“Walk by the Ancient Customs of the Port”: Limits on English Trade in India in the 1600s

During the 1500s and 1600s, European states began trading in the Indian Ocean. Despite claims that Europeans “conquered” and established trading-post empires, Europeans often wielded more power and influence than they actually had. European traders were relatively few, while Asian states had greater power and influence. We can see this relative power in a conflict between the English East India Company, Indian merchants, and the Mughal Empire in the late 1680s.

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