[Footnote 123: From this singular term, what is now called the jollyboat has probably derived its name.--E.]
I sent my purser on shore in the pinnace, early of the 16th, to purchase such necessaries as I thought might easily have been got; but he returned about ten o'clock a.m. without buying any thing for our purpose, bringing with him Mr Aldword, the chief merchant of our factory at Surat, along with whom was one Richard Steel, who had come over-land to Surat from Aleppo.[124] Mr Aldworth endeavoured to persuade me that Mucrob Khan was our friend, and that we had now an excellent opportunity to obtain good trade and satisfactory privileges while the Moguls were engaged in war with the Portuguese; and as both the Nabob and all the natives were rejoiced at hearing of our arrival, they would assuredly give us a most favourable reception. Pleased with these hopeful circumstances, I yet still wished some other person here in command instead of Mucrob Khan, of whom I remained doubtful, and that we should have no free trade from him, but in his accustomed manner, which I believed to have been, of his own accord to cross us, and not as so constrained by direction of his king; and the event turned out accordingly, though we were wise behind the band, as will appear in the sequel. Even the name he bore ought to have opened our eyes as to his influence with the Great Mogul: as Mocrub signifies as much as his own bowels, Khan meaning great lord. Yet I was deluded to believe that his favour with the king was tottering, and that he might easily be brought into disgrace, by complaint of any thing done contrary to the will or humour of the king; so that we were too bold, and injured our business when we found him opposing us, as we thought unreasonably. On enquiring into the state of our business, and the health of our factory, Mr Aldworth informed me that Paul Canning and several others had died; that Thomas Kerridge had long since been agent in his room at the court of the Mogul, and that the factory at Surat now only contained himself and William Bidulph.
[Footnote 124: Mr Richard Stell, or Steel, had gone to Aleppo, to recover a debt from a merchant of that city, who had fled to India; and, following him through Persia, Mr Steel had arrived at Surat. On his report, the factors at Surat made an experiment to open a trade with Persia, which will form the subject of a future section of this chapter.--E.]
In the morning of the 17th, I called a council to advise upon the best manner of conducting our affairs here, and to consider who might be the best person to send to Agraas resident. Then entering upon the six interrogatories, inserted in the second article of our commission, I required Mr Aldworth to give direct answers to every question.--1. In what favour was Paul Canning with the emperor and his council, and how did he conduct himself at court in the business entrusted to him? He answered, That on his first arrival at court, he was well respected by the emperor, till the Jesuits made known that he was a merchant, and not sent immediately from our king; after which he was neglected, as he himself complained: and, as for his carriage and behaviour there, so far as he knew, it was sufficiently good;--3. Then demanding, whether it were needful to maintain a resident at court? Mr Aldworth answered, That it was certainly necessary, as the emperor required that one of our nation should reside there; and therefore, that the person ought to be a man of good respect, for preventing and counteracting any injuries that might be offered by the Jesuits, our determined adversaries; as he might also be extremely useful in promoting and directing the purchase and sale of various commodities.--6. Being questioned as to the expences of a resident at court? he said, according to the estimate of Paul Canning, it might be about £300 per annum; but, some time afterwards, his estimate was found to extend to five, six, and seven hundred pounds a year.--Being afterwards questioned, Whether he thought it fit that Mr Edwards should proceed to court under the designation of a merchant, according to the strict letter of the company's commission? his opinion was, by the experience of the late Mr Canning, that such a resident would not be at all respected by the king.
In the morning of the 24th, Coge Nozan came down to the water side, and rested in my tent till I landed. I repaired to him, accompanied by all our merchants, and attended by a strong guard, armed with halberts, muskets, and pikes, having a coach to carry me from the landing place to the tent. On alighting from my coach, Coge Nozan came immediately to meet me. Before entering on business, he was told that a present for the Nabob was to be delivered to him, which was brought in. This consisted of a case containing six knives, two pair of knives, six sword-blades, six Spanish pikes, one case of combs, one mirror, one picture of Mars and Venus, one ditto of the Judgment of Paris, two Muscovy hides, and one gilded case of bottles filled with strong rich cordials. I then made the following present to himself: Six knives in single sheaths, four sword-blades, two pikes, one comb-case, a mirror, a picture of Moses, and a case of bottles, in consideration of the promise made by the nabob to our people, that whatever Coge Nozan agreed to, he the nabob would perform.
I then moved for the enlargement of our privileges, and lessening of our customs, especially at Baroach, and that we might have a daily bazar or market at the water side, where we might purchase beef for our people, according to the firmaun already granted by the Mogul, and because other flesh did not answer for them. He answered, that the nabob would shew us every favour in his power, if we would assist him against the Portuguese; that the customs of Baroach were out of his power to regulate, as the king had already farmed these to another person at a stipulated rent; and that we should have a regular market, but that bullocks and cows could not be allowed, as the king had granted a firmaun to the Banians, in consideration of a very large sum of money, that these might not be slaughtered. In fine, I found he had no power to grant us any thing; yet, willing to leave me somewhat contented, he proposed that I should send some of our merchants along with him to the nabob, where our business might be farther discussed.
I accordingly sent along with him, Mr Aldworth, Mr Ensworth, Mr Dodsworth, Mr Mitford, and some others. Two or three days afterwards, they had access to the nabob, to whom they explained our desires, as before expressed. He then desired to know whether we would go with our ships to fight for him against Damaun, in which case, he said, we might count upon his favour? To this it was answered, that we could not on any account do this, as our king and the king of Spain were in peace. He then asked if we would remove our ships to the bar of Surat, and fight there against the Portuguese ships, if they came to injure the subjects of the Mogul? This likewise was represented to be contrary to the peace between our kings. On which he said, since we would do nothing for his service, he would do nothing for us. Several of the merchants of Surat endeavoured to persuade our merchants, that I ought to give way to the reasonable request of the nabob, and might still do what I thought proper; as, notwithstanding of our ships riding at the bar, the Portuguese frigates could go in and out on each side of me, owing to their light draught of water. To this I answered, that the proposal was utterly unfit for me to listen to; as whatever I promised I must perform, though at the expence of my own life and of all under my command, and that I could not possibly lend myself to fight against the Portuguese on any account whatever, unless they first attacked me, as it was absolutely contrary to my commission from my own sovereign. I added, that, if the Portuguese provoked me by any aggression, I would not be withheld from fighting them for all the wealth of the nabob: But he made small account of this distinction, and, seeing that we refused to fulfil his wishes, he opposed us in all our proceedings as far as he could, so that we nearly lost all our former hopes of trading at this place. In this dilemma, I made enquiry respecting Gengomar and Castellata, and also of Gogo:[125] but could get poor encouragement to change for better dealing, so that we remained long perplexed how to act, and returned to our business at the ships.
[Footnote 125: Gogo is on the west shore of the gulf of Cambay. In an after passage of this voyage, what is here called Gengomar and Castellata, is called Gengomar or Castelletto, which may possibly refer to Jumbosier, on a river of the same name, about sixty miles north from Surat. Castelletta must have been a name imposed by the Portuguese.--E.]
The 27th, in the morning, when Nicholas Ufflet went ashore, he found all the people belonging to Swally had gone away from the water-side in the night, as also all those who used to stay beside the tents, in consequence of an order from the nabob; and was farther informed that our merchants were detained at Surat, having been stopped by force when attempting to cross the bridge, and had even been beaten by the guard set there by the nabob. The gunner's boy and his companion, formerly supposed to have run away, and who were in company at the time with our merchants, being on their return to the ships, were also well beaten, and detained with the rest. The 31st we began to take in fresh water, to be ready for departing, as our stay here seemed so very uncertain. This day, Thomas Smith, the master's boy, had most of the outer part of one of his thighs bitten off by a great fish, while swimming about the ship. The ravenous fish drew him under water, yet he came up again and swam to the ship, and got up to the bend, where he fainted. Being brought into the gun-room, the surgeon endeavoured to do what he could for his recovery; but he had lost so much blood that he never recovered out of the swoon, and shortly died.
In the evening of the 2d November, Mr Aldworth and Mr Elkington came down from Surat, where they left Mr Ensworth very sick. They reported to me their proceedings with the nabob, as formerly stated; but said they were now reconciled, and that he had made fair promises of future respect, with a free trade through all the country under his government. I do not attribute his severe proceedings hitherto to any hatred or ill-will to our nation, but to his fears lest we might unite with the Portuguese against him, owing to my refusing to assist him against Damaun. These his doubts and fears were increased by a knavish device of the subtle and lying Jesuits; who, taking advantage of my refusal to fight against the Portuguese without cause, at Damaun or elsewhere, pretended with the nabob that they had a letter from the viceroy, saying, That he and his friends the English meant to join their forces and come against Surat. This devilish device gave much hindrance to our business, by occasioning continual doubt in the nabob's mind of our friendly intentions; and unfortunately likewise, Mr Aldworth had strengthened these doubts and fears, though ignorant of the lying inventions of the jesuits; for, thinking to mollify their rigour, he rashly advised them to beware, lest their ill usage might force us to join with the Portuguese against them. We likewise believed that the order of the nabob, forbidding the people to trade with us on board, proceeded entirely from his desire to thwart us: But we afterwards learnt, by letter from Thomas Kerridge, that Mucrob Khan, and all other governors of sea-ports, had express orders from the Mogul, not to allow any trade with us till they had first chosen and purchased, for the king's use, all kinds of strange and unusual things we might have to dispose of.