scheme for the suppression of idolatry throughout CHAP. IX. India, and establishment of the religion of Muham mad from sea to sea. Dr. Fryer left India at the turning-point of Moghul India, 1680. history. After his departure, Aurangzeb conquered Bíjápur and Golkonda, and annexed both kingdoms to the Moghul empire; but he wasted the remaining portion of his reign in intermittent and useless wars against the Mahrattas. ton, 1688-1723. CAPTAIN ALEXANDER HAMILTON was a shrewd Captain HamilScotchman, who carried on a free trade in the eastern seas between 1688 and 1723, in spite of the monopoly of the old East India Company. He was prejudiced against the Company's servants at the different English settlements; but his experiences of Sinde and Guzerat, and the stories he tells of Moghuls and Hindus, may be accepted as trustworthy. ous brigands. Sinde, on the lower valley of the river Indus, was Sinde dangerthe most westerly province belonging to the Moghul. It was exposed on one side to the rebel subjects of Persia, and on the other side to the rebel subjects of the Moghul. There was a wretched seaport near the coast, consisting of about a hundred huts built of sticks and mud; but the route northwards to the capital at Tatta was infested by bands of brigands, who concealed themselves in the neighbouring jungles. In 1699 a rich kafila going to Tatta was attacked and plundered by a large force of these scoundrels, aud hundreds of merchants and carriers were slaughtered in the fray. brigands by Three months afterwards Captain Hamilton arrived Defeat of the at the port with a valuable cargo from the Malabar Hamilton and coast, worth about ten thousand pounds. The Tatta his sailors. CHAP. IX. merchants were ready enough to buy, if the goods were safe at Tatta; but they would not risk the carriage through that dangerous country. They might have secured a guard of horsemen from the Nawab of Tatta, but the guards were often in league with the robbers, and shared the spoil. Accordingly, Hamilton determined to carry his commodities to Tatta, accompanied by some of his sailors armed with matchlocks; and, to render himself more secure, he joined a large kafila going to the same place, escorted by two hundred horsemen. Half-way to Tatta, the scouts brought in the news that the brigands were posted in great force in the neighbouring jungles. Presently a horseman came up brandishing his sword, and threatening to give no quarter unless they all surrendered quietly. The native guard retired to the rear, but one of the sailors shot the horseman dead. Two or three other horsemen appeared, and were shot dead in like manner. By this time the native escort recovered heart, and there was a general charge upon the brigands, in which many were killed, and the remainder fled in all directions. Triumph at by the Nawab. The news of this victory was soon carried to Tatta; favours granted and the citizens came out with presents of fruit and sweetmeats for Hamilton and his English sailors, who were hailed as deliverers. Quarters were provided for the party in a large house having fifteen rooms and good warehouses. The Nawab of Tatta sent sheep, goats, fowls, and pigeons in abundance. He made Hamilton free of the port, permitting him to land what goods he pleased without the payment of duties. Moreover, he promised to imprison any refractory debtors, and even to sell their wives and children, if Hamilton found any difficulty in getting his money. and pirates of Eastward of Sinde was the province of Guzerat, CHAP. IX. which appeared to be peopled with robbers and Guzerat: robbers pirates. The Moghuls were powerless to suppress Beyt. them, for their country was protected by marshes and inlets of the sea. The port of Beyt, in particular, was a nest of pirates. No trading was permitted, and the whole population lived by piracy, and gave an asylum to every robber and outlaw that escaped to their city. They cruised along the Indian Ocean, between the Persian Gulf and Malabar Coast, in small ships mounted with cannon and swarming with fighting men, and attacked every vessel that came in their way. Hamilton had several skirmishes with them, and tells many details of their atrocities. When about to engage in battle they intoxicated themselves with bhang, and let down their long hair as a sign that they neither gave quarter nor accepted it. If a ship surrendered without any fighting the pirates were tolerably civil; but if they encountered any resistance they were cruel and merciless to the last degree. One time they burnt an English ship with all her crew. Another time they beheaded their own admiral for letting a rich prize slip out of his hands. cenaries hired Some of the ports of Guzerat carried on trade, but Rajput merthey were obliged to hire bodies of Rajpúts to protect as guards. them against banditti. The Rajpúts employed their swords, like Swiss mercenaries, in behalf of those who gave them the best pay. They carried their women and children with them in every expedition; and if they were repulsed, the wives refused to receive their husbands until the latter had regained their lost honour. Hamilton tells the story of a Yogi who was buried CHAP. IX alive at Surat under a promise to reappear at AhmaStory of a Yogi dabad, about two hundred miles off. The Nawab of buried alive. Stories of Moghul Hindu financial administration. Surat suspected some imposition, and set a party of soldiers to watch the miracle. The holy man was duly buried, and a number of reeds were arranged over his head to keep off the mould. The soldiers then persisted in removing a huge water-jar, which a party of Yogis had set up under a neighbouring tree, and discovered a secret passage leading to the grave. The soldiers were so exasperated at the cheat that they drew their swords upon the Yogis, and slew a dozen on the spot, including the man who had been buried. Hamilton relates two anecdotes which furnish glimpses of India in Moghul times. During the wars of Aurangzeb against the Mahrattas, a Moghul force landed on the island of Bombay, and occupied it for more than a year, whilst the English were shut up in Bombay Castle. Another Moghul force drove the Mahrattas out of Karwar; and the Moghul general gave an entertainment to the English gentlemen at the factory, and burnt down the factory whilst his guests were eating and drinking in his pavilion. A story is told of the Raj of Cannanore which illustrates the simplicity of Hindu financial administration. The treasury chest was bored with holes and fastened with four different locks, whilst a key was given to the Raja and to each of the three ministers. All public money was put in through the holes, and none could be taken out except in the presence of the four, and when all were agreed as to the expenditure. The relations between the English and the Hindus English. were equally peculiar. In one Raj the inmates of CHAP. IX. an English factory, eighteen in number, were all Hindus and massacred because one of their bulldogs killed a cow. A story is also told of a queen of Attinga who fell in love with a young Englishman who was sent to her court with a present from the chief of the factory. She pressed him to marry her, but he declined the honour, and could only be persuaded to stay a month or two with her before returning to his duties at the factory. Carnatic uuex Hamilton does not furnish any information respect- Dekhan and ing the state of civilisation on the eastern side of plored. India. Indeed, during the decline of the Moghul empire, the Dekhan and the Carnatic were sealed countries to Europeans. Bengal, however, was well known; and the following data, supplied by Bernier and Robert Orme, will be found to furnish a picture of the country and its inhabitants. cheapness of The soil of Bengal was so fertile that the people Fertility and obtained all the necessaries of life with a less amount Bengal, of labour than in any other country in the world. Rice, which formed the staple of their food, was often sold on the spot at the rate of two pounds for a farthing. Grains, fruits, vegetables, and the spices used in their cookery, were raised with the utmost ease. Sugar required more careful cultivation, but thrived everywhere. The kine were of a mean race, and gave but little milk, but the defect was made up by the multitude of the animals. Those castes who fed on fish found it swarming in all the streams and ponds in the country; and salt was produced in abundance on the islands near the sea. European settlers found Bengal to be equally cheap. Cheapness of Good chickens were to be bought at the rate of twenty meat. poultry and |