Remonstrantie 6.2
Jahangir's India (Moreland, Geyl) 6.2
- Language
- English
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.