Read Book Online : http://www.archive.org/stream/indiainseventeen00dasguoft#page/n5/mode/2up

Download pdf Book : http://ia600305.us.archive.org/31/items/indiainseventeen00dasguoft/indiainseventeen00dasguoft.pdf

... I always enjoy books that bring together a series of public lectures or speeches upon a common theme ~ which this volume appears to do... They often have an intimate feel, and one gains a better understanding of a particular author/ individual as a result ~ especially when a sense of humour is allowed to bubble through the pages ~ as in this case ~ page 14: "I believe that it was a French King, who wishing to consult some historical work called to his librarian " Bring me my liar !"

A delightful expression..."bubble through the pages" ! : )

The British garrison (actually thetrade warehouses) at Surat licensed under the Mughal regime were raided and looted by Shivaji twice in the 17th century to fund his expeditions. He also resettled one entire trading community from Surat to Chowl and Mahad (on the western coast in Maharashtra). You will find several families with Gujarati names such as Mehta, Butala, Shah settled there and spread to other parts of Maharashtra. These families declare Marathi as their mother tongue and have little or no knowledge of Gujarati. But, their family deities are located in Gujarat.

... Here are a few fascinating extracts from ' Travels in India and Persia '... Written by John Fryer this book was published in 1696 ~ but his observations were recorded during the years 1672-1681 ~ and these little snippets help to give some idea of the sort of life that an East India Company employee would have lead whilst based at the 'Factory' ( really just a small trading facility/ warehouse) at Surat during a period that pre-dates the Van der Aa illustration (above) by about thirty years. Please excuse any typing errors, as I am obliged to enter these passages by hand : ' The house that the English live in at Surat is partly the King's [ie. the Moghul Emperor's] gift, partly hired; built of stone and excellent timber, with good carving, without representations; very strong for that each floor is a yard thick at least, of the best plastered cement, which is very weighty. It is contrived after the Moors [ie. 'Moor' was commonly used by the English to denote 'Islamic' until the 18th century] buildings, with upper and lower galleries, terrace-walks, a neat oratory, [ and ] a convenient open place for meals. The President [ senior merchant] has spacious lodgings, noble rooms for counsel and entertainment, pleasant tanks, yards, and an hummum to wash in; but no gardens in the city, or very few, though without they have many, like wildernesses, overspread with trees. The English had a neat one, but Sivaji's coming destroyed it; it is known, as the other factories are [ Portugese, Dutch and so on], by their several flags flying... ... Here they live at shipping times in a continual hurly-burly, the Banyans (indigenous agents/ middle men) presenting themselves from the hour of ten till noon; and then afternoon at four till night... below stairs the Packers and Warehouse-keepers, together with merchants bringing and recieving musters, make a [virtual] Billingsgate [a famous London market]; for if you make not a noise, they hardly think you intent on what you are doing... ... The whole mass of the Company's servants may be comprehended in these classes, viz, Merchants [senior managers], Factors [ middle-management], and Writers [clerks]; some blewcoat boys have also been entertained under notion of apprentices for seven years, which being expired, if they can get security, they are capable of employments. The Writers are obliged to serve five years for £ 10 per annum [ roughly £ 830 in modern terms] giving in bond £ 500 [ £40,000] for good behaviour, all which time they serve under some fore-mentioned offices. After which they commence Factors, and rise in preferment and trust, according to seniority or favour, and therefore have a £ 1000 [£80,000] bond extracted from them, and have their salary augmented to £20 [£1500] per annum for three years, then entering into new indentures, are made Factors; and lastly Merchants, after three years more... ... As for the Presidency, though the Company interpose a deserving man, yet they keep power to themselves, none assuming that dignity till confirmed by them... ...The Council of Surat, which is the Great Council... consists of five in number, besides the President, to be constantly resident... ... Out of the council are elected the deputy-Governor of Bombaim [Bombay] and agent of Persia; the first a place of great trust, the other of profit... ... It would be too mean to descend to indirect ways [ie. local business transactions], which are chiefly managed by the Banyans, the fittest tools for any undertaking ; out of whom are made broakers for the Company, and private persons, who are allowed 2 per cent on all bargains, besides what they can squeeze secretly out of the price of things bought; which cannot be at all understood for want of knowledge in their language; which ignorance of is safer, than to hazard being [poisoned] for prying too nearly into their actions: though the Company, to encourage young men in their service, maintain a master to learn them to write and read the [local] langauge and an annuity to be annexed when they gain a perfection therein, which few attempt, and fewer attain' ~ from ' The Making of British India' by Professor Ramsay Muir (London & Bombay: 1915) p.23

* Nb ~ The exact title of Fryer's book was : " A new account of East India and Persia, being nine years' travels, 1672-1681 " ...

Julian Craig : Most interesting extract !...and thanks for typing it out...an impressive and a daunting task for a 'two-finger typist' like me.

The Marathi term for the "factory" was "Vakhar" meaning a storehouse or a ware house. I suppose it was both a factory and a warehouse. There are reports of how much "Mohurs" (the Moghul coinage current all over India then) Shivaji looted from Soorat. The secret language mentioned in Julian Craig's quote exists even today and is known as the sign language of the "Adatiyas" (borakers). This language was perhaps universal among brokers because as recently as the last decade of the last century people used the" open cry" method to trade on the floors of stock exchanges. Local agricultral markets in Magarashtra (including Mumbai) today use the sign language to close deals of farm produce, fish etc in the wee hours of the day to this day!

Sathe Sir, really good info you provided.

Shekhar ~ It is my understanding that Fryer, in the last paragraph above, is not referring to any sort of 'secret language' as such (although slightly esoteric codes for 'barter' and trade certainly existed, and as you point out, continue to exist, incredibly, in much the same form) but the actual local, vernacular languages as used on a daily basis in common speech~ which on the whole (with a few notable and scholarly exceptions), the English traders of this period did not really fully understand and were not able to speak with any great fluency ~ and as Fryer also makes clear, not many of them had much interest in trying to learn them ! At this time European merchants were almost entirely dependent on their 'Banyans' ~ their local agents and middlemen ~ to transact business and to obtain necessary provisions, and without whom they would not have been able to operate, or indeed, survive.

Decline of Surat began with the looting of the city by Shivaji's troops during Aurangzeb's time, as pointed out by Shekhar above.

^^Why only decline of Surat??Decline of Mughal Dynasty started with rise of Maratha power.As for decline of Surat if some one has to be blamed then it should be Aurangzeb.As a ruler and protector of Surat who was collecting vast amount of money as taxes from Surat ,what sort of protection did he provide to it.One can pardon Aurangzeb for his ineptitude and lack of preparedness for the first raid .But even after the first loot of Surat hardly any efforts were made to improve the defenses of the city.There were no additional troops deployed for its protection.So when Shivaji raided Surat for the second time the situation in the port city was more or less the same.Full credit must be given to Shivaji for his military planning and his ingenuity to execute such raids deep inside Mughal territory and to successfully bring back the wealth of Surat safely.

Shivaji used that wealth of Surat to built a magnificent sea-port "sindhudurg" near coastal town of Malwan .This fort proved very useful to improve the defense of Konkan and to check the activities of Portuguese,British and Siddis in the arabian sea.

@ thank u

Not interested in continuing a politically-motivated discussion of Indian history.

I have quoted facts mentioned in various authentic historical books which can be cross-checked if one so desires. What is politically motivated in that??This is just a lame excuse from running away from the truth which you find inconvenient .I have put across my view based on historical facts which are well known.I am not in the habit of quoting one sided news reports which pander to ones prejudices and favorite peeves. Lastly who has given you authority to decide about what is politically motivated or not??We have a very able and fair minded Administrator let us leave it to his judgment to take a call on it.

I agree with Nitin's comments. I am amused to see some intellectuals starting the discussion by painting one of the respected personalities in a negative angle and then not willing to acknowledge other side of the coin.

RBSI,I am sorry if I have sounded too blunt in my comment above.But its really nerve-wrecking when somebody unnecessarily and undeservedly assumes high pedestal and starts passing judgments and snide remarks about others.