106 ~—s EE. D. Maclagan— Jesuit Missions to the Emperor Akbar. [No. 1, 
his labour here may be called the founder of this mission, Your 
Reverence’s unworthy son Manoel Pinheiro.’ 
% # # % % % % 
On the 15th of October 1605, scarcely two months after the above 
letter was written, Akbar died at Agra. 
The Results of the Missions. 
These missions are perhaps unique as an attempt on the part of a 
large Society in Christendom to convert a single individual, and in so far 
as they represented an attempt of this nature they were undoubtedly 
failures. Whether Akbar died a Muhammadan or not is, perhaps, a 
moot point,! but it is certain that he did not die a Christian. Sir 
Thomas Roe and his chaplain Terry who were in India eleven years 
later, are clear on this point. Sir Thomas writing from Ajmir on 
30th October 1616,? says :—- 
‘In this confusion they (the Muhammadans) continued until the time of 
Akbar Shah, father of this king, without any noise of Christian profession, 
who being a prince by nature just and good, inquisitive atter novelties, 
curious of new opinions and that excelled in many virtues, especially in 
piety and reverence towards his parents, called in three Jesuits from Goa 
whose chief was Jerome Xavier, a Navarrois. After their arrival he heard 
them reason and dispute with much content on his, and hope on their, part, 
and caused Xavier to write a book in defence of his own profession against 
both Moors and Gentiles, which finished he read over nightly, causing some 
parts to be discussed, and finally granted them his letters patent to build, 
to preach, teach, convert, and to use all their rites and ceremonies as freely 
and amply as in Rome; bestowing on them means to erect their churches 
and places of devotion. So that in some few cities they have gotten rather 
Templum than Heclesiam. In this grant he gave grant to all sorts of 
people to become Christian that would, even to his Court or own blood, 
professing that it should be no cause of disfavour from him. 
‘Here was a fair beginning to a forward spring of a lean and barren 
harvest. Akbar Shah himself continued a Muhammedan, yet he began to 
make a breach into the law, considering that as Muhammad was but a man, 
a king as he was, and therefore reverenced, he thought he might prove as 
good a prophet himself. This defection of the king spread not far, a certain 
outward reverence detained him, and so he died in the formal profession of 
his sect.’ 
So too Terry in his Voyage to Hast India (ed. 1777, p. 419) des- 
cribes at some length the sort of arguments used by Xavier in the 
disputations held before Akbar, ‘which’ says he, ‘that king heard 
1 Price, Memoirs of Jahangir, p. 77. Blochm. Am I. 212. 
% Purchas i. 586. 
