Asia in the Making of Europe, Volume III: A Century of Advance. Books 1-4
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Asia in the Making of Europe, Volume III: A Century of Advance. Books 1-4
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Overview
In Volume III: A Century of Advance, the authors have researched seventeenth-century European writings on Asia in an effort to understand how contemporaries saw Asian societies and peoples.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780226467573 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Chicago Press |
| Publication date: | 05/25/1993 |
| Series: | The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe Ser. , #3 |
| Edition description: | 1 |
| Pages: | 2379 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x 7.40(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Asia in the Making of Europe
By Donald F. Lach, Edwin J. Van Kley
The University of Chicago Press
Copyright © 1993 The University of ChicagoAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-226-46767-2
CHAPTER 1
The Mughul Empire before Aurangzib
The geographical profile of the Indian subcontinent had first been traced out in the Portuguese secular writings of the sixteenth century. Details about trade and life in Gujarat and eastern Bengal had then been gradually etched into this coastal outline, primarily by the sketches of Humayun's disastrous wars of the 1530's. Beginning in 1545 the Jesuit letter-writers had gradually shaded new lines into this rough likeness by their reports of the Fishery Coast and the Serra of the St. Thomas Christians. The Italian, English, and Dutch commercial travelers and commentators of the latter half of the century had added touches and contours of their own, particularly on interior routes, marts, products, and military activities. Three Jesuit missions from Goa to the court of Akbar in 1580–83, 1591, and 1595–1605 had as byproducts new European reports and books highlighting the hopes of the Christians for the conversion of the Mughul ruler. As the new century dawned, the prospects in India seemed bright for both the Portuguese and the missionaries. In Europe their optimism was reflected in the publications of the Jesuits, especially Peruschi (1597), Rebello (1598), and Guzman (1601), and in those of secular authors, especially Balbi (1590), Linschoten (1595–96), and Fitch (1599). The map of India, now far more than a profile, would soon be filled in, it was confidently expected, to the satisfaction and profit of the Europeans.
At the beginning of the new century the Portuguese and the Jesuits were the only Europeans to enjoy relations with the Mughul Empire. In England the desire for an all-sea route to India had risen swiftly during the last decade of the sixteenth century. In the buoyant mood following the victory over the Spanish Armada, the lure of India became ever more powerful in London as the Dutch rivals of England began to send their pre-Company voyages to the East. Envious of the Dutch direct penetration of the spice trade, the London merchants began to petition the crown for the formal right to send their own voyages to the East. After the formation of the chartered English East India Company in 1600, two reconnaissance voyages were sent to the Indies. In 1603 John Mildenhall was dispatched overland to Agra to establish relations with Akbar and the mainland of India. The presence of an English Protestant intruder at the imperial court immediately aroused the opposition of the Jesuits at Agra and of the Portuguese at Goa. Although Mildenhall failed to obtain a farman (a written order) permitting the English to trade in India, the Company nonetheless sent its third fleet to Surat in 1607 with Ambassador William Hawkins on board.
Despite the opposition of local authorities, Hawkins finally made his way to the emperor Jahangir's court at Agra early in 1609. Able to speak directly to the emperor in Turkish, Hawkins soon won assurances that the English would be permitted to trade legally at Surat. Again, however, the Jesuits and Portuguese working through courtiers friendly to them convinced the emperor that the English were potentially a danger to his ports and trade. While Hawkins negotiated at Agra, the Company sent another fleet to Surat with orders to establish a factory and obtain a privilege exempting their trade from duty. This fleet, under Captain Thomas Best, in 1612 defeated a Goa armada off Surat, thus opening India's west coast to the English. The Mughuls, impressed by this decisive English action, began to see the English as a counterweight to the Portuguese. Thomas Kerridge, the English factor, was therefore informally permitted to establish a factory at Surat. Three years later Sir Thomas Roe arrived at Jahangir's court, where he worked for three years in a vain effort to secure a formal treaty of commerce. While Roe obtained nothing more than orders allowing the continuance of trade, the English were hereafter treated with greater respect as they gradually replaced the Portuguese as the paramount power in the foreign trade of the Mughul Empire.
1 THE ENGLISH AND DUTCH PROFILE: FIRST GENERATION
Many of the earliest English adventurers wrote journals and narrative accounts of their Indian experiences. For example, Robert Coverte, who was shipwrecked off Surat, spent most of 1610–11 traveling about in northern India; on his return home he published in 1612 a report of his "hard and paineful Pilgrimage." The journals of many other English sailors, merchants, chaplains, and emissaries were published as a whole or in part by Samuel Purchas in his massive Pilgrimes (London, 1625). In this collection were issued the accounts of John Mildenhall (II, 297–304), William Hawkins (III, 1–51), William Finch (IV, 1–77), Nicholas Downton (IV, 214–51), Richard Steele (IV, 266–80), Sir Thomas Roe (IV, 310–468), Edward Terry (IX, 1–54), Thomas Best (IV, 119–47), Nicholas Withington (IV, 162–75), and Thomas Coryate (IV, 469–94). Finch (in India 1608–11), Withington (1612–16), Best (1612), and Steele (1615) were sailors and merchants; Mildenhall (1603–5), Hawkins (1608–13), and Roe (1615–19) were royal emissaries to the court; Terry (1616–19) was chaplain to Roe's embassy; and Coryate (1615–16) was an adventurer who wrote five letters home to his friends and relatives about his experiences and observations in India which were published separately (1616, 1618) in London before appearing in Purchas' compendium. The most comprehensive of these accounts are those by Finch, Roe, and Terry. Purchas published only a truncated version of Roe's journal, about one-third or less, in fact, along with excerpts from several of his letters. Terry's narrative was amplified substantially by the author and republished at London in revised form in 1655.
Many of these English authors, in contrast to the more experienced Jesuit and Portuguese writers, were intent upon relaying to their insular readers general information on the extent, geography, peoples, products, and politics of the Mughul Empire. Roe and Terry, in particular, provide an account of the political divisions of the empire. Shortly after his return to England in 1619, Roe had William Baffin, a surveyor and mapmaker who had been a master-mate on Roe's ship, prepare a map of the Mughul Empire. This map, now in the British Library (K115 [22]), was re-engraved and reduced in size for inclusion in the Pilgrimes. In 1655 it appeared as a frontispiece to Terry's independent book. For unexplained reasons the map and the literary descriptions of Roe and Terry do not always agree. Still, despite all its inaccuracies, Baffin's map delineates the territories of the Mughul Empire, particularly its interior places, more clearly and with greater precision than any other contemporary European maps. In fact, it remained the base for most later maps of the Mughul Empire.
As Terry described it, the Mughul Empire is bounded on the east by "the Kingdome of Maug" (the Mughs), on the west by Persia, on the north by the mountains of Caucasus and Tartary, and on the south by the Deccan and "the Gulfe of Bengala." The Deccan, "lying in the skirts [borders] of Asia," is divided among three Muslim rulers as well as some other "Indian Rhajaes." This spacious monarchy, called "Indostan" (Hindustan) by its inhabitants, is divided into thirty-seven provinces "which anciently were particular Kingdomes." Terry follows this with a list of the "provinces," their geographical positions, and their chief cities, all of "which we there had out of the Mogol's own records." His catalog of the "provinces" proceeds from Qandahar in the northwest to the mouths of the Ganges and the Bay of Bengal at the empire's eastern extremity. In listing the chief cities of the "provinces," Terry adds bits of information about the rivers on which they lie, their distances from one another, and the most notable sights to be observed in some of them.
This vast empire is fertile, abundant, and self-sufficient "in all necessaries for the use of man." Its land produces wheat, rice, barley, and various other grains. Their wheat "growes like ours, but the Graine [head] of it is somewhat bigger and more white." From it they make a "bread that is better than bread" as they do in Liège. The ordinary people shape their bread into cakes (chapati) which they bake on small iron hearths. With their bread they eat butter and cheese made from the milk of "Kine, Sheepe, and Goats." Meat is abundant and cheap, for they have buffaloes, cattle, sheep, venison, hares, and a wide variety of fish and poultry. Their beef cows differ in that they have "a great Bunch of grisselly flesh" between their front shoulders; their sheep "exceed ours in great bob-tayles, which cut off are very ponderous [heavy]." Salt and sugar "to season this good provision" are both abundant and cheap. The country is full of fruits: muskmelons, watermelons, pomegranates, "Pome-citrons" (pomelos?), lemons, oranges, dates, figs, grapes, plantains or bananas, mangoes, pineapples, apples, and pears. They have root crops, especially good carrots and potatoes, as well as onions, garlic, and herbs for salads. In the south, ginger grows everywhere. Terry calls "Taddy" (Hindi, tari, or English, toddy) "a pleasant cheere liquor ... as pleasing to the taste as any white Wine."
In northwestern India, it "never raines but one season of the yeere," during the summer monsoon of May to September. These "violent Raines" commence and end with "Fearefull tempests of Thunder and Lightning ... yet seldome doe harme." Once this hot, rainy season ends, "the Skie is so cleere, as that scarecely one cloud is seene in their Hemisphere, the nine months after." The monsoon blows constantly, six months from the south and six months from the north. In the dry season these heavy winds sometimes raise "thick clouds of dust and sand" which "annoy the people when they fall among them."
Without rain for almost nine months the land "lookes like to barren sand" at winter's end. One week or so "after the Raine begins to fall, it puts on a greene Coate." In May and at the beginning of June, the farmers plant their plots tilled "with Oxen, and foot-Ploughs." They harvest in November and December the grain "which came up as thicke as the land could well beare it." Their fields are not enclosed unless they lay close to the numerous villages and towns which "stand very thicke" in the countryside. They do not mow their grass to make hay but cut it, green or dry, only when they wish to use it. While they raise much tobacco, their curing methods do not please Terry. Many woodlots lend beauty to the landscape, but the trees are all different from those of England. One tree, obviously the banyan, has branches "which grow little sprigs downward till they take root." The flowers of India are colorful and a delight to the eye, but very few of them except roses "are any whit fragrant." They are so plentiful "they seeme never to fade."
The large animals, except for horses and mules, are likewise very different from those of England. Native horses, as well as "many of the Persian, Tartarian, and Arabian breede," are "kept daintly" by being rubbed down two or three times a week with butter. They are fed a boiled grain called "Donna" (Hindi, dana) which when cold they mix with coarse sugar. Many camels and dromedaries are used for transport. Occasionally a rhinoceros may be seen, whose "skins lye platted, or as it were in wrinkles upon their backs." Elephants are numerous, the royal beasts alone numbering fourteen thousand. After telling several familiar stories about the tractable and rational elephants, Terry reports that Jahangir delights in putting on elephant fights. Many of the imperial elephants are trained for military service. They are taught to carry an iron gun and a gunner. Other elephants are trained to participate in state occasions and royal processions. Although many nobles try to keep elephants of their own, these beasts are inordinately expensive to maintain, and the males are dangerous when in rut. Each of the imperial males is allocated four females as "wives." Among the harmful beasts are lions, tigers, wolves, and jackals, as well as crocodiles, snakes, stinging scorpions, annoying and numerous flies, mosquitoes, and "bigge hungrie Rats."
Besides having many rivers, northern India is dotted with wells fed by springs "upon which in many places they bestow great cost in stone-worke." In addition, "they have many ponds" which they call "Tankes," some "more then [than] a mile or two in compasse, made round or square." These tanks are generally surrounded by stone walls and usually have stone steps which lead down into the water. In these tanks water is stored during the rainy season for use during the dry months. The Indians commonly drink water rather than any other beverage since "in these hot countries, [it] agreeth better with mens bodies, then any other Liquor." They also drink, though not commonly, a small quantity of "Rache" (arrack) and "Cohha [Arabic, kahwa, or coffee], a black seed boyled in water, which doth little alter the taste of the water." Coffee "is very good to helpe digestion," as is "an herbe called Beetle [betel] or Paune [Hindi, pan, the betel leaf]." Its leaf looks like ivy and they chew it with "a hard nut [areca nut]" and a bit of "pure white Lime among the leaves."
Ordinary dwellings are generally poor, except in the cities where there are "many faire Piles." Better houses "are built high and flat on the toppe," the roof being used as a veranda in the cool of the day. Since they use heat only for cooking, their houses have no chimneys. Their upper rooms have many windows without glass as well as doorways to let in the air. In "Amadavar" (Ahmadabad), for example, the buildings are well-constructed of brick and stone. This "most spacious and rich Citie" is surrounded by a stone wall pierced by "twelve faire Gates." Around their houses, whether in town or country, they plant many trees for shade. The trees are planted so thickly "that if a man behold a Citie or Towne from some conspicuous place, it will seeme a Wood rather than a Citie."
The main export products of the Mughul Empire are cotton, cotton goods, and indigo. Cotton seeds are planted which grow into shrubs that produce yellow blossoms. When the blossom falls off, a "cod [pod] remains about the bigness of a man's thumb," in the interior of which there is a moist, yellow material. As this capsule ripens it swells and finally breaks "and so in short time becomes white as Snow, and then they gather it." These plants bear for three or four years before being replaced. From the cotton wool they make a "pure white cloth, some of which I have seene as fine, if not purer than our best Laune [lawn]." The coarser cotton cloth they dye in various colors "or else in it steyn [stain] varietie of curious [intricate] Figures." Indigo or "Nill" (nil, the common name for indigo in India is derived from Sanskrit, nila meaning "blue") is a shrub not more than one yard high, and with a stalk about the diameter of a man's thumb. It produces a pod about one inch long, which holds a seed that becomes ripe for gathering and planting in November. Shrubs used to make blue dye are pulled up at the end of the rainy season and soaked in water. After the shrubs rot, they press out the juice and put the pasty substance on a cloth to dry in the sun. Once it is somewhat hard, they roll it by hand into little balls which are put on sand to dry. When dry, these balls become the indigo of commerce. The empire also produces a "good store of Silke, which they weave curiously [skillfully], sometimes mingled with Silver or Gold [threads]." They also make a hard wax from "gum-lac" (shellac). The earth yields lead, iron, copper, and brass (?) "and they say Silver, which, if true, they neede not open, being so enriched by other Nations."
Silver streams into the empire from all over the world in exchange for Indian commodities. The huge pilgrim ships plying annually between Surat and the Red Sea usually return with great supplies of precious metals. Silver remains in the empire, for it is "a Crime not lesse than Capitall, to carry any great summe thence." Bullion imports are melted, refined, and made into coins "and then the Mogols stampe (which is his Name and Title in Persian Letters) put upon it." Their silver coins are the purest known "without any allay [alloy], so that in the Spanish Rial [the purest money of Europe] there is some losse [in exchange]." Silver "Roopees" (rupaya or rupees), the basic coins of the realm, are minted in several denominations, and are "either round or square, but so thicke" that they never break or wear out. In Gujarat there is a coin of inferior value called "Mamoodies" (mahmudis). For petty payments they use "brass" (actually copper) coins called "Pices" (Hindi, paisa) which are large and heavy.
The people of Hindustan are "called in general Hindoos" but ever since Tamerlane subdued them they "have been mixed with Mahometans." The population also includes many Persians, Tartars, Ethiopians, and Armenians, as well as a few of almost "every people of Asia, if not of Europe." While some Jews live there, the "very name is a ... word of reproch." The Indians are tawny or olive in color with straight black hair and erect posture. They do not admire white or fair-skinned people because they look like lepers to them. Most Muslim males, except for "Moolaes" (mullahs) and the aged, shave their chins "but suffer the haire on their upper lip to grow as long as Nature will feed it." They shave their head bare except for a lock on the crown which Muhammed will use "to pull them into Heaven." People of all persuasions wash their bodies often and anoint themselves with sweet-smelling oils.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Asia in the Making of Europe by Donald F. Lach, Edwin J. Van Kley. Copyright © 1993 The University of Chicago. Excerpted by permission of The University of Chicago Press.
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Table of Contents
Book Three(Part III Continued)
List of Abbreviations
Note to Illustrations
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
14. Continental Southeast Asia: Malaya, Pegu, Arakan, Cambodia, and Laos
1. Malaya
2. Pegu and Arakan
3. Cambodia and Laos
15. Siam
1. Iberian and Dutch Accounts
2. Narai (r. 1656-88) and the French
3. The Physical Environment
4. State Service and Administration
5. Society, Culture, and Buddhism
16. Vietnam
1. First Notices
2. The Nguyen and the Christians
3. Tongking under the Trinh
17. Insulindia: The Western Archipelago
1. Java
A. Development of the Literature
B. Geography and the Landscape
C. Batavia, the Metropole and Its Hinterland
D. Character, Customs, Society, and Culture
E. Political Life
F. Economics and Trade
2. Bali
3. Sumatra
A. Placement, Climate, and Products
B. Acheh and Other Towns
C. Populace, Customs, and Beliefs
D. Economy and Polity
4. Borneo
18. Insulindia: The Eastern Archipelago and the Austral Lands
1. The Moluccas
2. Amboina (Ambon)
3. The Bandas
4. Celebes
5. The Lesser Sundas
6. Insular Southeast Asia's Eastern and Southern Periphery: New Guinea, the Pacific Islands, and Australia
A. New Guinea and Neighboring Islands
B. Australia and New Zealand
19. The Philippines and the Marianas (Ladrones)
1. "Indios" (Filipinos) and Spainards
2. Deeper Penetrations
3. Mindanao and Jolo
4. Guam and the Marianas (Ladrones)
Index