thoroughly regularized the position of the English in India for the first time. It was not a treaty, but only a firman, such as Roe, at the outset of his mission, declared he would not accept. Limited, however, as was its diplomatic character, it served the main purpose of giving the East India Company a definite status and a basis of self-government which saved its representatives from the worst effects of local oppression.
His work completed, and tired in mind and body. Roe quitted India on February 17, 1619, arriving home in the following September. The King received him at Hampton Court in private audience, and the Company showed their appreciation of his work by making him a grant of £1,500 and electing him for a year an extra member of the Committee, with an emolument of £200 a year. During the remainder of his life, which was protracted to 1644, Roe kept in touch with Indian affairs, but he was not again prominently identified with the peninsula. His remains rest in Woodford Church, Essex.
The question has sometimes been discussed whether Roe's mission accomplished anything beyond what the Company's representatives could have obtained in the ordinary way. It is impossible, of course, to say definitely what might have happened if Roe had never gone to India, but if the facts are looked at in the light of history, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that to his personal influence was due the priority of opportunity given to the English amongst the nations of the West in the Mogul's territory. By his strong, intelligent diplomacy the barrier which blocked the path of English trade was surmounted and at the same time a tradition of English thoroughness and integrity was established which secured for the nation
