2. Who were the two ambassadors of the British king who came to the court of the Mughal emperor? What was their main objective?
Answers
Answer:
An English Diplomat, Sir Thomas Roe represented England in the Mughal Empire. Sir Thomas RoeOn 18 September 1615, he arrived at the Surat port as the ambassador of the English King, James I to Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s court.
The East India Company received the royal charter to trade with India from the British monarch Elizabeth I in 1600:
Their envoy William Hawkins had visited Jahangir in 1608. However, this visit did not bear fruits as he could not secure a permit to establish a factory at Surat.
The Portuguese were having successful trade relations with India at that time and they influenced the Mughal court against the British.
So, the English decided to send Sir Thomas Roe to Jahangir’s court to achieve what Hawkins could not.
Sir Thomas was an able and courageous statesman who took special care not to repeat Hawkins’s mistakes. He brought many rare gifts from Europe to present to the Mughal ruler. He also took great care to present himself with utmost dignity and authority befitting an ambassador of the ‘mighty English King’.
He had a 44-day stay at Surat as the governor of the Mughal Emperor wanted to search him first. Roe refused as he was the ‘ambassador’. After much dilly-dallying and presentations of gifts and pleasantries, Roe embarked on his journey to Agra to meet Jahangir. He also met Prince Khurram (who later became Emperor Shah Jahan) on the way.
Captain Hawkins and Sir Thomas Roe were sent
Explanation:
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