English
1 The English divided the country into six Zillahs, viz.: (1) Zillah Calcntta; (2) Zillah Bardwan ; (3) Zillah Rnjshahye-Murshidabiid ; (4) Zillah Jahangir- nagar (or Dacca); (5) Zillah Dinajpur; (6) Zillah Azim&bad (or Patna); and appointed English Zillahdara to each Zillah with a Council. See 8eir, Vol. II, pp. 782-783. * That is, 1788 A.C. 399 CHAPTER IV DESCRIBING THE DOMINATION OF THE ENGLISH CHRISTIANS IN THE PROVINCES OF THE DAKHIN AND BENGAL, AND CONTAINING TWO SECTIONS. SECTION I.—DESCRIPTIVE OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE PORTUGUESE AND FRENCH CHRISTIANS, Ac., IN THE DAKHIN AND IN BENGAL. Be it not bidden from the bright hearts of the bankers of the treasure of History ami the appraisers of the jewel of Chronicles, that the Jewish and Christiau communities, before the advent of Islam, used to come to many ports of the Dakhin, like Malabar, Ac., for trading purpose by the sea-route, and after acquiring familiarity with the people of that country, they settled down in some of the towns, erected houses with gardens, and in this manner dwelt there several long years. When the planet of the Muslim faith rose, and the bright effulgence of the Muslim sun shone on the East and the West, gradually, the countries of Hindustan and the Dakhin were recipient of (he rays of the moon of the Muhammadan faith, and Muslims commenced visiting those countries. Many of the kings and rulers of those parts embraced the Islamic religion, whilst the Rajahs of the ports of Goa, Dabil, and Jabul, Ac., like Muhammadan rulers, gave Musalman emigrants from Arabia quarters on the sea-shores, and treated them with honour and respect . 1 In consequence, the Jews and the 1 See Hnnter’s History of British India) Yol. I, p, 5s9. Writes Dr. Hun¬ ter : “ The Saracen Arabs who under the conquering impulse of Islim next seized the countries of the Indo-Syrian route (632-651 A.D.) soon realised its value. They were a trading not less than a fighting race, and Bussorah and Baghdad under the Caliphs became the opulent headquarters of the Indian trade." The Saracens conquered Egypt, Syria, and Persia, 682-651 A.D. In a footnote to p. 28 of the above History, Dr. Hunter refers the reader for 51 400 Christians burnt in the fire of envy and malice. And when the Kingdoms of the Dakhin and Gujrat became subject to the Musal- man Emperors of Dehli, 1 and Islam became powerful in the king¬ dom of the Dakhin, the Jews and the Christians placed the seal of silence on the door of their tongues, and ceased to utter words of enmity and hatred. Subsequently in the year 900 A.H., weakness 8 and decay set in iu the kingdom of the Dakhin. At that time, the Portuguese Christians, on behalf of the king of their own couutry, were directed to build forts on tho sea-shores of India. an account of the Jewish trade with the East to an ortiole on ‘The Jews under Rome’by Lieut.-Col. Conder. Again says Dr. Hunter (p. 45): “The trading colony of Arabs at Canton included at tho beginning of the 7th cen¬ tury A.D., an uncle of Muhammad the Prophet.” Again in p. 46, says Dr. Hanter: “ It was a commercial dispute that brought about the first Masai- man conquest of an Indian Provinco. In 711 A.D., Kasim led a naval ex¬ pedition against Sindh, to claim damages for the ill-treatment of Arab mer¬ chantmen and pilgrims near the month of the Indus iu their voyage from Ceylon. During the following centuries the Indian Ocean became an outly¬ ing domain of Islam. The Arab geographers mapped the course from the Persian Gulf to China into ‘ seven sens, ’ each having a name of its own, and with the Arab-Chinese harbour of Garapuaon their eastern limit. Abnl Feda, the princely geographer of the fourteenth century (1273-1331) mentions Malacca os the most important trading place between Arabia and China, the common resort of Moslems, Persians, Hindus, and the Chinese. Colonies of Arabs and Jews settled in an early century of our era on the southern Bom¬ bay coast, where their descendants form distinct communities at the present day. The voyages of Sinbad the Sailor are a popular romance of the Indian trade under the Caliphs of Baghdad, probably in the ninth century A.D.” From the above it is clear that India, including Bengal, was within the sphere of the commercial influence of the Saracen Arabs, from about the very dawn of Islam. 1 The first Musalmau conquests in the Dakhin were made in the reign of Jallaln-d din Khilji, Emperor of Delhi, through the military genius of his nephew, Alau-d-din Khilji. See Tarikh-i-Firtu Shabi, p. 170, and n. 2, ante, P a “ In 1564, Vijayanagar finally went down before the Moslems in the field of Talikot after an existence of 4* centuries. The Bahmam dynasty formed from the coalition of the Musalman adventurers in the fourteenth century, began to break up in 1489, and by 1525, its disintegration was com- nlete The Portuguese arrived just as this once powerful kingdom was evo.v- ing itself throogh ietemecine war ieto the Fire Unsalmle India. At the time (1498, when Vasco da Gama landed in India) the Afgha. sovereignty in Northern India was dwindling to a vanishing point. See U r. Hnnter’s History of British India, Vol. I, PP* 101-102. 401 In the year 904 A.H., four ships of the Portuguese Christians 1 came to the ports of Qandrinah 8 and Kalikot, and the Portuguese after ascertaining thoroughly the state of affairs 8 of the sea-board sailed back. Aed the next year, six Portuguese ships arrived at Kalikot,* and the Portuguese disembarked, and mado a prayer to the ruler of that place, who was called Samri, to prevent the Musal- mans from trading with Arabia, urging that they (the Portuguese) would yield him more profit than the Musalmaus. The Samri did not listen to then- prayer. But the Christians commenced molesting the Musalmans in mercantile business, so that the Samri 5 becom¬ ing enraged ordered the former’s slaughter and massacre. Seventy leading Christians were slain ; whilst the rest getting into sloops sailed out to save themselves, and alighted near the town of Kuchin, 6 the ruler whereof was on terms of hostility with the I Covilham, the first Portuguese explorer in India, Btayed some time on tho Malabar ooaat (having come there from Aden on an Arab ship), in 1487. Vasco da Gama reached Calient on May 20th, 1498. See Dr. Hunter’* His- tory, Yol. 1, pp. 87-88. i The European form of Qandrinah is, I guess, Conlon or Cahcoulan. For Conlon, Calicoulan, Cochin, Calicut, see the map at p. 96, of the above His- tory. Ibn-i-Batutah (1304-1377) mentions Qoilon and Calicut amongst the five ohief ports that he had seen. Seo p. 48, n. 2 of the above History. 8 Dr. Hooter states that at the time the Malabar ohiefe were tolerant of the religions of the many nations who traded nt their ports. Abu Znid when mentioning the foreign colonies records that the king allows each sect to fol¬ low its own religion (Aba Zaida-l-IIasan or SIraf translated in Sir Henry Elliot’s History of India). Manichaoans, Musalmins, Jews, and Christians wore alike welcome nt the Malabar ports. Not only Jows from the earlier times (from 6th century B.C.) and ‘ St. Thomas Christians, ’ from 68 A.D., but also Arab traders (Moplahs) both in pre-Islamio and Islamic times were settled on the Malabar coasts. (See Dr. Hunter's History, Yol. I, pp. 98-100). 4 The Zamorin of Calicut received the Portuguese graoiously. But the foreign Arab merchants, then the most powerful community at his port, per¬ ceived that the new ocean-route must imperil their ancient monopoly by way of the Bed Seo. They accordingly instigated tho court officials to in¬ trigues which nearly ended in a treacherous massacre, p. 103, Hunter’s History, Yol. I. The Riyaz's eocount would however shew that tho provocation came from the side of the Portuguese, who came with a crusading spirit. (See p. 101, ibid). 6 In English histories, he is called the ‘ Zamorin, which is the European form of the Tamil Samuri, meaning ' son of the Sea. ’ Seo Hunter’s History of British India, Vol. I, p. 96, n. 1. 6 Or Coohin. From Hunter’s History, Vol. I, p. 103, it would appear'Da Gama denartod from Calicut, and for some time stopped at Oannauore. 402 Samri. There they obtained permission to build a fort, and with¬ in a short time they erected quickly a small fort, and dismantling a mosque which stood ou the sea-shore they built on its site a church. 1 And this was the first fort which the Christians erected in India. In the meanwhile, the inhabitants of the port of Kanor also leagued with them. The Christians erected a fort also there. Being freed from anxiety, the Christians commenced a trade in pepper and ginger, and obstructed* others from trading therein. Consequently, the Samri advancing with his forces slew the son of the king of Kuchin, and ravaging that province returned. The successors of the slain ruler collecting again a force raised the standard of sovereignty, re-populated the province, and under the advice of the Ferengis 8 placed a flotilla of galleys in the sea. And the ruler of Kanor also similarly fitted out a flotilla of boats. The Samri, getting enraged at this, bestowing all his treasures ou the army, twice or thrice advanced with his forces against Kuchin. 4 At every time, the Portuguese helped Kuchin, 1 In 1500 King Emmanuel of Portugal sent a fleet of thirteen abipB under Pedro Alvarez Caleral, who was well received by the Zamorin,and established a factory on shore at Calient for purchase of spices. He captured an Arab vessel and a Moslem vessel. The Arab merchants were ronBed to indig¬ nation, and sacked the Portuguese factory at Calicut, slaying the chief agent and fifty-three of his men. Caleral retaliated by burning ten Arab ships, and sailed down to Cochin, burning two more Calicut vessels on bis way.