CONTENTS. Commencement of the British Intercourse with India; and the Circumstances of its Progress, till the Establishment of CHAPTER I. From the Commencement of the Efforts to begin a Trade From the Change of the Company into a Joint-stock Com- pany, in 1612, till the Formation of the third Joint-stock in 1631-2..... Page 27 CHAPTER III. From the Formation of the third Joint-stock, in 1632, till CHAPTER IV. From the Coalition between the Company and the Mer- chant Adventurers, till the Project for a new and a rival East From the Project of forming a new and rival Company, till Page PREFACE. IN the course of reading and investigation, necessary for acquiring that measure of knowledge which I was anxious to possess, respecting my country, its people, its government, its interests, its policy, and its laws, I was met, and in some degree surprised, by extraordinary difficulties, when I arrived at that part of my inquiries which related to India. On other subjects, of any magnitude and importance, I generally found, that there was some one book, or small number of books, containing the material part of the requisite information; and in which direction was obtained, by reference, to other books, if, in any part, the reader found it necessary to extend his researches. In regard to India, the case was exceedingly different. The knowledge requisite for attaining an adequate conception of that great scene of British action, was collected no where. It was scattered in a great variety of repositories, sometimes in considerable portions, often in very minute ones; sometimes by itself, often mixed up with subjects of a very different nature: and even where information relating to India stood disjoined from other subjects, a small portion of what was useful lay commonly imbedded in a large mass of what was trifling and insignificant; and of a body of statements, given indiscriminately as matters of fact, |