Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 4
Travels in the Mogul Empire (Constable) 4
- Language
- English
Contents
4.1.1
LETTER TO MONSEIGNEUR COLBERT Concerning the Extent of Hindoustan, the Currency towards, and final absorption of gold and silver in that country; its Resources, Armies, the administration of Justice, and the principal Cause of the Decline of the States of Asia. Lord, In Asia, the great are never approached empty-handed. When I had the honour to kiss the garment of the great Mogol Aureng-Zebe (Ornament of the Throne), I presented him with eight roupies, as a mark of respect; and I offered a knife-case, a fork and a pen-knife mounted in amber to the illustrious Fazel-Kan (The Accomplished Knight), a Minister charged with the weightiest concerns of the empire, on whose decision depended the amount of my salary as physician. Though I presume not, My Lord, to introduce new customs into France, yet I cannot be expected, so soon after my return from Hindoustan, to lose all remembrance of the practice just mentioned, and hope I shall be pardoned for hesitating to appear in the presence of a King who inspires me with very different feelings than did Aureng-Zebe; or before you, My Lord, who deserve my respect much more than Fazel-kan, without some small offering, which may derive value from its novelty, if not from the hand that bestows it. The late revolution in Hindoustan, so full of extraordinary events, may be deemed worthy the attention of our great Monarch;
4.1.2
and this letter, considering the importance of its matter, may not be unsuitable to the rank you bear in his Majesty's council. It seems, indeed, addressed with propriety to one whose measures have so admirably restored order in many departments which, before my departure from France, I feared were irremediably confused; to one who has evinced so much anxiety to make known to the ends of the earth the character of our sovereign, and of what the French people are capable in the execution of whatever you project for their benefit and glory. It was in Hindoustan, My Lord, whither your fame extends, and from which country I am lately returned after an absence of twelve years, that I first became acquainted with the happiness of France, and with the share which you have had in promoting it, by your unwearied attention and brilliant abilities. This is a theme on which I could fondly dwell; but why should I expatiate on facts already and universally admitted, when my present purpose is to treat of those which are new and unknown? It will be more agreeable to you if I proceed, according to my promise, to furnish such materials as may enable your lordship to form some idea of the actual state of the Indies.
4.1.3
The maps of Asia point out the mighty extent of the Great Mogol's empire, known commonly by the name of the Indies, or Hindoustan. I have not measured it with mathematical exactness; but judging from the ordinary rate of travel, and considering that it is a journey of three months from the frontier of the kingdom of Golkonda to Kasni, or rather beyond it, near to Kandahar, which is the first town in Persia, the distance between those two extreme points cannot be less than five hundred French leagues, or five times as far as from Paris to Lyons. It is important to observe, that of this vast tract of country, a large portion is extremely fertile; the large kingdom of Bengale, for instance, surpassing Egypt itself, not only in the production of rice, corn, and other necessaries of life, but of innumerable articles of commerce which are not cultivated in Egypt; such as silks, cotton, and indigo. There are also many parts of the Indies, where the population is sufficiently abundant, and the land pretty well tilled; and where the artisan, although naturally indolent, is yet compelled by necessity or otherwise to employ himself in manufacturing carpets, brocades, embroideries, gold and silver cloths, and the various sorts of silk and cotton goods, which are used in the country or exported abroad. It should not escape notice that gold and silver, after circulating in every other quarter of the globe, come at length to be swallowed up, lost in some measure, in Hindoustan.
4.1.4
Of the quantity drawn from America, and dispersed among the different European states, a part finds its way, through various channels, to Turkey, for the payment of commodities imported from that country; and a part passes into Persia, by way of Smyrna, for the silks laden at that port. Turkey cannot dispense with the coffee, which she receives from Yemen, or Arabia Felix; and the productions of the Indies are equally necessary to Turkey, Yemen, and Persia. Thus it happens that these countries are under the necessity of sending a portion of their gold and silver to Moka, on the Red Sea, near Babel-mandel; to Bassora, at the top of the Persian Gulf; and to Bander Abassi or Gomeron, near Ormus ; which gold and silver is exported to Hindoustan by the vessels that arrive every year, in the matisem, or the season of the winds, at those three celebrated ports, laden with goods from that country.
4.1.5
Let it also be borne in mind that all the Indian vessels, whether they belong to the Indians themselves, or to the Dutch, or English, or Portuguese, which every year carry cargoes of merchandise from Hindoustan to Pegu, Tanasseri, Siam, Ceylon, Acliem, Macassar, the Maldives, to Mozambic, and other places, bring back to Hindoustan from those countries a large quantity of the precious metals, which share the fate of those brought from Moka, Bassora, and Bander-Abassi, And in regard to the gold and silver which the Dutch draw from Japan, where there are mines, a part is, sooner or later, introduced into Hindoustan ; and whatever is brought directly by sea, either from Portugal or from France, seldom leaves the country, returns being made in merchandise.
4.1.6
I am aware it may be said, that Hindoustan is in want of copper, cloves, nutmegs, cinnamon, elephants, and other things, with which she is supplied by the Dutch from Japan, the Moluccas, Ceylon, and Europe ; — that she obtains lead from abroad, in part from England ; broadcloths and other articles from France ; — that she is in need of a considerable number of foreign horses, receiving annually more than five-and-twenty thousand from Usbec, a great many from Persia by way of Kandaliar, and several from Ethiopia, Arabia, and Persia, by sea, through the ports of Moka, Bassora, and Bander-Abassi. It may also be observed that Hindoustan consumes an immense quantity of fresh fruit from Samarkand, Bali, Bocara, and Persia ; such as melons, apples, pears and grapes, eaten at Dehli and purchased at a very high price nearly the whole winter; — and likewise dried fruit, such as almonds, pistachio and various other small nuts, plums, apricots, and raisins, which may be procured the whole year round; — that she imports a small sea-shell from the Maldives, used in Bengale, and other places, as a species of small money; ambergris from the Maldives and Mozambic; rhinoceros' horns, elephants' teeth, and slaves from Ethiopia; musk and porcelain from China, and pearls from Beharen and Tutticoury, near Ceylon; and I know not what quantity of other similar wares, which she might well do without.
4.1.7
The importation of all these articles into Hindoustan does not, however, occasion the export of gold and silver; because the merchants who bring them find it advantageous to take back, in exchange, the productions of the country. Supplying itself with articles of foreign growth or manufacture, does not, therefore, prevent Hindoustan from absorbing a large portion of the gold and silver of the world, admitted through a variety of channels, while there is scarcely an opening for its return. It should also be borne in mind, that the Great Mogol constitutes himself heir of all the Omrahs, or lords, and likewise of the Mansebdars, or inferior lords, who are in his pay; and, what is of the utmost importance, that he is proprietor of every acre of land in the kingdom, excepting, perhaps, some houses and gardens which he sometimes permits his subjects to buy, sell, and otherwise dispose of, among themselves. I think I have shown that the precious metals must abound in Hindoustan, although the country be destitute of mines; and that the Great Mogol, lord and master of the greater part, must necessarily be in the receipt of an immense revenue, and possess incalculable wealth. But there are many circumstances to be considered, as forming a counterpoise to these riches.
4.1.8
First. — Of the vast tracts of country constituting the empire of Hindoustan, many are little more than sand, or barren mountains, badly cultivated, and thinly peopled; and even a considerable portion of the good land remains untilled from want of labourers; many of whom perish in consequence of the bad treatment they experience from the Governors. These poor people, when incapable of discharging the demands of their rapacious lords, are not only often deprived of the means of subsistence, but are bereft of their children, who are carried away as slaves. Thus it happens that many of the peasantry, driven to despair by so execrable a tyranny, abandon the country, and seek a more tolerable mode of existence, either in the towns, or camps; as bearers of burdens, carriers of water, or servants to horsemen. Sometimes they fly to the territories of a Raja, because there they find less oppression, and are allowed a greater degree of comfort.
4.2.1
Second. — The empire of the Great Mogol comprehends several nations, over which he is not absolute master. Most of them still retain their own peculiar chiefs or sovereigns, who obey the Mogol or pay him tribute only by compulsion. In many instances this tribute is of trifling amount; in others none is paid; and I shall adduce instances of nations which, instead of paying, receive tribute. The petty sovereignties bordering the Persian frontiers, for example, seldom pay tribute either to the Mogol or to the King of Persia. Nor can the former be said to receive anything considerable from the Balouches, Augans, and other mountaineers, who indeed seem to feel nearly independent of him, as was proved by their conduct when the Mogol marched from Ateck on the Indus to Kaboul; for the purpose of besieging Kandahar. By stopping the supply of water from the mountains and preventing its descent into the fields contiguous to the public road, they completely arrested the army on its march, until the mountaineers received from the Mogol the presents which they had solicited in the way of alms.
4.2.2
The Patans also are an intractable race. They are Mahometans, who formerly inhabited a country in the vicinity of the Ganges, toward Bengale. Before the invasion of India by the Mogols, the Patans had rendered themselves formidable in several places. Their power was felt principally at Dehli, many of the neighbouring Rajas being their tributaries. Even the menials and carriers of water belonging to that nation are high-spirited and warlike. 'If it be not so, may I never ascend the throne of Dehli' is the usual phraseology of a Patan, when wishing to enforce the truth of any assertion. They hold the Indians, both Gentiles and Mogols, in the utmost contempt; and, recollecting the consideration in which they were formerly held in India, they mortally hate the Mogols, by whom their fathers were dispossessed of great principalities, and driven to the mountains far from Dehli and Agra. In these mountains some Patans established themselves as petty sovereigns or Rajas; but without any great power.
4.2.3
The King of Visapour, so far from paying tribute to the Mogol, is engaged in perpetual war with him, and contrives to defend his dominions. He owes his preservation less to the strength of his arms than to many peculiar circumstances. His kingdom is at a great distance from Agra and Dehli, the Mogol's usual places of residence; the capital city, called also Visapour, is strong, and not easily accessible to an invading army, because of the bad water and scarcity of forage in the surrounding country; and several Rajas for the sake of mutual security join him, when attacked, with their forces. The celebrated Seva-Gi not long ago made a seasonable diversion in his favour, by plundering and burning the rich seaport of Sourate. There is again the wealthy and powerful King of Golkonda, who secretly supplies the King of Visapour with money, and constantly keeps an army on the frontiers, with the double object of defending his own territories and aiding Visapour in the event of that country being closely pressed.
4.2.4
Similarly, among those not paying tribute may be numbered more than a hundred Rajas, or Gentile sovereigns of considerable strength, dispersed over the whole empire, some near and some at a distance from Agra and Dehli. Fifteen or sixteen of these Rajas are rich and formidable, particularly Rana, formerly considered Emperor of the Rajas, and supposed to be descended from King Porus, Jesseingue and Jessomseingue. If these three chose to enter into an offensive league, they would prove dangerous opponents to the Mogol, each of them having at all times the means of taking the field with twenty thousand cavalry; better than any that could be opposed to them. These horsemen are called Ragipous, or sons of Rajas. Their military occupation, as I have stated elsewhere, descends from father to son; and every man receives a grant of land on condition that he be always prepared to mount his horse and follow the Raja, whither he shall command. These men endure a great deal of fatigue, and require only discipline to become excellent soldiers. Third,—It is material to remark that the Great Mogol is a Mahometan, of the sect of the Sounnys, who, believing with the Turks that Osman was the true successor of Mahomet, are distinguished by the name of Osmanlys. The majority of his courtiers, however, being Persians, are of the party known by the appellation of Chias, believers in the real succession of Aly.
4.2.5
Moreover, the Great Mogol is a foreigner in Hindoustan, a descendant of Tamerlan, chief of those Mogols from Tartary who, about the year 1401, overran and conquered the Indies. Consequently he finds himself in an hostile country, or nearly so; a country containing hundreds of Gentiles to one Mogol, or even to one Mahometan. To maintain himself in such a country, in the midst of domestic and powerful enemies, and to be always prepared against any hostile movement on the side of Persia or Usbec, he is under the necessity of keeping up numerous armies, even in the time of peace. These armies are composed either of natives, such as Ragipous and Patans, or of genuine Mogols and people who, though less esteemed, are called Mogols because white men, foreigners, and Mahometans. The court itself does not now consist, as originally, of real Mogols; but is a medley of Usbecs, Persians, Arabs, and Turks, or descendants from all these people; known, as I said before, by the general appellation of Mogols.
4.2.6
It should be added, however, that children of the third and fourth generation, who have the brown complexion, and the languid manner of this country of their nativity, are held in much less respect than new comers, and are seldom invested with official situations: they consider themselves happy, if permitted to serve as private soldiers in the infantry or cavalry.—But it is time to give your lordship some idea of the armies of the Great Mogol, in order that you may judge, by the vast expenditure to which they subject him, what are really his effective means and resources. I shall first speak of the native army, which he must perforce entertain.
4.2.7
Under this head are comprehended the ragipous of Jesseingue and of Jessomseingue; to whom, and to several other Rajas, the Mogol grants large sums for the service of a certain number of their ragipous, to be kept always ready and at his disposal. Rajas bear an equal rank with the foreign and Mahometan Omrahs, whether employed in the army which the King retains at all times near his person, or in those stationed in the provinces. They are also generally subjected to the same regulations as the Omrahs, even to mounting guard; with this difference, however, that the Rajas never mount within a fortress, but invariably without the walls, under their own tents, not enduring the idea of being confined during four-and-twenty hours, and always refusing to enter any fortress unless well attended, and by men determined to sacrifice their lives for their leaders. This self-devotion has been sufficiently proved when attempts have been made to deal treacherously with a Raja. There are many reasons why the Mogol is obliged to retain Rajas in his service. First. Ragipous are not only excellent soldiers, but, as I have said, some Rajas can in any one day bring more than twenty thousand to the field. Second. They are necessary to keep in check such Rajas as are not in the Mogol's pay; to reduce to submission those who take up arms rather than pay tribute, or refuse to join the army when summoned by the Mogol.
4.2.8
Third. It is the King's policy to foment jealousy and discord amongst the Rajas, and by caressing and favouring some more than others, he often succeeds, when desirous of doing so, in kindling wars among them. Fourth. They are always at hand to be employed against the Patans, or against any rebellious Omrah or governor. Fifth. Whenever the King of Golkonda withholds his tribute, or evinces an inclination to defend the King of Visapour or any neighbouring Raja whom the Mogol wishes to despoil or render tributary, Rajas are sent against him in preference to Omrahs, who being for the most part Persians, are not of the same religion as the Mogol, to wit Sounnys, but Chias, as are the Kings of Persia and Golkonda. Sixth. The Mogol never finds the Rajas more useful than when he is engaged in hostility with the Persians. His Omrahs, as I have just remarked, are generally of that nation, and shudder at the idea of fighting against their natural King ; especially because they acknowledge him as their Imam, their Calife or sovereign pontiff, and the descendant of Aly, to bear arms against whom they therefore consider a great crime. The Mogol is also compelled to engage Patans in his service by reasons very similar to those I have assigned for employing ragipous.
4.3.1
In fine, he is reduced to the necessity of supporting those troops of foreigners, or Mogols, which we have noticed ; and as they form the principal force of the kingdom, and are maintained at an incredible expense, a detailed description of this force may not be unacceptable. These troops, both cavalry and infantry, may be considered under two heads : one part as always near the Mogol's person ; the other, as dispersed in the several provinces. In regard to the cavalry retained near the King, I shall speak first of the Omrahs, then of the Mansebdars, next of the Rouzindars ; and, last of all, of the common troopers. I shall then proceed to the infantry, and describe the musketeers and all the foot-men who serve in the artillery, saying a word in passing on the horse artillery. It must not be imagined that the Omrahs or Lords of the Mogol's court are members of ancient families, as our nobility in France. The King being proprietor of all the lands in the empire, there can exist neither Dukedoms nor Marquisates ; nor can any family be found possessed of wealth arising from a domain, and living upon its own patrimony.
4.3.2
The courtiers are often not even descendants of Omrahs, because, the King being heir of all their possessions, no family can long maintain its distinction, but, after the Omrah's death, is soon extinguished, and the sons, or at least the grandsons, reduced generally, we might almost say, to beggary, and compelled to enlist as mere troopers in the cavalry of some Omrah. The King, however, usually bestows a small pension on the widow, and often on the family; and if the Omrah's life be sufficiently prolonged, he may obtain the advancement of his children by royal favour, particularly if their persons be well formed, and their complexions sufficiently fair to enable them to pass for genuine Mogols. But this advancement through special favour proceeds slowly, for it is an almost invariable custom to pass gradually from small salaries, and inconsiderable offices, to situations of greater trust and emolument. The Omrahs, therefore, mostly consist of adventurers from different nations who entice one another to the court; and are generally persons of low descent, some having been originally slaves, and the majority being destitute of education. The Mogol raises them to dignities, or degrades them to obscurity, according to his own pleasure and caprice. Some of the Omrahs have the title of Hazary, or lord of a thousand horse; some, of Dou Hazary, lord of two thousand horse; some, of Penge, lord of five thousand horse; some, of Hecht, lord of seven thousand horse;
4.3.3
some, of Deh Hazary, lord of ten thousand horse; and sometimes an Omrah has the title of Douazdeh Hazary, lord of twelve thousand horse; as was the case with the King's eldest son. Their pay is proportionate, not to the number of men, but to the number of horses, and two horses are generally allowed to one trooper, in order that the service may be better performed; for in those hot countries it is usual to say that a soldier with a single horse has one foot on the ground. But let it not be supposed that an Omrah is expected to keep, or indeed that the King would pay for, such a body of horse as is implied by the titles of Douazdeh or Hecht Hazary; high-sounding names intended to impose on the credulous, and deceive Foreigners. The King himself regulates as well the effective number that each Omrah is to maintain, as the nominal number which he need not keep, but which is also paid for, and usually forms the principal part of his salary.
4.3.4
This salary is increased by the money that the Omrah retains out of every man's pay, and by what accrues from his false returns of the horses he is supposed to provide : all which renders the Omrah's income very considerable, particularly when he is so fortunate as to have some good Jah-ghirs, or suitable lands, assigned to him for the payment of his salary : for I perceived that the Omrah under whom I served, a Penge-Hazary, or lord of five thousand, whose quota was fixed at five hundred horses, had yet a balance over after the payment of all expenses, of nearly five thousand crowns a month, although, like all those who have no Jah-ghirs, he was a Nagdy, that is to say, one who drew his pay in cash from the treasury. Notwithstanding these large incomes, I was acquainted with very few wealthy Omrahs; on the contrary, most of them are in embarrassed circumstances, and deeply in debt ; not that they are ruined, like the nobility of other countries, by the extravagance of their table, but by the costly presents made to the King at certain annual festivals, and by their large establishments of wives, servants, camels, and horses.
4.3.5
The Omrahs in the provinces, in the armies, and at court, are very numerous ; but it was not in my power to ascertain their number, which is not fixed. I never saw less than five-and-twenty to thirty at court, all of whom were in the receipt of the large incomes already mentioned, dependent for the amount upon their number of horses, from one to twelve thousand.
4.3.6
It is these Omrahs who attain to the highest honours and situations of the State, — at court, in the provinces, and in the armies ; and who are, as they call themselves, the Pillars of the Empire. They maintain the splendour of the court, and are never seen out-of-doors but in the most superb apparel; mounted sometimes on an elephant, sometimes on horseback, and not unfrequently in a Paleky attended by many of their cavalry, and by a large body of servants on foot, who take their station in front, and at either side, of their lord, not only to clear the way, but to flap the flies and brush off the dust with tails of peacocks; to carry the picquedent, or spittoon, water to allay the Omrah's thirst, and sometimes account-books, and other papers. Every Omrah at court is obliged, under a certain penalty, to repair twice a day to the assembly, for the purpose of paying his respects to the King, at ten or eleven o'clock in the morning, when he is there seated to dispense justice, and at six in the evening. An Omrah must also, in rotation, keep guard in the fortress once every week, during four-and-twenty hours. He sends thither his bed, carpet, and other furniture; the King supplying him with nothing but his meals. These are received with peculiar ceremony. Thrice the Omrah performs the taslim, or reverence, the face turned toward the royal apartment; first dropping the hand down to the ground, and then lifting it up to the head.
4.3.7
Whenever the King takes an excursion in his Paleky, on an elephant, or in a Tact-Ravan (or travelling throne, carried upon the shoulders of eight men, who are cleverly relieved from time to time when on the march by eight others), all the Omrahs who are not prevented by illness, disabled by age, or exempted by a peculiar office, are bound to accompany him on horseback, exposed to the inclemency of the weather and to suffocating clouds of dust. On every occasion the King is completely sheltered, whether taking the diversion of hunting, marching at the head of his troops, or making his progresses from one city to another. When, however, he confines his hunting to the neighbourhood of the city, visits his country house or repairs to the mosque, he sometimes dispenses with so large a retinue, and prefers being attended by such Omrahs only as are that day on guard.
4.3.8
Mansebdars are horsemen with manseb pay, which is a peculiar pay, both honourable and considerable ; not equal to that of the Omrahs, but much greater than the common pay. Hence they are looked on as petty Omrahs, and as being of the rank from which the Omrahs are taken. They acknowledge no other chief but the King, and have much the same duties imposed upon them as the Omrahs, to whom they would be equal if they had horsemen under them, as formerly was sometimes the case ; but now they have only two, four, or six service horses, that is, such as bear the King's mark ; and their pay is, in some instances, as low as one hundred and fifty roupies per month, and never exceeds seven hundred. Their number is not fixed, but they are much more numerous than the Omrahs : besides those in the provinces and armies, there are never less than two or three hundred at court.
4.3.9
Rouzindars are also cavaliers, who receive their pay daily, as the word imports ; but their pay is greater, in some instances, than that of many of the mansebdars. It is, however, of a different kind, and not thought so honourable, but the Rouzindars are not subject, like the Mansebdars, to the Agenas ; that is, are not bound to take, at a valuation, carpets, and other pieces of furniture, that have been used in the King's palace, and on which an unreasonable value is sometimes set. Their number is very great. They fill the inferior offices; many being clerks and under-clerks; while some are employed to affix the King's signet to Baralies, or orders for the payment of money; and they scruple not to receive bribes for the quick issuing of these documents.
4.4.1
The common horsemen serve under the Omrahs: they are of two classes; the first consists of those who keep a pair of horses which the Omrah is bound to maintain for the King's service, and which bear the Omrah's mark on the thigh, and the second of those who keep only one horse. The former are the more esteemed, and receive the greater pay. The pay of the troopers depends, in a great measure, on the generosity of the Omrah, who may favour whom he pleases; although it is understood by the Mogol that he that keeps only one horse shall not receive less than five-and-twenty roupies a month; and on that footing he calculates his accounts with the Omrahs.
4.4.2
The foot-soldiers receive the smallest pay; and, to be sure, the musketeers cut a sorry figure at the best of times, which may be said to be when squatting on the ground, and resting their muskets on a kind of wooden fork which hangs to them. Even then, they are terribly afraid of burning their eyes or their long beards, and above all lest some Dgen, or evil spirit, should cause the bursting of their musket. Some have twenty roupies a month, some fifteen, some ten; but their artillerymen who receive great pay, particularly all the Franguis or Christians, — Portuguese, English, Dutch, Germans, and French; fugitives from Goa, and from the Dutch and English companies. Formerly, when the Mogols were little skilled in the management of artillery, the pay of the Europeans was more liberal, and there are still some remaining who receive two hundred roupies a month: but now the King admits them with difficulty into the service, and limits their pay to thirty-two roupies.
4.4.3
The artillery is of two sorts, the heavy and the light, or, as they call the latter, the artillery of the stirrup. With respect to the heavy artillery, I recollect that when the King, after his illness, went with his army to Lahor and Kachemire to pass the summer in that dear little 'paradise of the Indies,' it consisted of seventy pieces of cannon, mostly of brass, without reckoning from two to three hundred light camels, each of which carried a small field-piece of the size of a double musket, attached on the back of the animal, much in the same manner as swivels are fixed in our barks. I shall relate elsewhere this expedition to Kachemire, and describe how the King, during that long journey, amused himself almost every day, with the sports of the field, sometimes letting his birds of prey loose against cranes; sometimes hunting the nilgaus, or grey oxen (a species of elk); another day hunting antelopes with tame leopards; and then indulging in the exclusively royal hunt of the lion.
4.4.4
The artillery of the stirrup, which also accompanied the Mogol in the journey to Lahor and Kachemire, appeared to me extremely well appointed. It consisted of fifty or sixty small field-pieces, all of brass; each piece mounted on a well-made and handsomely painted carriage, containing two ammunition chests, one behind and another in front, and ornamented with a variety of small red streamers. The carriage, with the driver, was drawn by two fine horses, and attended by a third horse, led by an assistant driver as a relay. The heavy artillery did not always follow the King, who was in the habit of diverging from the highroad, in search of hunting-ground, or for the purpose of keeping near the rivers and other waters. It could not move along difficult passes, or cross the bridges of boats thrown over the rivers. But the light artillery is always intended to be near the King's person and on that account takes the name of artillery of the stirrup. When he resumes his journey in the morning, and is disposed to shoot or hunt in game preserves, the avenues to which are guarded, it moves straight forward, and reaches with all possible speed the next place of encampment, where the royal tents and those of the principal Omrahs have been pitched since the preceding day. The guns are then ranged in front of the King's quarters, and by way of signal to the army, fire a volley the moment he arrives.
4.4.5
The army stationed in the provinces differs in nothing from that about the King's person, except in its superior numbers. In every district there are Omrahs, Mansebdars, Rousindars, common troopers, infantry and artillery. In the Decan alone the cavalry amounts to twenty or five-and-twenty, and sometimes to thirty thousand; a force not more than sufficient to overawe the powerful King of Golkonda, and to maintain the war against the King of Visapour and the Rajas who, for the sake of mutual protection, join their forces with his. The number of troops in the kingdom of Kahoul, which it is necessary to quarter in that country to guard against any hostile movement on the part of the Persians, Augans, Balouchees, and I know not how many other mountaineers, cannot be less than twelve or fifteen thousand. In the kingdom of Kachemire there are more than four thousand. In Bengale, so frequently the seat of war, the number is much greater; and as there is no province which can dispense with a military force, more or less numerous, according to its extent and particular situation, the total amount of troops in Hindoustan is almost incredible.
4.4.6
Leaving out of our present calculation the infantry, which is of small amount, and the number of horses, which is merely nominal, and is apt to deceive a superficial observer, I should think, with many persons well conversant with this matter, that the effective cavalry, commonly about the King's person, including that of the Rajas and Patans, amount to thirty-five or forty thousand; which, added to those in the provinces, forms a total of more than two hundred thousand horse. I have said that the infantry was inconsiderable. I do not think that in the army immediately about the King, the number can exceed fifteen thousand, including musketeers, foot artillery, and generally, every person connected with that artillery. From this, an estimate may be formed of the number of infantry in the provinces. I cannot account for the prodigious amount of infantry with which some people swell the armies of the Great Mogol, otherwise than by supposing that with the fighting men, they confound servants, sutlers, tradesmen, and all those individuals belonging to bazars, or markets, who accompany the troops. Including these followers, I can well conceive that the army immediately about the King's person, particularly when it is known that he intends to absent himself for some time from his capital, may amount to two, or even three hundred thousand infantry.
4.4.7
This will not be deemed an extravagant computation, if we bear in mind the immense quantity of tents, kitchens, baggage, furniture, and even women, usually attendant on the army. For the conveyance of all these are again required many elephants, camels, oxen, horses, and porters. Your Lordship will bear in mind that, from the nature and government of this country, where the King is sole proprietor of all the land in the empire, a capital city, such as Dehly or Agra, derives its chief support from the presence of the army, and that the population is reduced to the necessity of following the Mogol whenever he undertakes a journey of long continuance. Those cities resemble any place rather than Paris; they might more fitly be compared to a camp, if the lodgings and accommodations were not a little superior to those found in the tents of armies.
4.4.8
It is also important to remark the absolute necessity which exists of paying the whole of this army every two months, from the omrah to the private soldier; for the King's pay is their only means of sustenance. In France, when the exigencies of the times prevent the government from immediately discharging an arrear of debt, an officer, or even a private soldier, may contrive to live for some time by means of his own private income; but in the Indies, any unusual delay in the payment of the troops is sure to be attended with fatal consequences; after selling whatever trifling articles they may possess, the soldiers disband and die of hunger. Toward the close of the late civil war, I discovered a growing disposition in the troopers to sell their horses, which they would, no doubt, soon have done if the war had been prolonged. And no wonder; for consider, My Lord, that it is difficult to find in the Mogol's army, a soldier who is not married, who has not wife, children, servants, and slaves, all depending upon him for support. I have known many persons lost in amazement while contemplating the number of persons, amounting to millions, who depend for support solely on the King's pay. Is it possible, they have asked, that any revenue can suffice for such incredible expenditure? seeming to forget the riches of the Great Mogol, and the peculiar manner in which Hindoustan is governed.
4.5.1
But I have not enumerated all the expenses incurred by the Great Mogol. He keeps in Dehly and Agra from two to three thousand fine horses, always at hand in case of emergency: eight or nine hundred elephants, and a large number of baggage horses, mules, and porters, intended to carry the numerous and capacious tents, with their fittings, his wives and women, furniture, kitchen apparatus, Ganges'-water, and all the other articles necessary for the camp, which the Mogol has always about him, as in his capital, things which are not considered necessary in our kingdoms in Europe. Add to this, if you will, the enormous expenses of the Seraglio, where the consumption of fine cloths of gold, and brocades, silks, embroideries, pearls, musk, amber and sweet essences, is greater than can be conceived.
4.5.2
Thus, although the Great Mogol be in the receipt of an immense revenue, his expenditure being much in the same proportion, he cannot possess the vast surplus of wealth that most people seem to imagine. I admit that his income exceeds probably the joint revenues of the Grand Seignior and of the King of Persia ; but if I were to call him a wealthy monarch, it would be in the sense that a treasurer is to be considered wealthy who pays with one hand the large sums which he receives with the other. I should call that King effectively rich who, without oppressing or impoverishing his people, possessed revenues sufficient to support the expenses of a numerous and magnificent court — to erect grand and useful edifices — to indulge a liberal and kind disposition — to maintain a military force for the defence of his dominions — and, besides all this, to reserve an accumulating fund that would provide against any unforeseen rupture with his neighbours, although it should prove of some years' duration. The Sovereign of the Indies is doubtless possessed of many of these advantages, but not to the degree generally supposed. What I have said on the subject of the great expenses to which he is unavoidably exposed, has perhaps inclined you to this opinion ; and the two facts I am about to relate, of which I had an opportunity to ascertain the correctness, will convince your lordship that the pecuniary resources of the Great Mogol himself may be exaggerated.
4.5.3
First. — Toward the conclusion of the late war, Aureng-Zebe was perplexed how to pay and supply his armies, notwithstanding that the war had continued but five years, that the pay of the troops was less than usual, that, with the exception of Bengale where Sultan Sujah still held out, a profound tranquillity reigned in every part of Hindoustan, and that he had so lately appropriated to himself a large portion of the treasures of his father Chah-Jehan.
4.5.4
Second. — Chah-Jehan, who was a great economist, and reigned more than forty years without being involved in any great wars, never amassed six kourours of roupies. But I do not include in this sum a great abundance of gold and silver articles, of various descriptions, curiously wrought, and covered with precious stones; or a prodigious quantity of pearls and gems of all kinds, of great size and value. I doubt whether any other Monarch possesses more of this species of wealth; a throne of the great Mogol, covered with pearls and diamonds, being alone valued, if my memory be correct, at three kourours of roupies. But all these precious stones, and valuable articles, are the spoils of ancient princes, Patans and Rajas, collected during a long course of years, and, increasing regularly under every reign, by presents which the Omrahs are compelled to make on certain annual festivals. The whole of this treasure is considered the property of the crown, which it is criminal to touch, and upon the security of which the King, in a time of pressing necessity, would find it extremely difficult to raise the smallest sum. Before I conclude, I wish to explain how it happens that, although this Empire of the Mogol is such an abyss for gold and silver, as I said before, these precious metals are not in greater plenty here than elsewhere; on the contrary, the inhabitants have less the appearance of a moneyed people than those of many other parts of the globe.
4.5.5
In the first place, a large quantity is melted, re-melted, and wasted, in fabricating women's bracelets, both for the hands and feet, chains, ear-rings, nose and finger rings, and a still larger quantity is consumed in manufacturing embroideries; alachas, or striped silken stuffs; touras, or fringes of gold lace, worn on turbans; gold and silver cloths; scarfs, turbans, and brocades. The quantity of these articles made in India is incredible. All the troops, from the Omrah to the man in the ranks, will wear gilt ornaments ; nor will a private soldier refuse them to his wife and children, though the whole family should die of hunger ; which indeed is a common occurrence. In the second place, the King, as proprietor of the land, makes over a certain quantity to military men, as an equivalent for their pay; and this grant is called jah-ghir, or, as in Turkey, timar ; the word jah-ghir signifying the spot from which to draw, or the place of salary. Similar grants are made to governors, in lieu of their salary, and also for the support of their troops, on condition that they pay a certain sum annually to the King out of any surplus revenue that the land may yield. The lands not so granted are retained by the King as the peculiar domains of his house, and are seldom, if ever, given in the way of jah-ghir; and upon these domains he keeps contractors, who are also bound to pay him an annual rent.
4.5.6
The persons thus put in possession of the land, whether as timariots, governors, or contractors, have an authority almost absolute over the peasantry, and nearly as much over the artisans and merchants of the towns and villages within their district; and nothing can be imagined more cruel and oppressive than the manner in which it is exercised. There is no one before whom the injured peasant, artisan, or tradesman can pour out his just complaints; no great lords, parliaments, or judges of local courts, exist, as in France, to restrain the wickedness of those merciless oppressors, and the Kadis, or judges, are not invested with sufficient power to redress the wrongs of these unhappy people. This sad abuse of the royal authority may not be felt in the same degree near capital cities such as Dehly and Agra, or in the vicinity of large towns and seaports, because in those places acts of gross injustice cannot easily be concealed from the court.
4.5.7
This debasing state of slavery obstructs the progress of trade and influences the manners and mode of life of every individual. There can be little encouragement to engage in commercial pursuits, when the success with which they may be attended, instead of adding to the enjoyments of life, provokes the cupidity of a neighbouring tyrant possessing both power and inclination to deprive any man of the fruits of his industry. When wealth is acquired, as must sometimes be the case, the possessor, so far from living with increased comfort and assuming an air of independence, studies the means by which he may appear indigent: his dress, lodging, and furniture, continue to be mean, and he is careful, above all things, never to indulge in the pleasures of the table. In the meantime, his gold and silver remain buried at a great depth in the ground; agreeable to the general practice among the peasantry, artisans and merchants, whether Mahometans or Gentiles, but especially among the latter, who possess almost exclusively the trade and wealth of the country, and who believe that the money concealed during life will prove beneficial to them after death. A few individuals alone who derive their income from the King or from the Omrahs, or who are protected by a powerful patron, are at no pains to counterfeit poverty, but partake of the comforts and luxuries of life.
4.5.8
I have no doubt that this habit of secretly burying the precious metals, and thus withdrawing them from circulation, is the principal cause of their apparent scarcity in Hindoustan. From what I have said, a question will naturally arise, whether it would not be more advantageous for the King as well as for the people, if the former ceased to be sole possessor of the land, and the right of private property were recognised in the Indies as it is with us? I have carefully compared the condition of European states, where that right is acknowledged, with the condition of those countries where it is not known, and am persuaded that the absence of it among the people is injurious to the best interests of the Sovereign himself.
4.5.9
We have seen how in the Indies the gold and silver disappear in consequence of the tyranny of Timariots, Governors, and Revenue contractors — a tyranny which even the monarch, if so disposed, has no means of controlling in provinces not contiguous to his capital — a tyranny often so excessive as to deprive the peasant and artisan of the necessaries of life, and leave them to die of misery and exhaustion — a tyranny owing to which those wretched people either have no children at all, or have them only to endure the agonies of starvation, and to die at a tender age — a tyranny, in fine, that drives the cultivator of the soil from his wretched home to some neighbouring state, in hopes of finding milder treatment, or to the army, where he becomes the servant of some trooper. As the ground is seldom tilled otherwise than by compulsion, and as no person is found willing and able to repair the ditches and canals for the conveyance of water, it happens that the whole country is badly cultivated, and a great part rendered unproductive from the want of irrigation. The houses, too, are left in a dilapidated condition, there being few people who will either build new ones, or repair those which are tumbling down. The peasant cannot avoid asking himself this question : ' Why should I toil for a tyrant who may come to-morrow and lay his rapacious hands upon all I possess and value, without leaving me, if such should be his humour, the means to drag on my miserable existence ?
4.5.10
' — The Timariots, Governors, and Revenue contractors, on their part reason in this manner : ' Why should the neglected state of this land create uneasiness in our minds? and why should we expend our own money and time to render it fruitful ? We may be deprived of it in a single moment, and our exertions would benefit neither ourselves nor our children. Let us draw from the soil all the money we can, though the peasant should starve or abscond, and we should leave it, when commanded to quit, a dreary wilderness.'
4.6.1
The facts I have mentioned are sufficient to account for the rapid decline of the Asiatic states. It is owing to this miserable system of government that most towns in Hindoustan are made up of earth, mud, and other wretched materials ; that there is no city or town which, if it be not already ruined and deserted, does not bear evident marks of approaching decay. Without confining our remarks to so distant a kingdom, we may judge of the effects of despotic power unrelentingly exercised, by the present condition of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Palestine, the once wonderful plains of Antioch, and so many other regions anciently well cultivated, fertile, and populous, but now desolate, and in many parts marshy, pestiferous, and unfit for human habitation. Egypt also exhibits a sad picture of an enslaved country. More than one-tenth part of that incomparable territory has been lost within the last eighty years, because no one will be at the expense of repairing the irrigation channels, and confining the Nile within its banks. The low lands are thus violently inundated, and covered with sand, which cannot be removed without much labour and expense. Can it excite wonder, that under these circumstances, the arts do not flourish here as they would do under a better government, or as they flourish in our happier France?
4.6.2
No artist can be expected to give his mind to his calling in the midst of a people who are either wretchedly poor, or who, if rich, assume an appearance of poverty, and who regard not the beauty and excellence, but the cheapness of an article: a people whose grandees pay for a work of art considerably under its value, and according to their own caprice, and who do not hesitate to punish an importunate artist, or tradesman, with the korrah, that long and terrible whip hanging at every Omrah's gate. Is it not enough also to damp the ardour of any artist, when he feels that he can never hope to attain to any distinction; that he shall not be permitted to purchase either office or land for the benefit of himself and family; that he must at no time make it appear he is the owner of the most trifling sum; and that he may never venture to indulge in good fare, or to dress in fine apparel, lest he should create a suspicion of his possessing money? The arts in the Indies would long ago have lost their beauty and delicacy, if the Monarch and principal Omrahs did not keep in their pay a number of artists who work in their houses, teach the children, and are stimulated to exertion by the hope of reward and the fear of the korrah. The protection afforded by powerful patrons to rich merchants and tradesmen who pay the workmen rather higher wages, tends also to preserve the arts.
4.6.3
I say rather higher wages, for it should not be inferred from the goodness of the manufactures, that the workman is held in esteem, or arrives at a state of independence. Nothing but sheer necessity or blows from a cudgel keeps him employed ; he never can become rich, and he feels it no trifling matter if he have the means of satisfying the cravings of hunger, and of covering his body with the coarsest raiment. If money be gained, it does not in any measure go into his pocket, but only serves to increase the wealth of the merchant who, in his turn, is not a little perplexed how to guard against some act of outrage and extortion on the part of his superiors. A profound and universal ignorance is the natural consequence of such a state of society as I have endeavoured to describe. Is it possible to establish in Hindoustan academies and colleges properly endowed ? Where shall we seek for founders ? or, should they be found, where are the scholars? Where the individuals whose property is sufficient to support their children at college ? or, if such individuals exist, who would venture to display so clear a proof of wealth ? Lastly, if any persons should be tempted to commit this great imprudence, yet where are the benefices, the employments, the offices of trust and dignity, that require ability and science and are calculated to excite the emulation and the hopes of the young student ?
First 46 of 67 passages. Read on