konda. The expenses of the Sultan were inconsiderable. His CHAP. IX. military forces were maintained by his own subjects Army of Golin their respective provinces; they formed a standing army, numbering a hundred thousand horse and foot when all were brought together. The Sultan had also two hundred elephants in continual readiness, which were maintained by the farmers of his revenues. His resources were squandered on his pleasures, to which he was entirely abandoned. oppression of The Muhammadans at Masulipatam kept a strict Muhammadan hand over the Hindus, intrusting them with no place Hindus. of concern, and using them only as mechanics and serving-men. dees. The Persians had planted themselves in Masuli- Persian granpatam, and got on partly by trade and partly by arms. Many had grown to be rich, but all were liable to be despoiled of their wealth. They lived in much splendour, especially priding themselves upon having a numerous retinue and handsome followers. The merchant servants of the East India Company were not behind in similar displays. The president of the factory at Masulipatam was always attended with music, banners, and umbrellas, as well as by a train of two hundred soldiers and spearmen. marriage pro The people of Masulipatam celebrated their festivals, Festivals and and especially their weddings, with much show and cessions. splendour. Marriages were commonly performed at night, with the noise of drums, trumpets, and fifes. The poorest Hindu, excepting those of the proscribed caste, had a week's jollity at his marriage; going thwarted by the growing power of the landed nobility. At Golkonda a favourite eunuch was raised to power as a check upon the Muhammadan nobles. In Bíjápur a favourite Abyssinian was raised to power for the same purpose. Eunuchs and Abyssinians have often played important parts in Oriental history. CHAP. IX. Muhammadan life: seclusion of the women. Hindu life: free dom of the women. Hindu arithmetic: local art of painting calicoes. about in a palanquin, attended by guards carrying artificer or low-caste man attempted the like, he The Muhammadans were very grave and haughty. They took delight and pride in smoking their hookahs whilst sitting cross-legged in a great chair at their doors. They cloistered up their women from the eyes of all men. Sometimes a woman went abroad in a close palanquin, but it was death to any man to attempt to unveil her. Marriages were contrived by the parents whilst the children were young. At seven years of age the son was separated from his mother and the brother from the sister. The Hindus at Masulipatam had no such strictness. The women went abroad in the open air, adorned with chains and earrings, jewels in their noses, and golden rings on their toes. Their hair was long and tied up behind with a kind of coronet at the top formed of gold and jewels. The Hindus were clever arithmeticians. They dealt with the nicest fractions without a pen; they were much given to traffic, and were intelligent, if not fraudulent, in all trading transactions. They stained calicoes at Masulipatam in a way far superior to what was to be seen anywhere else. Little children, as well as older persons, stretched the calicoes upon the ground, and then painted them with a dexterity and exactness peculiar to themselves. It was this 52 These kind of quarrels were frequent in Madras in former times, and sometimes led to bloodshed. The French settlement at Pondicherry was in like manner often the scene of similar riots. skill in staining or dyeing cottons that made the port CHAP. IX. of Masulipatam so much frequented. people alarm The natives, however, were very timorous. A short Timidity of the time before Fryer's arrival at the port, an Englishman at the English.. excited the fury of the mob in some affair about a woman. The offender fled to the English factory, but a De-roy was set upon the factory in the name of the Sultan. Under this instrument all communication was closed; no wood, water, or provisions could be carried into the factory.53 At last the offender was induced to leave the factory, and was then torn to pieces by the mob before the factory gates. At this sight twenty-four Englishmen drew out some field-pieces, scoured the streets, and held the two bank-tolls for a whole day and night against the population of Masulipatam, numbering two hundred thousand souls. The De-roy was at last taken off, but the natives remained in such a panic of fear, that on the arrival of the English fleet they would have abandoned the place and fled into the jungle, had they not been reassured by the English in the factory. tions. In all capital cases at Masulipatam the criminal Public execu was put to death immediately after conviction, either by being dismembered or impaled. In cases of murder, the nearest kinsman of the murdered person was required to prosecute the murderer and execute him. He began to hack away at the murderer, and then the rabble rushed in and finished him. The grandees were put to death by poust.54 Law disputes 53 The usage of placing a De-roy on a European factory or settlement was often practised under Muhammadan rule. Many instances of this way of reducing a fort or factory to submission are to be found in the old records at Madras. 54 This poison has already been described. See ante, page 313, note. CHAP. IX. Religious tolera- Sultans of Voyage to Ancient fishing village. were soon ended; for the Nawab heard cases every morning, and delivered judgments at once with the aid of the Kází. Religions of every kind were tolerated at Masulipatam. There were Persians of the Shíah sect, who declared that Ali, and no one but Ali, was the rightful successor of Muhammad. There were Turks of the Sunní sect, who venerated all the four Khalífs. There were Hindu idolaters worshipping many household deities, but acknowledging only one true God, and adoring the others as his deified attributes. Every day after devotion the Hindus fixed a painted symbol on their foreheads. They refused to eat with any one who did not belong to their caste. They lived on roots, herbs, rice, and fruits of every kind but they would not eat anything that had life, or anything, such as eggs, that would produce life. They would, however, drink milk, and also a preparation of boiled butter which they called ghee. Dr. Fryer stayed with the fleet a whole month at Masulipatam. At last a foot-post brought the welcome news from Madras that the Dutch fleet had been repulsed by the French, and had sailed away to Ceylon. The treasure brought from England was then re-shipped on board the English ships and carried away to Fort St. George. The foundation of Madras must always be regarded as an epoch in Indian history. It was the first territorial possession of the English in India. The site was a long sandy beach about four or five miles to the northward of the old Portuguese town of St. Thomé. It was about six miles in length along the shore, and in breadth was about one mile inland. There were villages and towns in the neighbourhood, but on this particular sandy site there were no inhabitants what- CHAP. IX. White-town and In 1639 the English built a fortified factory hard Fort St. George: by this fishing village; it was known as Fort St. Black-town. George. The main business of the factory was to provide stained calicoes, like those at Masulipatam, and ship them to the Eastern Archipelago in exchange for nutmegs and other spices, which in due course were shipped to England. The English lived within the walls of Fort St. George, which was consequently known as White-town. Meanwhile, a straggling native village, peopled by weavers, stainers, and petty dealers, grew up to the northward of the fort under the distinctive name of Black-town. nue of Madras. The site of Madras and Fort St. George had been Rent and revepurchased from a Hindu Naik, who claimed to be a representative of the old Rajas of Vijayanagar. But the Hindu Naiks on the coast of Coromandel were powerless to resist the advancing tide of Muhammadans from Golkonda. Many were swept into oblivion. The English made their peace with the Sultan of Golkonda by agreeing to pay him a yearly |