Page:History of India Vol 6.djvu/364

 296 APPENDIX The Mohammedan historian then devotes a couple of paragraphs to the complete establishment of the English power in India. [Elliot, vol. viii, p. 390.] ' Be it known tg men of curiosity that from the time when the ships of the Em- peror Akbar were seized by the Christians, the sending of vessels to the ports of Arabia and Persia was entirely closed, not only in the Deccan and Bengal, but also in other provinces of Hindustan, because it was considered beneath the royal dignity to enter into treaties with the Firingis, and to send treaties without entering into any understanding was to throw lives and property into danger. The Emperor's nobles, however, such as Nawab Abd-ar-Kahim Khan Khan-khanan, and others, having entered into an agreement with them, used to send their own ships, and affairs continued in this course for some time. When the Emperor Jahangir ascended the throne of Delhi, there existed great discord and animosity be- tween the Christians of Portugal, France, etc. Thirst- ing after the blood of each other, they read together the same evil book of hatred and malice. Contrary to the manner in which they had been treated, the Em- peror Jahangir granted the English a spot in Surat for the erection of a factory. This was the first settlement which the English made on the coasts of India. Before this, they also occasionally brought their cargoes to the ports of Hindustan, and having sold them there, returned to their native country. Afterwards, they also began to establish their factories at different places in