The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c27.32

v1.c27.32

4. These Dutch and English activities were by no means propitious to the prospects of the Portuguese in the East. Since 1584, the relations between Spain and England had become daily more and more strained in the European seas. Moreover in 1566 the Netherlands had rebelled against the Spanish sovereign. And Portugal, now united to the Spanish crown, was destined to taste in India the bitter fruits of this disagreement between her conqueror and these two enterprising nations ². True, a treaty of peace between Spain and England had been made in 1604, one of the articles of which, the 9th, provided that the English were not to go to India, nor carry on commerce in any part of it ³. But the British traders went on acting as though there were no such treaty. Precisely at this time John Mildenhall was in the court of Akbar, deputed by Queen Elizabeth, and trying to persuade the Mughal Emperor to allow the British to trade in his dominions on the same terms as those enjoyed by the Portuguese. Moreover he asked Akbar not to take offence if the English captured Portuguese vessels or ports on his coasts ¹. They however endeavoured to avoid open hostilities with the Portuguese, while they competed with them for the Eastern trade ². Early in 1604 Fr. A. Laerzio wrote that there were in the gulf of Bengal "many Dutch and British ships, our enemies, who had captured some Portuguese vessels " ³.