Part in. Travels into the IN DIES. i$ 
CHAP. VII. 
Of Surrat. 
THc Town of Si4rrat lies* in one and twenty Degrees and fome Minutes sun-af, 
of North Latitude, and is watered by the River Tapty. When I 
came there, the Walls of it were only of Earth, and almoft all rui- The Fortifica-' 
nous ; but they were beginning to build them of Brick, a Fathom and a 
half thick -, they gave them but the fame height -, and neverthelefs they 
defign'd to fortifie the place as ftrong as it could be made-, becaufe of the 
Irruption that a Raja, (of whom I lhall fpeak hereafter) had made into it 
Tome time before. However the Ingeneer hath committed a confiderable 
fault in the fetting out of his Walls : He hath built them fo near the Fort^ 
that the Town will be fafe from the Canon of the Caftle, and thofe who 
defend it may eafily be galled by Mufquet-fhot from the Town. 
Thefe new Walls render the Town much lefs than it was before -, for a 
§reat many Houfes made of Canes that formerly were within its Precind 
are now left out, for which, thofe who are concerned pretend Reparation. 
Surm is hut of an indifferent bignefs, and it is hard to tell cxadly the The bigncG of 
number of its Inhabitants, becaufe the feafons render it unequal : There s»'->'^f' 
are a great many all the Year round ^ but in the time of the Monjjon^ that is 
to fay, in the time when Ships can go and come to the Indies without dan- 
ger, in the Months of January, February, March, and even in April, the 
Town is fo full of People, tliat Lodgings can hardly be had, and the three 
Suburbs are all full. 
It is inhabited by Indians, Perfians, Arabians, Turks, Franks, Arme- The inhabu 
m'ans, and other Chriftians : In the mean time its ufual Inhabitants are tams of i»r- 
reduc'd to three Orders, amongft whom, indeed, neither the Franks nor 
other Chriftians are comprehended, becaufe they are but in a fmall num- 
ber in comparifon of thofe who profefs another Religion. Thefe three moom at Sur- 
forts of Inhabitants are either Moors, Heathens, or Parhs -, by the word rat. 
Moors are underftood all the Mahometans, Moguls, Perfians, Arabians or 
Turks that are in the Indies^ though they be not uniform in their Religion, 
the one being Sunnis and the others Chiais : I have obferved the difference 
betwixt them in my Second Part. The Inhabitants of the Second Order Gentils at sur- 
are called Gentils or Heathens, and thefe adore Idols, of whom alfo there ''^^ 
are feveral forts. Thofe of the third rank are the Far/is^ who are like- p^^ris at Sur- 
wife called Gaures or Atechpereft^ Adorers of the Fire : Thefe profefs the rat. 
Religion of the Ancient Perfians, and they retreated into the Indies^ when 
CalyfeOmar reduced the Kingdom of Perfia under the power of the Maho- 
metans. There are People vaftly rich in Surrat, and a Banian a Friend of Rich Mer- 
tnine, called Vargivora^ is reckoned to be worth at leaft eight Millions, criants in Sur- 
The Englifli and Dutch have their Houfes there, which are called Lodges 
And Fadories : They have very pretty Appartments, and tlie Englifli ^^^"^ kao- 
have fettled the general Staple of their trade there. There may be very ries at surrat. 
well an hundred Catholick Families in Surrat. 
The Caftle is built upon the fide of the River at the South end of the TheCaftie of 
Town, to defend the entry againft thofe that would attack it, by the Tap- Surrat. 
ty. It is a Fort of a reafonable bignefs, fquare and flanked at each corner 
by a large Tower. The Ditches on three fides are filled with Sea-water, 
and the fourth fide which is to the Weft is waflied by the River, Several 
pieces of Canon appear on it mounted ^ and the Revenues of the King that 
are colledlcd in the Province are kept there, which are never fent to 
Court but by exprefs Orders. The entry to it is on the Weft fide by a 
lovely 
