Consider the following statements with reference to advent of European power in India:

1. Farrukhsiyar’s Farmans exempted the British East India Company from additional custom duty.

2. Shah Jahan granted Francois, the french governor a site for settlement at Masulipatnam.

3. Mughal emperor Akbar was intolerant towards christianity during the Portuguese regime.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Solution

● Statement 1 is correct: In 1717, an English mission at the court of the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar under the leadership of John Surman secured famous farman, called Magna Carta of the compay. The Farman gave Company a large number of trade concession such as: 1. They were allowed to trade freely, except for a yearly payment of 3,000 rupees i.e the Company’s imports and exports were exempted from additional customs duties in Bengal. It was an approval or extension of earlier concession granted by Shah Shuja, the Subahdar of Bengal in 1651 (Shah Shuja, in 1651, allowed the English to trade in Bengal in return for an annual payment of Rs 3,000, in lieu of all duties.) 2. The Company was given rights to issue dastaks (trade permits) for the transportation of goods. 3. The Company was permitted to rent more lands around Calcutta. 4. Hyderabad: Here, the Company retained its existing privilege of freedom from duties in trade and had to pay the prevailing rent only for Madras. 5. Surat: The East India Company was exempted from the levy of all duties for an annual payment of 10,000 rupees. 6. The coins of the Company minted at Bombay were to have currency throughout the Mughal empire. · Statement 2 is incorrect: In 1673, Sher Khan Lodi, the governor of Valikandapuram (under the Bijapur Sultan), granted Francois Martin, the director of the Masulipatnam factory, a site for a settlement. · Statement 3 is incorrect: Akbarsent a letter to the authorities at Goa in September 1579 and requested them to send two learned priests to his court. It shows his secular approach. The Church authorities in Goa under Portuguese authority accepted the invitation. They saw in it a chance to convert the emperor, his court and the people to Christianity. Jesuit fathers, Rodolfo Aquaviva and Antonio Monserrate, were selected for the purpose.