, 46 . See also Spices

Odcombe, 234, 237 , 254, 258,270.

Onions, 297 , 3 1 1 .

Opium , 18 , 24, 34—5 , 7 1 , 1 16 ; howmade, 142.

Oranges, 29 , 16 6 , 297 .

Ordnance, 133 , 141 , 226 ,30 1 , 306 , 3 14.

Oriah, 47 ,53, 241, 259 .

Orissa, 25—6 , 182, 295 .

Ormus, 1 , 8 , 12, 14, 129 , 135, 278described , 1 1 , 12 ; E tch at, 1 ,3 , 6 , 1 1 , 46 Captain of, 1 1 , 12.

Osborne, Sir Edward, 1 , 2, 9 .

Ounces, 1 7 , 104 .

Oxen, 104—5 , 297—8 , 311 .

Padre, the term, 331 n.

Padshah, 85 , 326 .

Padshah Banu Begam, 10 1 .

Pagodes (idols) , 15 , 3 1 , 33—4, 155 ,158 , 1 77 .

Pagodes (temples) , 15 n . , 35 n . , 36 ,134, 142, 1 7 1—2, 221 226 , 321 .

Pahar, 3 17 .

Paithan, 295 .

Pakhli , 1 6 9 .

Pakka, 1 6 8 .

Palanquin, 108 , 154, 278 , 329 , 331

described, 3 12.

Palmeiro (palm tree), 10 , 13, 14,29 , 31 , 44-5 , 1 75 , 297.

Palwal , 155 .

Pamri , 1 6 9 .

Pan , 143 n. , 300.

Panipat, 157 .

Pankha , 1 6 4, 184 , 3 13.

Paradi se , 241 , 246 , 259 , 273-4.

Paraich, 144.

Parameshvra , 321 .

Pardo , 29 . 30 , 45.

Pargaiw , 170.

Parsees , the , 323 .

Parsons , Richard, 52.

Partab Shah , 136—7 , 293.

Parthia, 259.

Partridges, 296—7 .

Parwiz , Sultan , 98 100 , 1 10 ,1 6 2-3 , 222 n . , 330 ; sent to the

Deccan , 131 n. , 138-9 ; Finchand, 139 .

Pathankot, 295.

PathanKings, 155n. , 156 -7 ,16 1 , 1 70 , 1 72, 1 76—9 , 18 1 .

Pathans , 78—9 , 136 , 141 n . , 144,16 7 , 3 14 ; story of a , 1 10.

Patna , 5 , 295 ; described,disturbances at, 1 13 , 147 .

Pattamar, 202.

Pawn 36 .

Peacocks , 2 1 , 174, 296 .

Pearl , the , 6 9 .

Pearls, 1 1 , 1 8 , 44—7 , 102—3 , 1 12,1 15 , 1 18 , 3 10 .

Pears, 297 .

Pedraria , 220.

Pegu, city of, 5 , 29 , 30 , 43.

Pegu , kingdom of, 5 , 6 , 8 ,27 , 34, 35 , 46—7 , 182 ; Fitchvisits , 29—43 ; King of, 3 1—4.

Penang, 6 .

Peons, 129 , 200 , 209,Pepper, 14, 16 , 25—7 , 35 , 41 , 44—5

shrub, 45—6 .

Pepper, long, 26 , 35 , 46 .

Percival, Dr. , 195.

Persia , 1 , 10 18 , 27 , 259 ; the

Turks and, 16 1 , 1 6 7 ; Mildenhall in , 5 1 , 54, 59 ; revenues of,246 ; trade between India and ,

16 7 ambassadors from (see alsoSherley) , 1 6 1 , 212 n . ; King of,1 10 , 16 1 16 7 , 236 , 242—3 ,26 0 , 26 2, 26 8 , 29 1—2. See also

Ispahan, etc.

Persian language, the , 57 249, 254,26 2—3 , 26 8 , 284, 288, 309 .

Persians in India , 307 .

Peshawar, 16 8 , 292 n.

Peyton ,Walter, 97 n.

Pharwala , 294 .

Phelips, Sir Edward , 241 n . , 247 ,249 , 25 1, 27 0 ; letter to , 252.

Phelips, Sir Robert 249 , 255 , 270.



Ray Dfirga. 98 .

Red rails, the , 9 1 , 1 15 , 120 , 184.

Red Sea trade, 12, 14, 30, 35 , 41,19 1 , 293 its importance to

Surat, 188 , 197. See al so

Mokha .

‘Begalled 182.

Renegades, English, 203-4 .

Rev ett,William, 132.

Rhinoceroses , 246 , 304 ; horns of,1 7 6 .

Rhubarb, Chinese, 16 9 .

R ials of eight, value of, 7 7 n . ,

109 ; purity of, 302.

Rice , 1 1 , 13 , 14, 16 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 26 ,28, 35 , 37—8 , 44, 296 , 3 1 1 winefrom 35 .

Roe,Sir Thomas, 6 9 , 70, 23 1 , 29 1 n .

297 n . , 328—9 ; at Surat, 193,230 , 237 , 252 ; at Ajmer, 194,237 ; at Mandu, 238 , 27 7 , 285 ,288, 329 ; at Ahmadabad, 288 ,329 ; returns, 288—9 ; Terryand, 288-9 ; Withington and,194—5 Coryat and , 237—40 , 252,26 6—7 , 282, 286 .

Rogers, Rev . Peter, 227-9 , 23 1 n. ,

236 , 247 , 253 , 255—6 , 258, 26 7 .Rohri , 16 1 .

Rohtas (Bihar), 100 , 145 .

Rohtas (Pun jab), 16 8.Romerla , 165 , 1 7 1 .

Roses, 16 6 299.

Rowli , 37 .

Rubies, 18 , 33 4 5 , 39 , 44, 47 , 6 6 ,6 7 n . , 6 8, 102—3, 1 12, 1 15 .

S ee al so Balass .

Rudra Chand, Raja ,

Ralbullah, 319 .

Rupees, passim ; value of, 16 , 6 5 ,83 n . , 99 n. , 102 n . , 109—10 , 206 ,208 , 213, 228 , 230 , 246 n . , 250,26 6—7 , 284, 302 ; varieties of,101—2 ; purity of, 302.

Russia, 1, 27 , 59.Rustam,Mirza, 99 , 139, 16 2, 212.

Sadullah, Mirza , 99 .

Saettz'

a , 53.

Safar, 5 7.Safawi , ] i wéja Beg Mirz a, 99.Saffron, 27 , 16 9 .

Safi, Shaikh , 197 .

SahibKifan , 26 5 n.

Saif Khan Barha, 99.St. Augustine

’s Bay, 62, 135 .

Saiyid, 1 7 1, 3 16 .

Salam, 1 15, 326 .

Sal-ammoniac, 158 .

Salbank, Joseph, 100 n . , 10 1 n.

Saldania. See Table Bay.

salher , 136 .

Salim Shah. See Jahangir.Salim Shah (son of Sher Shah),142 n. , 152.

Salim Chishti , Shaikh, 102 n ., 150 .

Salt, 1 1 , 18 , 297 .

Samarkand, 1 79 , 237 , 260, 26 5—6 ,3 10 .

Sambhal, 293.

Sandalwood, 13 , 34, 46 .

Sandwip, 29 , 18 1 a .

San Thome, 34, 182.Sapphires, 15 , 39 , 44, 47 .

Sarai , 142—4 , 148—9 , 15 1 , 158

16 7—8 , 1 79 , 225 , 3 1 1 , 25

female attendants in, 225 .

Sarang, 205.Sarangpur, 143.

Saraswati, R . , 295

Sardar Khan, 194, 198—9.

Sariandgo, 209.

Saris , John, 6 8 , 96—7 .

Sarkhej , 1 74, 190 ; described, 207 .

sarod, 21 7 .

Sarpesh, 103 .

Sarrunne, 21 1 , 213 , 215 .

satgaon , 18 , 25—6 .

Sati , 14, 1 7 , 22 ; described, 219323 ; Jahangir and , 1 19 ; reasonfor, 221 .

Satin, 302.

Sawai rupees, 102.

Scanderoon , 53, 235.

Scarlets, 35.

Schesche, 19 .

Scio, 53, 235.

Scorpions, 303.Seguro, 92—3.Selwy, 40.

Semiames , 227 .Sequins, 9 n . , 83 n .

Seralia (seraglio), 226 .

Sergius, 272.

INDEX

Serpents , 33 , 303 , 324, 326 wor

ship of, 1 73 .

Serrion, 33 , 37 , 42 .

Servants, fidelity of, 3 13 ; wagesof, 3 13 .

Serv idore , 1 6 .

Seward , Rev . John , 270.

Shahabad , 158 .

Shahbandar, 7 1 n .

Shah Begam , the , 1 64 1 78 .

Shahdaura , 143 .

Skahi , 26 7 n .

Shah Jahan. See Khurram.

Shahnawaz Khan , 99 n.

Shahpur, 293 .

Shahrukh Oglu ,Mirza , 99.

Shahryar, Sultan , 100 , 330 ; anec

dotes of, 105, 1 1 7 .

Shakaru-n-nisa Begam, 94, 107 .

Sham'lyana , 1 1 7 , 156 , 1 6 3 , 184,187 .

Shamsuddin ,Mirza , 99 .

Sharif Khan, 99 n . , 1 6 3 .

Sharif, Mirza, 16 2.

Sharpeigh , Alexander, 96 , 1 32.

Shashes, 20 , 308 .

Shdstra , 321 .

Sheep, 25 , 296—7 .

Shemines, 33.

Sher Khan , 79 .

Sherley, Sir Robert, 212 ; his

Wife, 236 , 243, 26 7 Coryat and ,

236 , 243 .

Sher Shah, 141—2, 156 n . , 1 65 .

Skikar, 154 .

Ships, Indian , 30 1 .

Shiraz , 283.

Shwe Dagon , 36 .

Siam , 33 , 39 , 46 , 182. See also

Kiang-mai .Siba, 294.

Sigistam , 54.

Sikandar, Mirza , 280 .

Sikandarabad , 152 , 1 70 .

Sikandar Shah Lodi , 152 n . , 1 6 5 .

Sikandra , Akbar’

s tomb at, 120 ,186 , 227 , 237 , 3 16 .

Silk, raw, 1 1 , 13 , 25, 27 , 1 7 7 , 302

goods , 1 1 , 13 , 18, 28 , 302, 306 ;Chinese, 41 , 1 6 9

Silver, 15 , 33—5 , 38, 40 -l , 323 , 328ornaments of, 1 1 , 12, 22—3, 28 ,

349

306 ; India rich in , 1 12, 302—3 ;its relation to gold, 10 1 n .

Silver tissue, 206 , 213 , 306 .

Sind , 12 described , 21 7 con

quest of. 21 1 outlaws in , 1 14.

See al so Tatta , etc.

Sindkhera , 137 .

S ingbd ra , 150 .

Sipri , 144.Sirhind , 158 , 180—1 .

Sirmfir, 180 n .

Sironj , 1 7 , 143 .

Sistan , 54.

Sitpur, 1 6 1 .

Slaves, 1 54.

Smyrna, 53 .

Smythe , Sir Thomas, 70 , 232Snake-charmers , 3 13.

Snakes . See Serpents.Soap , 9.

Soj itra, 206 , 21 7 n.

Sokotra , 6 0 , 6 2, 132.

Solomon , King, 3 18 .

Solomon , the , 6 9 , 97

Some , 9 .

Sonargaon , 5 , 28 , 100 , 100 n .

Sorath, 292.

Soughtare , 100.

Spahi , 250 .

Spain, King of. See Philip II .

Speake, George , 258 n.

Spices, 1 1 , 13 , 1 6 , 41 , 46 , 303 .

Spikenard, 1 79 .

Spinels, 33, 35 , 39 , 44, 47 .

Spodium, 47 .

Srinagar (Kashmir ), 1 6 9 , 292.

Srinagar (Garhwal) , 181 .

Sri pur, 5 , 28 .

Stang, 30 .

Staper, Richard , 1 , 2, 9 , 48, 50-2.

Starkey,Anthony, 190 , 19 1 n. , 200.

Stawed 212.

Steel , R ichard , 5 1-2, 285 .

Stev ens, Thomas, 3 , 15 , 234.

Stone quarries, 157 , 187 .

Story, James, 2—4 , 8 .

Strapado , 15 .

Styles, Thomas , 124—5 .

Suckel Counse, 25 .

Sugar, palm , 13 cane, 24, 26 , 35 ;price of, 29 7 .

Sukesera, 143 .


Sultan, 98, 327 n ., 330.

Sultana , 327 n .

Sultanieh, 54.

Sul tanpur, 123, 158 .

Sultanunnissa , 10 1 n .

Sumatra , 16 , 26 , 28, 30 , 41—2, 303 .

See al so Achin and Tiku .

Sumbrez'

ro, 29 , 37 .

Sunera, 142.

Sam, 1 75.

Sarah, 274.

Surat, references to, passim ; de

scribed, 6 2, 133 its trade , 293customs dues at, 134 ; castle at,133—4 ; bar of, 133 , 148 , 197 ;Diwan of, 125 Governor of (seealso Nuruddin), 197 , 219 , 229Shahbandar of, 7 1—3 , 7 7 n . , 131

English at, passim ; Englishtombs at, 239—40 ; farmc

'

m fortheir trade , 188—9 , 197 ; Portuguese at, 7 5

-7 , 126 , 129 , 148 , 197 ;Jesuits at (see also Pinheiro),132 threatened by BahadurShah, 133.

Surgeons , 132.

Surkhab, 16 8.

Sursing, Raja, 98.

Susa, 237 .

Suttee. See Sati .

Sutulana, 17 1 .

Swal ly, passim.

Swally Hole, discovery of, 96 .

Swords , European, 3 14.

Syria , 241 , 246 .

Syriam, 30 , 35 .

Tabashir, 47 n .

Table’

Bay, 62, 6 9 , 97 , 196 , 232 n.

Tables (backgammon), 3 12.

Taborer, Andreas, 15 .

Tabriz , 16 7 , 236 , 242.

Tafietas, 206 302.

Tahmii ras, Sultan , 154, 16 2 made

a Christian , 86 , 1 16 , 147—8.

Takht, Sultan , 100 n. , 330 .

Talikhan , 1 6 8 .

Talli poies , 36—9 .

Tamarind trees, 144 , 299 .

Tamasha , 1 7 6 , 184.

Tamerlane . See Timur.Tanda, 5 , 24—5.

Tanks,passim; termexplained, 300.

Tapestry, 1 1 .

Tapi Das , 13 1 , 146 .

Tapti , R . , 6 2, 240 , 293 .

Tarapur, 140.

Tarbiyat Khan, 99.

Tareghe, 35 .

Targets (shields), 187 , 3 14.Tani, 1 75 .

Tartars, 98 , 1 6 8 , 26 6 , 307 .

Tartary, 27 , 46 , 1 6 6 , 16 9 , 243 , 260 ,26 5 , 282, 291, 294 ; Kings of, 242.

Tash Beg Khan , 99.

Tasli’

m, 184—5 .

Tatta, 100 , 1 6 1 , 19 1 n., 209 ,212—13, 292 ; trade of, 212 n . ,

218 ; Governor of, 212 ; Sherleyat, 212.

Tattooing, 40.

Tavoy, 41 .

Temmery, 1 79 .

emple, Richard , 200.

Tenasserim, 41 , 182 .

Terry, Rev . Edward, notice of,288 -90 ; hi s account of India,290—332 ; and Coryat, 236 n. ,

238—40 , 248 n . , 282-8, 310 n . ,

325 ; and Roe, 288-9 .

Teukes, 103.

Thalner, 137 .

Thana, 13 .

Thanesar, 158 .

Thomas , the, 6 9 97 .

Tibet, 27 .

Tibet, Little, 1 70.

Tiger, the, 2, 9 .

Tigers, 1 7 , 19 , 24—5 , 28—9 , 1 74, 303 .

Tigris, R . , 10 242 .

Tiku, 6 9 , 97 .

Tilok Chand, 1 79.

Time, measurement of, 3 17 .Timor, 41 , 46 .

Timur, 1 6 5 , 237 , 260, 26 5 , 307 , 310 ,325.

Tin , 22, 35 , 41 .

Tippera, 26 , 29.

Tobacco , 299.

Toddy, 13 , 1 75 , 297 .

Toddy-trees, 13, 1 75 ,Tola, 101—2.

Tongues, sacrifice of, 180 , 294, 325 .

Topaz , 102.


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Early Travels in India - Forgotten Books