INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR The story of Indian events in the seventeenth cen- tury, so far as they relate to the internal history of the country during the time of the zenith and decline of the Moghul Empire, has already been told in the fourth and fifth volumes; what may be called the external history of India during this period is contained in the present volume and consists in a narrative of the strug- gle between the three rival European powers, Portu- guese, Dutch, and English, for supremacy in Hindustan. The story is an involved one, but is remarkably clear and logical in its sequence. The foothold established by the East India Com- pany in 1600 was strengthened more and more by the separate voyages of the Company; and so vigorous was the advance made that it resulted in bringing Eng- land into conflict first with the Portuguese and after- wards with the Dutch as to which should have the upper hand in India. Bloodshed and international dif- ficulties were the issue, but the ultimate outcome was the paramount establishment of English supremacy on
