Page 131 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

CHAPTER IX

An English Mission to the Court of
the Great Mogul
Jehangir’s attitude towards the English—Obstructions to trade—
Sir Thomas Roe dispatched as ambassador—His early career—
His reception by Jehangir—Opposition of Prince Khurrum and
Asaf Khan—Roe out of favour with the Emperor—Is restored
to grace—Jehangir’s partiality for Roe—The Emperor’s jokes—
Drinking bouts at the palace—An Oriental Hansard—Roe’s
difficulties
D ECISIVE as was Downton’s victory as far as the
Portuguese were concerned its effect on the local
situation was even more ephemeral than Best’s action had
proved. In a certain sense it even aggravated the diffi­
culties, for it gave strength to the anti-English party at
Court, who were not slow to point out that the war with the
Portuguese had been brought about by the concessions
made to the English. The position was made all the more
unsatisfactory by the appointment to the government
of Surat at this juncture of Prince Khurrum, a younger
son of Jehangir, who afterwards figured in history as the
Emperor Shah Jehan. The prince had always been inimi­
cal to the English, and he took up the government of
Surat with a plain intention to make short work of these
troublesome foreigners who had been disturbing the peace
of the Western seaboard and introducing their riotous
mode of living ashore. He was much too great a man to
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