Courting India : England, Mughal India and the origins of empire

A profound and ground-breaking approach to one of the most important encounters in the history of colonialism: the British arrival in India in the early seventeenth century. Traditional interpretations to the British Empire’s emerging success and expansion has long overshadowed the deep uncertainty that marked its initial entanglement with India. In September 1615, Thomas Roe—Britain’s first ambassador to the Mughal Empire—made landfall on the western coast of India. Roe entered the court of Jahangir, “conqueror of the world,” one of immense wealth, power, and culture that looked askance at the representative of a precarious and distant island nation. Though London was at the height of the Renaissance—the era of Shakespeare, Jonson, and Donne—financial strife and fragile powerbases presented risk and uncertainty at every turn. What followed in India was a turning-point in history, a story of palace intrigue, scandal, and mutual incomprehension that unfolds as global trade begins to stretch from Russia to Virginia, from West Africa to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. Using an incisive blend of Indian and British records, and exploring the art, literature, sights, and sounds of Elizabethan London and Imperial India, Das portrays the nuances of cultural and national collision on an individual and human level. The result is a rich and radical challenge to our understanding of Britain and its early empire—and a cogent reminder of the dangers of distortion in the history books of the victors. WINNER OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE A SPECTATOR , WATERSTONES, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE, PROSPECT AND HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEAR A profound and ground-breaking new history of one of the most important encounters in the history of colonialism: the British arrival in India in the early seventeenth century. ' A triumph of writing and scholarship. It is hard to imagine anyone ever bettering Das's account of this part of the story ' - William Dalrymple, Financial Times ' A fascinating glimpse of the origins of the British Empire . . . drawn in dazzling technicolour ' - Spectator 'Beautifully written and masterfully researched, this has the makings of a classic' - Peter Frankopan SHORTLISTED FOR THE POL ROGER DUFF COOPER PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA CROWN AWARDS When Thomas Roe arrived in India in 1616 as James I's first ambassador to the Mughal Empire, the English barely had a toehold in the subcontinent. Their understanding of South Asian trade and India was sketchy at best, and, to the Mughals, they were minor players on a very large stage. Roe was representing a kingdom that was beset by financial woes and deeply conflicted about its identity as a unified 'Great Britain' under the Stuart monarchy. Meanwhile, the court he entered in India was wealthy and cultured, its dominion widely considered to be one of the greatest and richest empires of the world. In Nandini Das's fascinating history of Roe's four years in India, she offers an insider's view of a Britain in the making, a country whose imperial seeds were just being sown. It is a story of palace intrigue and scandal, lotteries and wagers that unfolds as global trade begins to stretch from Russia to Virginia, from West Africa to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. A major debut that explores the art, literature, sights and sounds of Jacobean London and Imperial India, Courting India reveals Thomas Roe's time in the Mughal Empire to be a turning point in history – and offers a rich and radical challenge to our understanding of Britain and its early empire. Cover 1 Praise for Courting India 2 Half Title 4 Title 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 Map 10 Conventions 14 Prologue 16 1 Nova Felix Arabia 24 2 Trades Increase 50 3 India Englished 70 4 Knight’s Move 84 5 Odcombian Legstretcher 102 6 Descendants of Tamburlaine 122 7 The First Meeting 142 8 The Prince 152 9 The Matter with Mr Jones 168 10 Hidden Figures 188 11 The Wager 208 12 Little Commonwealth 228 13 Lashkar 244 14 A Patient King 258 15 The Chaplain 270 16 Factors 290 17 Queen Normal 308 18 Triumph of Honour and Industry 326 19 Full Resolution 344 20 London 362 Epilogue 382 Abbreviations 388 Notes 390 Prologue 390 1 Nova Felix Arabia 391 2 Trades Increase 394 3 India Englished 397 4 Knight’s Move 399 5 Odcombian Legstretcher 401 6 Descendants of Tamburlaine 404 7 The First Meeting 407 8 The Prince 408 9 The Matter with Mr Jones 409 10 Hidden Figures 412 11 The Wager 414 12 Little Commonwealth 417 13 Lashkar 419 14 A Patient King 421 15 The Chaplain 422 16 Factors 425 17 Queen Normal 428 18 Triumph of Honour and Industry 431 19 Full Resolution 433 20 London 435 Epilogue 439 Image Credits 440 Index 446 Acknowledgements 460