Akhbar-i Mahabbat 5: Establishment of the English Power in India.

5

Be it known to men of curiosity that from the date that the ships of the Emperor Jalalu-d din Muhammad Akbar were seized by the Christians, the sending of vessels to the ports of Arabia and Persia was entirely closed, not only in the Dakhin and Bengal, but in other provinces of Hindustan, because it was considered beneath the royal dignity to enter into treaties with the Firingis, and to send them without entering into any understanding was to throw lives and property into danger. The Emperor's nobles, however, such as Nawab 'Abdu-r Rahim Khan Khan-khanan, and others, having entered into an agreement with them, used to send their own ships, and affairs continued in this course for some time. When the Emperor Nuru-d din Muhammad Jahangir ascended the throne of Dehli, there existed great discord and animosity between the Christians of Portugal, France, etc. Thirsting after the blood of each other, they read together the same evil book of hatred and malice. Contrary to the manner in which they had been treated, the Emperor granted the English a spot in Surat for the erection of a factory. This was the first settlement which the English made on the coasts of India. Before this, they also occasionally brought their cargoes to the ports of Hindustan, and having sold them there, returned to their native country. Afterwards, they also began to establish their factories at different places in the Dakhin and Bengal. In the time of Aurangzeb 'Alamgir, they founded the city of Calcutta, an account of which has been given above, and requires no repetition.