ASIA. 



in the beginning of this period that another faith 

 was introduced into India. In 1001, Mahmoud, 

 the Mohammedan sultan of Ghuznee, in Eastern 

 Iran, commenced his successful expeditions into 

 India, and he continued them till 1029, making 

 the destruction of pagan idolatry more the object 

 of his visits than the acquisition of wealth or 

 power. By his successors the Mohammedan 

 dominion was established. Genghis Khan and 

 Timur invaded India. In 1397, the latter sacked 

 Delhi, and proclaimed himself emperor of India. 

 He was followed by Baber, who, in 1526, entered 

 Delhi, and had himself proclaimed successor of 

 Timur and emperor of India. Baber established 

 the dynasty of the Mogul emperors, or Great 

 Moguls. One of these was Akbar, who flourished 

 between the years 1556 and 1605. By his 

 daring and judicious management, the central 

 provinces were preserved in complete tranquillity, 

 and Gujerat, Bengal, and part of the Deccan 

 were added to his already extensive empire. His 

 descendant, Aurungzebe, became Mogul emperor 

 in 1658. He imprisoned his father, and, in the 

 most unscrupulous manner, usurped the imperial 

 power. He raised the Mogul empire to its highest 

 point of splendour, and by sacrifice of the treasure 

 amassed at his frugal court, for the relief of a 

 great famine, so far atoned for the crimes of his 

 youth. He died in 1707, and the decay of the 

 Mogul empire followed. It was weakened by the 

 growth of a power among the Mahrattas in 

 the countries lying to the east of the Gulf of 

 Cambay. They represented the Hindus, as 

 opposed to the Mohammedans of Delhi, and 

 formed several states. On the invasion of India 

 by Nadir Shah, they succeeded in wresting a large 

 territory from the Mogul emperors. The strife 

 between them and the Mohammedans was ter- 

 minated by the growth of a new power in India 

 that of the English. In 1498, the route to India 

 had been discovered by the' Portuguese, and in 

 that year they landed in Malabar, and established 

 themselves there. Their chief settlement was 

 Goa. The Dutch next opened a direct trade with 

 India, and they were followed by the English and 

 the French. 



The English desired to open a commercial 

 intercourse with India as early as 1553 ; but 

 their expeditions failed in reaching the country, 

 from their want of geographical knowledge. They 

 at length learned which was the true course to 

 steer for India ; whereupon, in 1600, a Company 

 of merchants was formed in London to prosecute 

 the traffic with the East, being empowered to 

 do so by a charter from Queen Elizabeth, which 

 was to last fifteen years. The first expedition of 

 these adventurers cost .69,091, and consisted 

 of five ships, the largest of which was 600, and 

 the smallest 130 tons burden. The articles which 

 they took were principally bullion, iron, tin, 

 broadcloths, cutlery, and glass. This expedition 

 proved remarkably successful, and led immediately 

 to a repetition of annual voyages of the same 

 nature. Unsuccessful attempts were made to 

 secure favour with the Mogul emperor ; but the 

 affairs of the Company continued prosperous, and 

 factories or warehouses for storing exports and 

 imports were in many places planted on the coasts 

 of India. From the real or pretended dread of 

 being attacked by marauders, the keepers, mer- 



began to strengthen the defences ; and so, from 

 being mere mercantile warehouses, the factories 

 shortly partook of the decided character of armed 

 garrisons. In 1640, the native authorities gave 

 permission to build Fort St George at Madras ; 

 and in 1645, a factory was established on the 

 banks of the Hooghly, a branch of the Ganges 

 near its mouth, which formed the foundation of 

 Calcutta. The island of Bombay was also pro- 

 cured as a settlement in 1664-65, after a struggle 

 with its Portuguese possessors. 



The French, who had acquired considerable terri- 

 torial possessions in Southern Hindustan, came 

 into collision with the British merchants. It would 

 be needless to recount the particulars of the 

 struggle for power ; it will suffice to state that 

 the French ultimately were deprived of their 

 possessions. By the defeat of the French forces 

 in 1761, the British were left at liberty to pursue 

 their schemes on India. Calcutta had in the 

 meanwhile rapidly advanced in wealth, and 

 excited the envy of the Subahdar of Bengal, 

 Suraja Dowlah. He attacked it in 1756, and 

 capturing 146 prisoners, confined them in the 

 memorable Black Hole, in which all but 23 were 

 suffocated. Clive hastened from Madras to the 

 rescue of Calcutta, and defeated Suraja Dowlah 

 at the battle of Plassey, 1757. The Mogul 

 emperors then appointed the Company dewannee, 

 or perpetual collector of Bengal, Bahar, and 

 Orissa, on payment of ^260,000 per annum. In 

 1777, the French again made India the scene of 

 a war with England. A Mohammedan adven- 

 turer, named Hyder Ali. also had established his 

 power as sovereign in the southern part of the 

 Deccan; and the Mahrattas, aided by French 

 officers, attacked the English ; but the confederacy 

 was broken up in 1781, when Hyder Ali was 

 defeated by Sir Eyre Coote. In 1790, Lord Corn- 

 wallis, with the Mahrattas and others, made war 

 on Tippoo, the son of Hyder Ali. He, too, was 

 defeated, and was compelled to cede half of 

 his dominions to England. The principal war 

 in which the East India Company was engaged 

 after this successful contest, was that with the 

 Pindarees, roving tribes of Mahrattas, who, with- 

 out any territory, carried on predatory warfare 

 against all whom they could rob with impunity. 



The chief events in the more recent history of 

 India may be referred to under the heads of the 

 successive administrations. Lord Auckland was 

 governor-general from 1835 to 1842, and under 

 his rule the disastrous Afghan policy was adopted 

 which led to the massacre of an English army 

 in the Khyber Pass. Lord Ellenborough suc- 

 ceeded him. In his time, Afghanistan was 

 invaded, and Cabul sacked ; Sinde was also 

 conquered by Sir Charles Napier, and annexed. 

 Sir Henry Hardinge was governor from 1844 to 

 1848. His administration was remarkable for the 

 Sikh war, the result of which was the conquest 

 of the Punjab. Under the governorship of Lord 

 Dalhousie (1848-55), the Punjab, Nagpur, and 

 Oude were annexed. Lord Canning's administra- 

 tion was the period of the great mutiny of 1857-58. 

 It is now believed to have been a Mohammedan 

 conspiracy. The last of the Great Moguls, the 

 king of Delhi, and heir of Timur, took part in 

 the conspiracy, and was in consequence tried, 

 and sentenced ' to be transported across the seas 



as a felon,' He died in Pegu in 



1862. One 



283 



