258
IIISTOKY UF INDIA.
[Book IT
CHAPTER II.
Progress of the Company's trade— Proceedings in the Persian Gulf — New joint stock — Arrangement with the Dutch — The council of defence — The massacre of Amboyna.
A.D. 1017
Extension of Company's trade.
Their dealings in Persia.
Y the treaty with the Great Mogul, the Company had not only
gained full access to the continent of India, but been enabled to
arrange a regular course of interchanges, from which a great
increase of mercantile profits was anticipated. At Sui-at, though
the sales of English imports were limited, reasonable purchases
could be made of the cloths and other goods which were in great demand at
Bantam and other stations established in the Indian Archipelago, and could, in
consequence, be advantageously exchanged against pepper and other spices,
which were at first regarded as the most important staples of the Eastern trade.
With the view of extending these exchanges, other stations along the coast of
India were gradually adopted, and the vessels of the Company began regularly
to frequent all the leading ports both on the Malabar and the Coromandel
coasts, and still further north to the mouths of the Ganges.
The ample scope for trafiic thus afforded was more than sufficient to give full employment for all the capital which the Company had yet been able to raise ; but their ambition appears always to have been larger than their means, and they resolved to turn their attention to Persia. An important trade with this coimtry had long been carried on by the Levant Company, but war had begrm to rage between the Tm'ks and Persians, and the usual channel of inter- course being thus interrupted, it was resolved to take advantage of the circum- stance, and endeavour permanently to transfer the trade from the Levant to the Persian Gulf The attempt thus to interfere with the monopoly of another British cliartered company was rather ungenerous; and it may have been partly on this account that Sir Thomas Roe not only decidedly disapproved of it, but endeavoured, on his own responsibility, to prevent it from being carried into effect. The flattering representations of the factors of Surat, however, prevailed ; and a vessel was despatched to the port of Jask, situated a little east of the entrance of the Persian Gulf, with a small sum of money, and a cargo of English broadcloths, kerseys, lead, tin, iron, cutlery, fee, to be exchanged for Persian silks. The adventure proved successfid ; and ultimately a regulai' trade was established between the Persian Gulf, Surat, and Bantam.
It had been foreseen that this trade could not be established without coming Portuguese, into ficrcc collisiou with the Portuguese, who had long possessed it as an exclu- sive monopoly ; but the signal successes which had been gained over them when
Collision with the
