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Jahangir's India (Moreland, Geyl)

Translation of Remonstrantie

Language
English
Date
1925 CE
Translator
W. H. Moreland
Extent
124 passages, 26,579 words
Text
complete digital text
Source
archive.org · Jahangir's India: the Remonstrantie of Francisco Pelsaert, translated from the Dutch by W. H. Moreland and P.… · Public domain (published before 1930)

Contents

Text

1

Report
On the present condition of the trade of this country, as ascertained by me, Francisco Pelsaert, Senior Factor, by careful enquiry and close observation in the seven years during which I have transacted the business of the United East India Company at the factory in Agra and elsewhere, under the control of Commander Pieter van den Broeke; set out briefly as follows.

[I. THE CITY OF AGRA.]

2.1

Firstly, of the City of Agra, which is situated in 28° 45' latitude. The city is exceedingly large, but decayed, open, and unwalled. The streets and houses are built without any regular plan. There are, indeed, many palaces belonging to great princes and lords, but they are hidden away in alleys and corners. This is due to the sudden growth of the city, which was a mere village, lying in the jurisdiction of Bayana, until King Akbar chose it for his residence in the year 1566, and built the magnificent fort on the Jumna, which flows past the city, and is a musket-shot broad. The luxuriance of the groves all round makes it resemble a royal park rather than a city, and everyone acquired and purchased the plot of land which suited or pleased him best. Consequently there are no remarkable market-places, or bazaars, as there are in Lahore, Burhanpur, Ahmadabad or other cities, but the whole place is closely built over and inhabited, Hindus mingled with Moslems, the rich with the poor; and if the present King [Jahangir] had fixed his residence here as his father did, the city would have become one of the wonders of the world, for the gates which Akbar built for its security, (Madari darwaza, Chaharsu darwaza, Nim darwaza, Puttu [?] darwaza, Nuri darwaza), now stand in the middle of the city, and the area of buildings outside them is fully three times greater in extent.

2.2

The breadth of the city is by no means so great as the length, because everyone has tried to be close to the river bank, and consequently the water-front is occupied by the costly palaces of all the famous lords, which make it appear very gay and magnificent, and extend for a distance of 6 kos or 3 Holland miles. I will record the chief of these palaces in order. Beginning from the north, there is the palace of Bahadur Khan, who was formerly king of the fortress of Asir (5 kos from Burhanpur). Next is the palace of Raja Bhoj [?], father of the present Rai Ratan [?], Governor of Burhanpur (rank 5000 horse). Then come Ibrahim Khan (3000 horse); Rustam Kandahari (5000 horse); Raja Kishan Das (3000 horse); Itiqad Khan, the youngest brother of Asaf Khan (5000 horse); Shahzada Khanam, sister of the present king, who was married to Muzaffar Khan (formerly King of Gujarat); Goulziaer Begam, this king's mother; Khwaja Muhammad Thakaar [?] (2000 horse); Khwaja Bansi, formerly steward of Sultan Khurram (1000 horse); Wazir Khan (5000 horse); Tzoaeghpoera, a large enclosure, inhabited by the widows of the late King Akbar; the palaces of Ehtibar Khan the eunuch, who was Governor of Agra city at his death; Baqar Khan (3000 horse); Mirza Aboussagiet [?] (1500 horse) the exceedingly handsome and costly palace of Asaf Khan (8000 horse); Itimad-ud Daula (5000 horse); Khwaja Abdul Hasan (5000 horse); Rochia Sultan Begam, the present King's sister, but unmarried.

2.3

Then begins the Shahburj, or royal bastion, of the Fort, the walls of which are built of red cut stone, 25 ells high, and 2 kos in perimeter; in appearance, as well as in cost, it surpasses many of the most famous structures in the world. It is situated on a moderate elevation with a pleasing prospect on all sides, but especially towards the river, where it is magnificently adorned with stone lattice work and gilded windows, and here the King was accustomed to sit when he made his elephants fight. A short distance within stands his Ghusalkhana, which is very richly decked with alabaster, and has four angles and raised seats, the domes over which are plated on the outside with gold, so that the look of it is not only royal on a close view, but Imperial from a distance. Beyond this is a palace of Nurjahan Begam, the present Queen. There is little or no room within the Fort, it being occupied by various princely edifices and residences, as well as mahals, or palaces for ladies. Among these is the palace of Maryam Makani, wife of Akbar and mother of Jahangir, as well as three other mahals, named respectively Itwar (Sunday), Mangal (Tuesday), and Sanichar (Saturday), in which the King used to sleep on the day denoted by the name, and a fifth, the Bengali Mahal, occupied by ladies of various nations. Internally then the Fort is built over like a city with streets and shops, and has very little resemblance to a fortress, but from the outside anyone would regard it as impregnable.

2.4

After passing the Fort, there is the Nakhas, a great market, where in the morning horses, camels, oxen, tents, cotton goods, and many other things are sold. Beyond it lie the houses of some great lords, such as Mirza Abdulla, son of Khan Azam (3000 horse); Aga Nur, provost of the King's army (3000 horse); Jahan Khan (2000 horse); Mirza Khurram son of Khan Azam (2000 horse); Mahabat Khan (8000 horse); Khan Alam (5000 horse); Raja Bet [?] Singh (3000 horse); the late Raja Man Singh (5000 horse); Raja Madho Singh (2000 horse). On the other side of the river is a city named Sikandra, well built and populated, but chiefly by banian merchants, for through it must pass all the merchandise brought from Porop, and Bengalen purop and the Bhutan mountains, namely, cotton goods from Bengal, raw silk from Patna, spikenard, borax, verdigris, ginger, fennel, and thousands of sorts of drugs, too numerous to detail in this place. Here the officers of Nur Jahan Begam, who built their sarai there, collect duties on all these goods before they can be shipped across the river; and also on innumerable kinds of grain, butter, and other provisions, which are produced in the Eastern provinces, and imported thence. Without these supplies this country could not be provided with food, and would almost die of hunger, so that this is a place of great traffic;

2.5

it is fully two kos long, but not so broad, and contains many very handsome gardens, with buildings as delightful as the groves, among them those of Sultan Parviz, Nurjahan Begam, and the late Itimad-ud Daula, father of Asaf Khan and of the Queen. He was buried here, and his tomb has already cost fully 350,000 rupees, and will cost 1,000,000 more before it is finished. There are also two gardens belonging to the King, one named Charbagh, the other Moti Mahal, and very many more, with handsome walls and great gateways, more like forts than gardens, so that the city is most pleasantly adorned. Here the great lords far surpass ours in magnificence, for their gardens serve for their enjoyment while they are alive, and after death for their tombs, which during their lifetime they build with great magnificence in the middle of the garden. The number of these is consequently so great that I shall abandon the attempt to describe them in detail, and turn to the trade of the country and the city.

[2. THE TRADE OF AGRA AND THE EAST COUNTRY.]

3.1

Commerce flourished here in the time of Akbar, and also in the beginning of the present reign, while he [Jahangir] still possessed a vigorous intellect, but since this King devoted his life to enjoyment, violence has taken the place of justice. Whereas each governor ought to protect the people under him, they have in fact by subtle means drained the people dry, because they know very well that poor suppliants cannot get a hearing at the King's Court; and consequently the country is impoverished, and the citizens have lost heart, for, as the old people say, the city has now nothing left of the glory of colour and splendour which formerly shone throughout the whole world. The survival of a certain amount of commerce is due to the situation of the city at the junction of all the roads from distant countries. All goods must pass this way, as from Gujarat, Tatta (or Sind); from Kabul, Kandahar, or Multan, to the Deccan; from the Deccan or Burhanpur to those places, or to Lahore; and from Bengal and the whole East country; there are no practicable alternative routes, and the roads carry indescribable quantities of merchandise, especially cotton goods. The East country [Pourop] extends to Jagannath, a distance reckoned as 600 kos, and contains many large cities, among them the following.

3.2

Allahabad (150 kos), produces no commodities, and has very little trade, but is rather a pleasure-resort. King Akbar built a very fine fort here, because it is the meeting-place of the three famous rivers, the Ganges, the Jumna, and [blank in MS.]. Jaunpur (25 kos further), produces and exports large quantities of cotton goods, such as turbans, girdles, white chelas, zelal, t'sey, and coarse carpets. Benares (5 kos further), also produces girdles, turbans, clothes for Hindu women, t'soekhamher, gangazil (a white cloth); also copper pots, dishes, basins, and other articles for use in Hindu houses. Oudh (3 kos further), furnishes rather coarse cloth in pieces of 16 gaz ['yards' of about 32 inches]. Lakhawar (15 kos further), produces ambertees, a superior grade of white cloth, 14 gaz long and of different widths, worth from four to ten rupees the piece.

3.3

Patna (300 kos from Agra), yields annually 1000 to 2000 maunds of silk, the best of which sells at 16 or 17 mohurs per maund (of 50 lb.); taking the mohur at seven rupees, the price is 110 to 120 rupees. Most, or all, of it is consumed in Gujarat, the rest here in Agra. Formerly the English had a factory at Patna for the purchase of raw silk, but, owing to heavy losses, the trade has been discontinued for six or seven years, and does not appear likely to be resumed; besides, they are now getting Persian silk at a more reasonable price. Patna produces also much muslin (cassa), but it is coarse, worth four or five rupees the piece; also shields, which sell well in Agra. Chahaspur and Sonargaon with the surrounding villages, and indeed as far as Jagannath, all live by the weaving industry, and the produce has the highest reputation and quality, especially the fine muslin (cassa and malmal), which is also much longer and wider than elsewhere. An ordinary cassa is only 21-22 gaz by but these are usually 24-25 gaz by 1 1/8, equivalent to 30 Holland ells long, by ells broad.

3.4

Jagannath (600 kos from here), is where the East country (Poorop) ends and Bengal begins. It produces fine muslin (cassa and malmal), also hamaium, and tsehen, a superior wide cloth suitable for bed-sheets, but little of it is brought [here] owing to the high quality and cost. Further on, Dacca, Tsettagham, Bipil bander orixa, are all under this King's rule; in these places the Portuguese used to have an extensive trade, for they have here cities inhabited by their own people, but they are now subject to the Moguls, because this King has built forts everywhere to keep them in subjection. Many of their trading vessels used to come annually from Malacca and Macao; they brought spices, [woollen] cloth, lead, tin, quicksilver, and vermilion; and for the return voyage purchased many kinds of white cotton cloth as well as Bengal muslin, or loaded their frigates with butter, rice, gingelly seed, and such goods, making large profits. The local muslins are not woven smoothly, because the yarn is rough and harsh, and consequently the cloth is not soft or pleasant to handle.

3.5

All these countries are very fertile, and yield immense quantities of grain, such as wheat or rice, sugar, and butter, large quantities of which are brought up the river Jumna, or carried by oxen overland, to provision this country [that is, Agra] and the King’s army. In the other direction shallow-draught vessels carry from here much Sambhar salt (as there is little or no local salt), also opium, assafoetida, 'painted’ cloth called chits [chintz], red salu from Burhanpur, ormesines from Lahore, horses, and large quantities of cotton, which is grown largely between Surat and Burhanpur, and supports an extensive trade to Agra. In Agra, and in Fathpur [Sikri], 12 kos from here, carpets are woven in moderate quantities, and can be obtained to order, fine or coarse as required, but the quality usually made sells at the rate of 2½ to 3 rupees the square gaz. There is no other noteworthy local produce, since everything is brought from a distance; but the city contains all sorts of artisans in great numbers, who can imitate neatly whatever they see, but design nothing by themselves. We will therefore describe at some length the cultivation, manufacture, and sale of the indigo [of] Koil, Mewat, and the most distant villages of Agra and Bayana, which is an important article of commerce throughout the whole world.

[3. INDIGO.]

4.1

Indigo is sown in June, when the first rain has fallen, at the rate of 14 or 15 lb. of seed to the bigha, or square of 60 Holland ells. If the rains are moderate, the crop grows an ell high in the course of four months, and is usually cut at the end of September or early in October, when it is fully ripe. The leaves of indigo are round, not unlike the rue of our country. The cold weather sometimes sets in so suddenly that, if the cutting is postponed too long, the indigo loses its colour in the course of manufacture, and comes out brown without gloss, for it cannot stand cold. It is a good sign of a heavy yield if in the nauti [first crop] grass comes up plentifully, though expensive weeding is then required to prevent injury to the indigo roots, or delay in growth. At harvest the plants are cut a handbreadth from the ground, and next year the ziarie [second, or ratoon, crop] grows from the stumps. The yield of one bigha is usually put into each put, and allowed to steep for 16 or 17 hours, the put being about 38 ft. in perimeter, and its depth the height of an ordinary man; the water is then run off into a round put, constructed at a somewhat lower level, 32 ft. in circumference and 6 ft. deep. Two or three men standing in the put work the indigo back and forward with their arms, and owing to the continuous motion the water absorbs the dark-blue colour.

4.2

It is then allowed to stand again for 16 hours, during which the matter, or substance, settles in a bowl-shaped receptacle at the bottom of the round put. The water is then run off through an outlet at the level of the bottom; the indigo which has sunk down is taken out, and laid on cotton cloths until it becomes as firm as soap, when it is made into balls. The bottom of the put [or, the ground under it] is spread with ashes, so that a crust may be formed. The contents of each put is then placed in an earthen vessel, which is closed tightly to exclude light and wind, so that it may not become too dry, for if the indigo is exposed to wind even for an hour, it will become drier than if it were left exposed to the sun for the same time. The contents of each put (known as dadera) is usually from 12 to 20 ser according to the yield of the plant, that is to say, when the peasants or other dealers sell to us; it dries further by quite 5 ser in the maund in the course of handling, and in the bales. This nauti indigo is brown in colour and coarse in quality, and can easily be recognised by the eye or by touch. It is more useful for dyeing woollens and other heavy goods, because it goes further than the ziarie.

4.3

The stalks, which are left a handbreadth high in October, grow again, and in the beginning of the following August, when the crop is fully half an ell high, it is cut in the manner already described for the nauti. Sometimes when the rains are, or have been, favourable, the ziarie plants are so luxuriant that three cuttings are made — once in the beginning of August, once in the beginning of September, and again when the nauti is cut, this last crop being called katel. When this happens, it is a sure sign that indigo will be cheap. The ziarie indigo is superior in quality to the nauti, giving a violet infusion. Its quality can be easily judged, even without examining the inside of it, for it is much lighter in the hand than the nauti. In order to judge indigo with certainty, it should be looked at before midday in the sunshine; if it is pure, it will glisten and show various colours, like a rainbow, so that owing to the variations no opinion of the colour can be formed. If it contains sand or dirt, the adulterations cannot be overlooked in sunlight. Such impurities are common; sometimes they are added intentionally to increase the weight, or they may be caused by the wind, if the balls, while still fresh and not hardened, are left to dry on sandy soil. Katel is of extremely bad quality, hard, dull, without gloss or colour, almost like charcoal. It is bought from the sellers at half price, and beaten into powder with sticks.

4.4

In order to prevent its detection, it is mixed with ziarie and nauti and made into bales, which must be carefully watched for, both in opening the sacks and in the pots. The man who buys in sacks or made-up bales must be on the look out for katel or inferior nauti, which, as I have said, is powdered and added. The man who buys or receives indigo still in pots must personally see that the top and the bottom are uniform, for sometimes ziarie is put on top and nauti under, and sometimes the top is fully dry and light, while the bottom is wet and heavy stuff like earth. This may serve as an earnest warning to anyone who has to receive indigo. Also, if circumstances permit, one should always open indigo in the sun in order to weigh it, for then the good or bad quality will become obvious as the balls are broken, but this operation must be carried on steadily. It is also advantageous, because the indigo dries very greatly while being handled and weighed in the sun. At the present time, however, many makers do not cut the katel, because, while the cost of manufacture is equal for all qualities, the yield of katel is barely half that of ziarie (that is, 15 to 20 ser for each put), the leaves containing little substance; the katel crop is therefore left on the ground to yield seed for the nauti of the following year.

4.5

The best comparison I can give to illustrate these three kinds of indigo is that the nauti is like a growing lad who has still to come to his prime and vigour; the ziarie is like a man in his vigorous prime; the katel is like an old, decrepit man, who in the course of his journey has had to cross many valleys of sadness and many mountains of misery, not only changed and wrinkled in the face, but falling gradually into helpless senility. I will add that the nauti far surpasses the katel in substance and quality, for while only a rupee a maund separates the ziarie from the nauti, they are worth fully double the katel. The standing indigo is liable to many more accidents or misfortunes than other crops or products. If scanty rains follow the sowing of the nauti, the seed withers in the ground, while excessive rain and lack of sunshine quickly cause the plants to rot or to be washed one over another. Sometimes after a successful nauti, excessive cold in December, January, or February, so injures the roots which should give the ziarie, that no crop can be expected; and, if this has not happened, but the rains are late, with no fall in June or the first half of July, then the roots dry up, and obtain no nourishment for the crop. Further, for the last three years in succession, locusts have appeared in such numbers during June, July and August, as sometimes to obscure the sun, and wherever they settled, they cleared the land so completely that not a blade was left.

4.6

They dominated the neighbourhood of Bayana to such an extent that they ate up entire fields of indigo as far as the eye could reach, leaving nothing but the bare stalks, and this has kept the price of indigo very high. Again, in September of 1621, the rainfall was so excessive and continuous that the whole country was flooded; the indigo crop, which was so promising that the peasants were afraid there would not be merchants enough to buy it, was so thoroughly washed away that what survived would not yield 400 bales ; and consequently many men who were rich and had been concerned in sowing indigo all their lives, were reduced to such poverty, that even now nothing like so much indigo is sown as formerly. The yield of the indigo in the adjacent region known as Bayana used to be 4000 bales, but at present it is, at the outside, very little more than half that quantity. The true Bayana indigo, which is made near that town, does not amount to more than about 300 bales, but it is much superior to the produce of other neighbouring villages. This superiority is due to the brackish water in the wells near the town, for the use of sweet water makes the indigo hard and coarse. There may be two wells nearly close together, one brackish and the other sweet; and in that case plant worked with the brackish water will give indigo worth at least one rupee per maund more than plant cut from the same field, and worked with the sweet water.

4.7

The villages where indigo is made are the following, grouped under the five principal places: 1. Bayana. Ebrahemedebat (one kos), Serco (4 k.), Otschien [Ujjain] (6 k.), Patehiouna [? Pachauna] (5 k.), T’sonoua [Sanowa] (4 k.), Pinijora (6 k.), Maunana (6 k.), Birampoer (4 k.), Melecqpoer [Malikpur] (4 k.), Berettha (5 k.), Azenaulie (4 k.), Batziora [Bachora] (4 k.), Pedaurle (4 k.), Gordaha (5 k.), Helleck (7 k.), Nade Beij (10 k.), Pehekertsie (7 k.), Koreka (5 k.). Khondier (5 k.), Rodauwlkera (4 k.), Nimbera (7 k.), Berouwa {5 k.), Ratsiona (7 k.), Indiara (4 k.), Tseneorpana (5 k.), Lathehora (4 k.). 2. Ghanowa, 10 kos west of Bayana. Mahal (2 k.), Roubas (2 k.), Tsertsonda [? Sirsaunda] (1½ k.), Daber (½ k.), Mahalpoer (1 k.), Gorassa (1 k.), Danagham (2 k.), Bockolie [Bakhauli] (1 k.), Barrawa (1½ k.), Ordela (½ k.), Ziasewolie [? Jajawali] (1½ k.), Phetapoer (5 k.). 3. Bassouwer, 10 k. east of Bayana. Weyer (3 k.), Ratsoulpoer [Rasulpur] (4 k.), Hissounla (4 k.), Tserres (2 k.), Borolie (1½ k.), Ziarathara (3 k.), Pantla (2½ k.), T'zetzolie [? Chachauli] (3 k.), T’sonoher (6 k.), T'sonkeri (6 k.). 4. Hindaun, 10 k. from Bayana. Khera (2 k.), Ziamaelpoer [Jamalpur] (2 k.), Kottopoer (2 k.), Paricanepoer (3 k.), Osierpoer [Wazirpur] (6 k.), T’serroot (5 k.), Siltoioali (6 k.), Nardoulie (6 k.).

4.8

5. Tora, 18 kos from Bayana, with several villages under it, yields only about 200 bales annually; the indigo is brown rather than violet in colour, and the balls are made much smaller than elsewhere. Other places also yield large quantities of indigo, such as Koil or Gorsa, which lies 30 kos from Agra on the other side of the river. Most of its produce is bought up by Armenian, Lahore, and Kabuli merchants; it is good indigo, but has not such a reputation as that of Bayana, and consequently is not bought by us or by the English. A few bales ought to be purchased for a trial, so that our employers may be able to judge of the difference in the market and in dyeing, but it could not be done this year owing to lack of funds; if it should prove satisfactory, we should not be so closely restricted to the produce of Bayana. Taking one year with another, the yield is 1000 bales.

4.9

Mewat is a tract 30 kos from Agra, but, owing to the hills and forests, it is mostly in rebellion against the King. Indigo is made in many of the villages of this tract, and the annual yield is 1000 bales or more, but it is inferior and of low quality, and usually sandy. The method of manufacture is that of Sarkhej rather than Bayana; the steeping of the plant, and the working back and forward to extract the dye from the leaves, are done in a single put, whereas in Bayana or Gorsa two are used as already explained. The price is consequently much lower, 20 rupees for a maund in Mewat when Bayana is selling for 30 rupees; very little is exported, but it is distributed all over Hindustan to places where indigo is not produced. This year, however, we have bought some bales for a trial. Opinions may differ as to the course to be followed in buying indigo, but my own view, based on several years' experience, is this. When the yield is plentiful, that is to say, when the ziarie has suffered no injury, and the rains have been timely for the nauti, one or two experienced men should be sent in the end of August or the beginning of September to Chanowa or the adjoining villages, and should buy whatever is really good;

4.10

but if the crop promises to be short, it is better to remain quietly in Ghanowa, and buy only from the substantial Hindu or Moslem merchants, who live there and have been many years in the trade, and who have made advances against indigo some months beforehand, binding the debtors to sell to no one else. These merchants would rather deal with us at a small profit than with other buyers; also, in Ghanowa there is much indigo, half of it made in the village. The question may be asked whether, if they get the indigo, we could not obtain it there, and at the same price. We might do so, on a single occasion, or in a single village, but the very next day the price will have risen at least a rupee per maund, [and] we shall be told by the merchants that their stock is not for sale. From repeated personal experience then, my opinion is that at such times it is more profitable for the Honourable Company that buyers should keep quiet, than that they should run about the country from one village to another. Goodness knows, the Armenians do quite enough of that, running and racing about like hungry folk, whose greedy eyes show that they are dissatisfied with the meal provided, who take a taste of every dish, [and] make the other guests hurry to secure their own portions, but directly they have tasted each course, they are satisfied, and can hold no more.

4.11

In the indigo market they behave just like that, making as if they would buy up the whole stock, raising prices, losing a little themselves, and causing great injury to us and to other buyers who have to purchase large quantities. Now the Hindus have first of all the advantage of the profit they make in buying, and they get it through generous weighing, to which they persuade the peasants by wrangling and cajolery. There used to be a custom that in weighing indigo a bag of doubled cloth containing 152 pice was reckoned as 5 ser, giving an excess of quite one ser in the maund. Again, when the indigo was moist, they kept from 20 to 30 balls ready behind each balance, which dried quite 5 ser in the maund; while by an old custom the maund was reckoned at 41 ser, so that altogether there was overweight of 7 ser or more in the maund, which greatly reduced the cost of buying; for in those days indigo was so plentiful that the peasants were sometimes confounded, and the middlemen might have to hold over perhaps 100 bales for want of buyers. Since, however, the crop was washed away in 1621, the whole of the produce is marketed promptly, and there is little or no surplus. They have nearly brought it to this that the balls are made smaller by one-half, the weighing is done with tens instead of with pice or 5-sers, in order to give less excess, and in places only 10 or 15 balls are kept ready, so that there is very little overweight, and this can be of little advantage in buying.

4.12

I may add that the loss by drying is incredible, for I estimate that a bale which here weighs 4 maunds will yield only 3½ maunds in Holland, an experience which has probably already surprised our honourable employers. It is also necessary to have a buyer in Bayana, where the market opens much later than elsewhere, so that it is amply sufficient to go there in the beginning of October. The reason is that some rich and substantial merchants live in the town; the chief of them are named Mirza Sadiq and Ghazi Fazil, who sow most of the indigo, and who in some seasons have sold to nobody but us. The price is settled at his [sic] house, usually a rupee per maund more than the rate at Ghanowa or in other villages, because, as has been said, the quality is superior; and when the price has been fixed, but not before, anyone can sell to anyone he chooses. This subservience, or respect, is shown to Mirza Sadiq because he is the oldest [merchant] in Bayana.

4.13

I have now written at length of the indigo bearing the name of Bayana, which for the last four years has been very closely bought up, both by us, by Armenians, and by Moguls; the latter classes export it to Ispahan, whence some of it goes to Aleppo. In six years the English have not bought more than 600 bales, because, owing to bad luck, adversity, and mismanagement, their commercial position has greatly deteriorated; but if they begin to buy against us, as they would like to do if they had the money, indigo is likely to rise in price.

5

Ahmadabad is the capital of Gujarat, and receives annually from here [Agra] large quantities of goods, for example, much Patna silk, to be manufactured there into ormesines, satins, velvets, and various kinds of curious stuffs, so that there is here little trade in Chinese silk manufactures. Carpets are also woven there with an intermixture of silk and gold thread; while the imports include spikenard, tzierila, asafoetida, pipel and numerous such drugs, besides Bengal cassas [muslins], mah [malmal], and clothing for Hindu women from Bengal and the Eastern provinces, pamris from Kashmir and Lahore, and Bengal hand or white sugar. In the other direction are brought hither turbans, girdles, orhnis or women's head-coverings, worked very cleverly and ingeniously with gold thread; also velvets, satin of various kinds, striped, flowered, or plain; coconuts from Malabar; European woollen goods; lead, tin, quicksilver, vermilion; large quantities of spice, viz. cloves, nutmeg, and mace, and sandalwood. These goods are now bought from us at Surat, and forwarded in this direction, but formerly they were obtained in even greater quantities from the Portuguese in Cambay, who had a busy trade there, and who brought them to exchange for kannekens, tirkandis, and striped cloths for Mozambique and the Coasts.
The [Cambay] trade is however, nearly, or almost wholly at an end. Formerly, three caravans, or kafilas, used to come every year. (A kafila consists of a large number of fustas, which the merchants of Goa, Cochin, Bassein, Daman and all the coasts of India get ready, from the beginning of October onwards, to be escorted by the armado de remas of the Portuguese or their own kings, owing to the danger from the Malabars, who with their small boats cause great injury to the Portuguese, for they have been bitter enemies for many years past.) Now the trade is so much decayed that this year, 1626, only 40 merchants' fustas arrived, carrying goods of small value; and this is the cause of the decline of Cambay, and indeed of all Gujarat, for the Portuguese brought all their goods, both the spices and Chinese silk carried in frigates from the South, and the European merchandise distributed in all directions from the carracks at Goa, and sold them for a small profit, so that the [Cambay] merchants gained largely on their purchases, as well as on sales of cotton goods. Because of this decay, we are cursed not only by the Portuguese, but by the Hindus and Moslems, who put the whole blame on us, saying that we are the scourge of their prosperity; for, even though the Dutch and English business were worth a million rupees annually, it could not be compared to the former trade which was many times greater, not merely in India, but with Arabia and Persia also.

[ 5. THE DUTCH TRADE IN NORTHERN INDIA.]

6.1.1

Our trade in this country can be conducted with great profit, honour, and reputation to the Honourable Company, if our employers will place reliance on the proposals put forward as a matter of duty by their servants, whether based on credible testimony, intrinsically sound arguments, or personal experience. The spice trade in particular can be adequately maintained if our employers will believe us, because they control the whole produce of the trees, produce which is yielded in sufficient quantities nowhere in the world except in the Moluccas and Banda. What I want to urge is that our employers should send to the Coromandel Coast only so much spice as is consumed locally in the Carnatic, Golconda, and the vicinity, an amount which I conjecture to be less than 200 maunds, or 10,000 [lb.] of cloves, and as much nutmeg, with six sockels of mace. This is probably an over-estimate rather than too little, for the whole [population] of the Carnatic consists of Klings, or Hindus, who use little or no spice, while in Golconda, and also in Malik Ambar's camp, the people are as poor as they are haughty — almost like Spaniards in the street, but thrifty and mean in their kitchens. The Mogul soldiers on the other hand differ little from Europeans, who eat spiced food very readily, and consequently their consumption is proportionately greater.

6.1.2

I know by experience that some wealthy banians of Agra maintain agents in Golconda with two objects in particular, to buy diamonds and spices, which their people in Masulipatam send to us [i.e. to Agra]; and this year they bought 300 maunds (15,000 lb.) of cloves at 11 pagodas per maund (of 25 lb.), and transported them to Agra, as well as proportionate quantities of nutmeg, mace, tin, and other goods. The result is not merely to bring down a good market by 10 to 20 per cent., but to stop our sales altogether, because we have no agents in Golconda or Burhanpur to warn us of the despatch of such quantities of goods, and to make arrangements accordingly. We cannot rely on such news as we occasionally get from the letters of Hindus or Moslems, because of the risk that they might deliberately cheat us by such devices, and cause us to sell too cheap; a single merchant has much difficulty in dealing with such emergencies, and often neglects such warnings, to the Honourable Company's serious loss. Now it may be the case that our Chiefs at Masulipatam have given no warning to the Honourable General that not even a quarter of the spices and other goods are consumed locally; otherwise His Honour's zeal to secure the utmost profit for our foster-mother, the Company, would have prevented this loss; or, if this proposal should be doubted or criticised, the certain profit might be proved with uncertain loss for the Company by experiment within two years in the following way.

6.1.3

Surat used to be supplied with 25,000 lb. of cloves annually; raise that quantity to 50,000 lb., with a proportionate increase of nutmeg and mace; reduce the supplies to the Coromandel Coast by the same amount ; then in the first or second year the books at headquarters will show His Honour whether the profits have increased or not. The following calculation will show the result according to the best estimate I can make. Agra requires 700 mds. or 35,000 lb. cloves at Rs. 200 per maund of 50 lb. (Holland) 600 ,, 30,000 lb. nutmeg at Rs. 100 ,, „ „ „ 30 sockels mace at Rs. 300 ,, ,, ,, „ At these approximate prices, the proceeds should be as follows : 700 mds. cloves at Rs. 200 . . . . . . . . Rs. 140,000 600 ,, nutmeg at Rs. 100 .. .. .. .. 60,000 30 sockels mace, estimated as 50 mds., at Rs. 300 . . 15,000 Rs. 215,000 From this total must be deducted the heavy loss, or dryage, of spices, which is here 8 per cent, for cloves, and 3 to 4 per cent, for mace and nutmeg, as well as the cost of bringing the goods up, which however would not be so much felt on so large a capital as it is now. If we were provided with such a stock, we should be able to meet whatever indents our employers might make on Agra for Holland or Batavia, say, 1000 to 1200 bales of Bayana indigo; large supplies of saltpetre, borax and lac ; and some cotton goods (viz. Bengal cassas, chouters, semianos, ambertees, and various other white cloths), if required from here;

6.1.4

or else the surplus cash could be remitted by exchange on Surat. Contrast this with the business we now do, which brings no respect or credit to our nation. The heads of our factory are utterly discouraged, and the interests of the Honourable Company suffer seriously, for we are constantly burdened with debts, because our Chief at Surat can spare us no money; owing to the fact that everything is so strictly employed in despatching the ships for the South [i.e. Java], when a caravan of spices is sent up there is not left for Agra at the best more than 20,000 lb. cloves, 15,000 lb. nutmeg, and 15 or 20 sockels of mace. We have to do what we can with such supplies, while these cunning and crafty Hindu merchants now realise how we stand; they know how much we have to sell in the year, and they beat down our prices even to the point of extortion, because they can calculate, just as well as we can, our need for cash to buy saltpetre, cotton goods, and other merchandise, procurable only for ready money. They postpone then buying our goods, and they can wait longer than we, eking out their supplies in the meantime with cloves brought by Hindu and Moslem merchants from Golconda, though the quality is much inferior to ours, because they have certain methods of wetting them while in transit to counteract the great dryage.

6.1.5

Then when the indigo season opens in September, we must sell, however unwillingly, though it is perfectly notorious that, even before the goods leave our warehouse, they are re-sold sometimes at an advance of 10 or 15 rupees the maund. There are only two possible remedies or improvements. One is to send up 20,000 rupees in cash in addition to the caravan (for bills drawn on the arrival of the ships come too late, when the loss has already been incurred by the Company); the other is, as has been said above, to confine the spice trade to this side of India, and leave the Coromandel Coast alone. Or perhaps our employers may consider that, since their supply of cloves is large, the consumption should be encouraged; a reduction of price to 100 or 80 rupees the maund might eventually produce a marked increase in consumption at Agra, for I have heard old residents and brokers say that, when cloves were imported in incredible quantities in the time of the Portuguese, even three times as much as we now supply, and the price was 60 to 80 rupees the maund, the whole quantity was easily consumed, because the low price induced everyone to buy, and in the villages the women and children wore necklaces made of cloves. Sandalwood is brought to Agra in moderate quantity from the Portuguese, who obtain it in Timor, and transport it to Malacca, whence it is carried to Goa and Cambay. No great trade can be done; 80 maunds, or 4000 lb., may sell at not more than 50 rupees the maund.

6.1.6

Large profits could be made here on the goods which are, or might be, brought by our ships from Holland, if the English did not bring such large annual supplies; but they still hanker after the great profits they made in the times when they had a monopoly of the trade, and consequently they fill the markets with large quantities of raw or branched coral; some thousand ells of heavy woollen cloth, red, yellow, and green (costing 4-4½ shillings the yard in England, and sold here for 4-7 rupees the yard); much quicksilver, vermilion, and ivory; and also swords and knives. These latter goods at first gave large profits on small consignments, and they were tempted to send whole cargoes of sabres and assorted cutlery, but as many rusted as sold. For the royal Camp or Court they bring tapestries, both silken and woollen, worked with stories from the Old Testament; great and fine pearls; rubies, and balas-rubies; art-ware inlaid with gold and gems; and new inventions or curiosities such as have never been seen before, which have a great attraction for the present King. In this way the English have secured much esteem at Court among the nobles, and sell their goods at the highest prices they can ask, under pretence of doing a great favour; and at the same time they escape many needless expenses in the way of presents, which we must constantly incur, though they bring very little in the way of thanks or reputation.

6.2.1

Formerly the English maintained an ambassador at the Camp, an arrangement which was very expensive to their Company; but it has now been abandoned, because a factor who sells their goods at Court can also look after all their incidental business, and obtain farmans, or rescripts, from the King. Frequently one hears many of the great lords asking (though it may be through the suggestions of our English friends), if precious stones are known in our country, or if there are any skilled craftsmen there, who can make toff as [tuhfa, rarities], as there are in England, Venice, and other European lands. It is essential therefore, both for the profit of the Honourable Company, and to increase the reputation of our own nation, that we should make it clear that our little country is not merely on a level with England, but surpasses the whole world in skill; and in order to do this, we should send to Agra every year rarities to the value of 100,000 guilders, consisting of large pearls ; large and fine emeralds (old and new); sapphires, rubies, and balas-rubies of rich colour; and gold art-ware of kinds which can be described better verbally than in writing, for instance, an antique box or casket, with various ingenious locks, in which different articles can be secured (for it is considered here a sign of skill, that the inside of a thing should be different from the outside).

6.2.2

I will now specify various rarities which have been recommended to me by different nobles or great men, and which should be sent here by our ships, but the quantity supplied of each should be small: 10 small gold chains, of the most ingenious work. 20 sabres, costing 10 to 15 guilders each, embellished with some gold-work, slightly curved, of which I can show a sample. 20 handsome musket barrels, wrought with gold and set with agates of various colours, in which heads are carved, of the kind brought here overland by the Venetians. Some sea-horse teeth, marbled on the inside with black stripes, much esteemed. 2 or 3 good battle-pictures, painted by an artist with a pleasing style, for the Moslems want to see everything from close by; also one or two maps of the entire world; also some decorative pictures showing comic incidents, or nude figures. 10 large cases, in which to keep scissors, mirrors, razors, and other implements locked up. 10 to 20 gilt mirrors, costing 8 to 10 guilders each, but no large ones with ebony frames, such as were sent on the Golden Lion by advice. 1 case red woollen cloth, costing 15 to 16 guilders the ell. Also 10 to 20 pieces tapestry, both silken and woollen, from 3 to 8 ells long, and 2 to 4 ells broad, but no sad colours, all bright, must be sent. 5 to 10 pieces Cassa, of bright colours, green, red, or variegated. No cloth of gold should be sent, as it is supplied from Persia, of good quality and much cheaper.

6.2.3

Many of the great men express surprise that we do not have the gold and silver (coined and uncoined), which we import in large quantities, manufactured by us into articles which are here in common use. Provided the workmanship is good, half the silver might be paid for manufacture, which would give ample payment for Dutch work; or in any case manufactured goods would yield quite as much profit as reals or Holland dollars, and could meet the taste of the nobles everywhere without loss to us. It would be well, therefore, for the first trial, to manufacture such goods as the following to the value of 8000 to 10,000 reals-of-eight, and to the same amount in gold: Feet for katels, or bedsteads, hollow, and as light as possible, but artistically wrought. Aftabas, or ewers used by Moslems for washing the hands. Betel boxes. Fan handles. Handles for fly-switches. Dishes and cups with covers. If necessary, the style or fashion of these could be shown or explained. Most of these goods could be sold in the Palace or the Camp, to the good profit, honour, and reputation of the Company, by an agent familiar with the language and customs of the country, who could at the same time prevent all the occasional difficulties which arise, wherever trade is attempted, from the improper procedure due to the insatiable greed of the Governors; and this could be done without incurring expenditure. At present these matters often cannot be prevented in spite of great trouble and cost.

6.2.4

The annual offtake of our commodities in Agra may be estimated as follows: Quicksilver: 50 maunds or 2500 lb.; price is conjectural, but Rs. 160-180 the maund may be looked for. Vermilion: 50 maunds, at Rs. 180-200 the maund. Tin: 30 maunds, at Rs. 38 or 40 the maund. Ivory: 50 maunds; but it must not be split, otherwise it makes a difference of more than half the price. The tusks must therefore be sawed at Surat in this way, to wit, into pieces a hand broad, and then coated or smeared with wax, so as not to split with the heat. Whole pieces sell at Rs. 70-60 the maund, and split pieces at Rs. 20-30. Arm-rings are made from the ivory for Hindu women, and are worn as ornaments in Multan and the Eastern provinces. Red woollen cloth. Little or none of such as is now sent, at 8 to 10 guilders the ell; or unless it were the kind brought by the English, which must be sold in competition with them.

6.2.5

Our honourable employers will be surprised that no larger quantities of goods can be sold in so extensive a country as this, but I will explain that satisfactory profits could be made but for the amount of the English and Portuguese imports. For example, I observed that in 1626, when the Portuguese galleons chased the English ships from Surat, and they had to winter in the Mayottes, quicksilver rose to Rs. 250 the maund, vermilion to Rs. 320, and coral and other goods proportionately. Small consignments sold at a profit are therefore better than large supplies sold at a loss, or held over for years; for the local merchants are naturally timorous, and dare not take any great risks, but think only of a small but certain profit. To some extent this is due to want of enterprise, and besides, if goods lie unsold, the interest of 10 to 12 per cent, annually consumes the merchants like a canker. In Agra the men who are richest live mainly by money-lending, a practice which is not discreditable to Hindus, but only to Moslems (though indeed they do it commonly enough) ; and that certain profit comes before the gain of the enterprising merchant.

6.2.6

All weights and measures in use here are two-fold, Akbari and Jahangiri, for the present King has raised weights, measures, and coins 20 per cent, above his father's standards. Thus an Akbari ser weighs 30 pice, or lb., and the Jahangiri ser is 36 pice, or lb.; the former maund is 50, and the latter, 60 lb. The gaz [Indian yard] varies in the same way ; 100 Akbari gaz make 120 of our ells, the other in proportion. The coins used are rupees, but there are different kinds, viz. khazana [treasury] or Akbar's old coins, and chalani [current], which are the rupees struck during Jahangir's reign in Agra, Lahore, Patna, Kandahar, or Gujarat; the shroffs [money-dealers] value the chalani rupee at from 1 to 2 per cent, above the khazana, though the coins are identical in weight. Then there are the siwai, which are equivalent to 1¼ rupees; and the Jahangiri, which weigh 20 per cent, more than the khazana. All bargains are done in terms of the same series of units, either Akbari or Jahangiri. No goods are sold by measure as we sell grain, etc., but everything is weighed by the maund.

6.2.7

There are gold coins, but only of one series, named mohur. The double coin weighs a tola, or 12 mashas, and is equivalent to 14 rupees, the half-coin in proportion. The inscriptions are similar to those of the rupees, except those which have been coined by the Queen; her coins, both rupees and mohurs, bear the twelve signs of the Zodiac, one sign on each coin. Very little trade, however, is done with these gold coins, seeing that most of them must come from the King's treasures, and further the great men hoard them, and search for them for their khazana [treasuries]. Copper coins also are in use. They are called pice, and at present 58 or more go to the rupee. For still smaller sums for the use of the poor there are cowries, or white sea-shells, which pass at 80 to the pice.

[6. ACCOUNT OF THE PROVINCES NORTH AND WEST OF AGRA.]

7.1

Lahore is situated in 32° latitude, 300 kos north-west of Agra. It was a great centre of trade in the days before the English came to Agra, and the Armenian and Aleppo merchants did a large and very profitable business. In those days the chief market for indigo was Lahore rather than Agra, because it was more convenient for the merchants, who travelled in caravans at fixed seasons by way of Kandahar and Ispahan to Aleppo; and this is why the indigo which reached Europe from Aleppo or the Levant was known as Lauri, or more properly Lahori. A brisk business is still done in the fine cotton goods of Masulipatam, or Golconda and Mongapatnam, but nothing like what was formerly transacted. The trade of Lahore may in fact be called dead, for exports are limited to the requirements of Persia and Turkey, because the profits cannot stand the great costs of overland transit compared to those of our sea-carriage. Lahore thus lost practically all its trade, and the substantial Hindus, or Khattris, whose reputation still survives, lived on what was left of their old profits. For some years however the present King has spent five or six of the cool months of each year in Lahore (the rest, or hot weather, being spent in Kashmir or Kabul), and the city has now recovered, but more in splendour, royal buildings, palaces, and gardens, than in point of wealth. The river Ravi flows past the city.

7.2

It rises in the mountains of Kashmir, and flows by Multan and on to Tatta and Bakkar, carrying a large trade in shallow-draught vessels. Agra imports from Lahore ormesines and carpets, which are woven there, and also many goods from more distant places, such as fruit from Kabul, asafoetida from Kandahar, and other commodities obtained in Multan. Agra exports to Lahore most of the spices which we sell here (for the local consumption is very small when the King is not here, or there is no Camp); also all kinds of white cotton goods, both Bengals and Golcondas; ivory (most of which is wrought in the neighbourhood of Multan); quicksilver, vermilion, coral; turbans, girdles, and all sorts of silk goods from Ahmadabad, where they are woven; silk from Patna; lac, pepper, and drugs too numerous to be named.

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