Indian Antiquary Vol 57

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 10

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ JANUARY, 1928
SOURCES FOR AN ACCOUNT OF THE EMBASSY OF SIR WILLIAM NORRIS, Br.,
TO AURANGZEB.
BY HARIHAR DAS, B.LITT. (Oxon.), F.R.HIST.S. SIR WILLIAM NORRIS went out to India as representative both of the ruling sovereign and of the New or English East India Company. His embassy covered a period of nearly four years(1698-1702), which was pregnant with future consequences. It saw the beginning of the decline of the Mughal Empire and the union of the rival companies which led ultimately to British suzerainty in India. The history of those years forms a stirring period in the annals of the two Companios. Sir Thomas Roe's embassy to the Court of Jahangir has been exhaustively treated, notably in the work of Sir William Foster. But the scarcely less important mission of Sir William Norris to the Court of Aurangzeb, nearly a century later, has not hitherto received from historical writers on India that attention which the importance of the subject demands.
John Bruce incorporated in his Annals of the East India Company a longthy narrative of the mission, compiled from the records then kept at East India House. In spite, however, of the great care obviously devoted to the work, he seems to have omitted to consult certain of those records, particularly Sir William's Journals, which contain a vivid account of the embassy. The supremo morit of Bruce's work as a whole lies in the fact that it is a storehouse of information. It can hardly be considered complete, for being an official of the Company, he naturally suppressed facts likely to give a handle to its enemies. It is, however, a well-written account and fairly accurate, as he had full access to the Company's records. Among others who have written on the Norris mission, Sir Cornelius Dalton may be mentioned. Mr. P. E. Roberts has contributed a chapter on the subject to Sir W. W. Hunter's (unfinished) History of India. Mr. Arnold Wright has given a short but lucid account of the embassy in his book, Annesley of Surat and His Times, and Mr. Beckles Willson has also written a chapter on the subject in his book, Ledger and Sword. In extracts toc from the Diary of William Hedges we get glimpses of the mission, but these are by no means exhaustive, though his comments are invaluable. It will be seen, then, that notwithstanding their good qualities these contributions to the history of the period are only portions of a general literary scheme, in which Sir William Norris' mission ranks merely as an episode. Further, it may not be out of place to mention that most of the writers have put Bruce's Annals under contribution, without fully realizing the value of the original records.
The Factory Records at the India Office, especially volumes 19 and 20, contain most valuable accounts of the embassy, apart from Sir William Norris' own Journals. These records consist of important miscellaneous letters, copies of the documents sent to England. There are variations in the handwriting of these records, different writers having been allotted to different sections. For example, one writer would copy the out-going and in-coming letters of a certain factory, another the consultations, and so on. The records entitled Original Correspondence-received by the Court of Directors at home from their servants in the East also afford valuable material. That correspondence includes original documents, detached letters in the handwriting of the authors, and general letters from the factories, in the hand. writing of clerks employed for the time being in the Secretary's Office. These letters are not chronologically arranged, nor are the sheets uniform in size. There are gaps occasioned by loss of documents in transit; by destruction of others thought to be useless; and by decay of the papers owing to insufficient care. The Letter Books and the Court Minutes are useful ; for the former contain copies of letters sent from England by the Court of Directors to their factors in India ; while the latter throw light upon the situation at home and the steps taken in connection therewith by the Court. The latter is indicated by the nature of the resolutions passed.
MS. records relating to the embassy preserved at the British Museum are confined to two volumes. These are the Additional MSS. 22,843 and 31,302. The former is vol. II of the Thomas Pitt Papers, which contain letters from the Governor to various chiefs of the Old Company's settlements, and give some idea of the intrigues between the rival companies and