Travels in India (Tavernier) 85.1
Travels in India (Ball) 85.1
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85.1.1
Concerning the Methods to be observed for establishing a new Commercial Company in the East Indies. Should any nation desire to establish a Commercial Company in the East Indies, before all things it ought to secure a good station in the country in order to be in a position to refit its ships, and to lay them by during the seasons when one is unable to go to sea. This want of a good harbour is the reason why the English Company has not progressed so well as it might have done, because it is impossible that a vessel can last for two years without being refitted, being subject to be eaten by worms. But since the journey from Europe to the East Indies is long, it is desirable that the Company should have some place at the Cape of Good Hope for watering and obtaining supplies of food, both when going and returning from the Indies, but especially when returning, because, as the vessels are then loaded, they are unable to carry a supply of water sufficient for a long time. In the meantime the Dutch have removed this advantage from the [reach of] other nations, by means of the fort which they have built at the Cape, and the English have done the same thing at St.
85.1.2
Helena, although, by the law of nations and the general consent of the people of Europe, liberty to use these two places of refreshment has been for many years equally free to the whole world. Nevertheless, there may still be some mouth of a river near the Cape where another fort might be constructed, and this position would be worth more than all that can be made in the island of Daufine, where there is no trade except in the purchase of cattle for the sake of their hides. But this trade is so insignificant that it would quickly ruin any company, and the French have hitherto engaged in it without any advantage to themselves. The conjecture which causes me to make the above suggestion is founded on the fact that in the year 1648 two Portuguese vessels coming from Lisbon to India, desiring to touch at the Cape to take in water, and not taking their observations correctly, the sea being very high, entered a bay 18 or 20 leagues from the Cape on the western side. They found in this bay a river, the water of which is very good, and the negroes of the country brought them supplies of all kinds of river-birds, fish, and beef. They remained there about fifteen days, and before leaving took two of the inhabitants to convey them to Goa, in order to teach them Portuguese, and endeavour to draw from them some information as to the trade which could be carried on there.
85.1.3
The Dutch Commander at Surat asked me to go to Goa, in order to ascertain what the Portuguese had learnt from these two negroes ; but a French engineer named Saint Amand, who had the supervision of the forts at Goa, told me that they had not been able to teach them a single word of the language, and had only guessed from their signs that they knew ambergris and elephant’s tusks. The Portuguese, nevertheless, did not doubt that they would find gold if they were able to trade with the interior. The revolution in Portugal and the wars with Spain have prevented them from examining this coast more particularly, and it is to be desired that the Company should examine it carefully without giving offence to the Dutch, or allowing them to suspect its object. It is, moreover, necessary that the Company should have a port near Surat to withdraw and refit its vessels, in case they are delayed by the rainy season. The reason is, that during this bad weather, when it is almost impossible to withstand (the violence of) the sea, the Mogul, for fear of danger to his fortress at Surat, does not allow any foreign vessel into the river, where otherwise, when unladen, they might remain protected from the destructive storms which last for nearly five months.
85.1.4
The only place suitable for the withdrawal of the vessels of the Company is the town of Diu, which belongs to the Portuguese. The advantages of its position are considerable for many reasons. The area of the town includes nearly 400 houses, and is capable of affording dwellings sufficiently numerous, and where the (crews of the) vessels would find all they required during their sojourn. It is situated on the coast of Gujarát, at the point of the Gulf of Cambay, and faces towards the south-east. Its shape is nearly circular, and more than half the circle is surrounded by the sea. It is not commanded by any elevation, and the Portuguese have built some fortifications on the land side which might be easily completed. It has numerous wells of good water, and also a river which falls into the sea near the town, the water of which is better than that of Surat and of Suwáli, and the shelter is very commodious for vessels.
85.1.5
The Portuguese, on their first establishment in India, kept a fleet at Diu composed of galleys, brigantines, and smaller vessels, with which they made themselves, for a very long time, masters of all the commerce of the places which are about to be enumerated, so that no one was able to trade without taking out a passport from the Governor of Diu, who franked it in the name of the Viceroy of Portugal at Goa. The revenue which he obtained from these passports sufficed to support the fleet and garrison, and the Governor, who was only appointed for three years, did not omit to accumulate wealth for himself during that time. Thus, according to the forces that one might establish in this place, one would derive great benefit. The Portuguese, feeble as they are at present, do not fail to profit from not having to pay duty for the money which they carry into the Kingdoms of the Great Mogul and the King of Bijapur, nor for the goods which they take there. When the rainy season is over, the wind being nearly always north or north-east, you can go from Diu to Surat in light boats in three or four tides, but if large vessels are laden, it is necessary for them to coast all round.
85.1.6
A man on foot going by land to a small village named the Gauges, and from thence crossing the end of the Gulf, can go from Diu to Surat in four or five days, but if the season prevents him from making this passage, he cannot go from Diu to Surat in less than seven to eight days, because he must then make the circuit of the Gulf. The town does not possess any territory outside the boundaries, but it would not be difficult to arrange with the Raja, or Governor of the Province, and obtain from him as much as may be required for the convenience of the inhabitants. The soil of the neighbourhood is not fertile, and the population around is the poorest in all the Empire of the Mogul. Nevertheless, there is an abundance of cattle in the jungles, with which the country is covered, so that a buffalo or a cow does not cost more than 2 piastres. The English and the Dutch use these cattle to feed their people, and to save the provision of their vessels during their sojourn at Suwali. It is well to remark that experience has shown that the flesh of buffaloes often causes dysentery, which is calculated to be most injurious to crews, but the flesh of cows never gives rise to it.
85.1.7
The Raja who rules the country bears the title of Governor for life; and this is the case with nearly all the Rajas in the Empire of the Mogul, who were the nobles of the Provinces where their descendants only have the title of Governors. He treats the Portuguese well, because their position as neighbours brings him in money by the sale of his corn, rice, and vegetables, and for the same reason he treats the French still better. After the establishment of such a position, which should be the principal basis of the trade of the Company, there is nothing more important than to select two men, marked by their wisdom, rectitude, and intelligence in trade, and there should be no regard for economy in their appointments. These two men are for the service of the Company, one in the position of Commandant or Commander, as the Dutch entitle them, with a council of a certain number of persons to be given him for his assistance; the other for the office of broker or merchant, who should be a native of the country, an idolater and not a Muhammadan, because all the workmen with whom he will have to do are idolaters. Good manners and probity are above all things necessary in order to acquire confidence at first among these people. It is necessary to seek to obtain the same qualities in the private brokers, who are under the direction of the Broker-general, in the provinces where the offices of correspondents are established.