Anglo Portuguese Negotiations : Relating To Bombay 1660-1677

About The Book : Bombay possesses a singular power of arousing the interests of its citizens in its chequered annals, and a band of distinguished historians has carried on the pious task of recording its phenomenal growth in a series of luminous monographs and comprehensive gazetteers. Campbell has compiled an admirable collection of representative data in the Bombay Gazetteer Materials, Edwardes has given a masterly sketch of the rise of Bombay. These are our principal authorities for the study of the history of Bombay; and it would be difficult to find a better collection of essential data. There is, however, one aspect of the history of Bombay which seems to me to have been ignored by its historians. They have neglected to emphasize the importance of the Anglo-Portuguese negotiations, and have contented themselves hitherto with a brief account of the unfortunate squabbles between the Portuguese Viceroy and the English Commanders. A deeper study of the data reveals the existence of a continuous. Another important feature of these negotiations is their wealth of information on the commercial usages of the period. For it was not merely a question of petty dues and vexatious tolls; it was the vital problem of the security of the Company's trade, and the safety of its subjects. There was another important aspect of this quarrel. The elaborate reports of the Council, the active support of the King, and the numerous representations to the Portuguese Government, show the intimate connection between the foreign and the economic policy of England, while the keen and sustained interest manifested by Charles II in the varied colonial and commercial activities of the times vindicate that monarch from the reckless charges hurled by his opponents.