Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's English War: The Emperor Who Bent the East India Company
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Aurangzeb's wars in the Deccan, his campaigns against the Marathas, the fall of Golconda and Bijapur. But there's another front he opened, one that faced not an Indian kingdom but a European trading company—the English East India Company. Luna: I didn't know Aurangzeb actually went to war with the English. Lucas: He did, and it was a fascinating little conflict that really showed who held the power in India in the late 17th century. It started over money, as these things often do. The English had been operating in Surat, the main Mughal port, for decades, paying customs like everyone else. But by the 1680s, they started getting cocky. They thought their naval strength could bully the Mughals. Luna: They underestimated him pretty badly, I'm guessing. Lucas: Oh, massively. Aurangzeb had already shown he wasn't afraid to confront Europeans. In 1639, his father Shah Jahan had clashed with the Portuguese, and Aurangzeb himself had used Sidi Yaqub, his admiral, to project power at sea. But the English were a different beast—or so they thought. In 1686, the English East India Company sent Sir John Child as their new governor in Bombay with orders to assert their privileges. Child decided to stop paying customs at Surat and even attacked Mughal shipping. Luna: That's bold. What did Aurangzeb do? Lucas: He didn't waste a moment. The emperor ordered the governor of Surat to seize all English goods and arrest the Company's factors. Then he sent Sidi Yaqub with a fleet to blockade Bombay. The English in Bombay were cut off, their trade ruined. They tried to fight back—there was a skirmish off the coast of Surat—but the Mughal navy, which was mostly manned by Sidis from Janjira, was surprisingly effective. Luna: Sidi Yaqub, we've talked about him before—the admiral who led the naval campaigns. He was a tough commander. Lucas: Exactly. And Aurangzeb also used a different weapon: the demand for an apology. He insisted that the English send a formal embassy to his court to beg forgiveness. Sir John Child, who had started this mess, tried to negotiate but the emperor wouldn't budge. Eventually, in 1690, the English sent a delegation led by John Fryer, a surgeon who wrote a detailed account of the whole affair. They had to pay a huge fine, restore customs, and literally prostrate themselves before the emperor. Luna: That must have stung for the Company. Lucas: It did, but they learned a lesson. The English realized that in Aurangzeb's India, they were just one of many players, and the Mughal empire was still the dominant power. For the next few decades, they stayed quiet, paid their dues, and built their base carefully. It wasn't until the 18th century, after Aurangzeb's death and the empire's decline, that they could start to assert themselves. Luna: So in a way, Aurangzeb delayed British dominance. But it's also ironic—his wars in the Deccan drained the empire, which later let the British take over. Lucas: Yeah, that's the tragic arc. He was so focused on expanding and enforcing orthodoxy that he exhausted the treasury and the army. But that's a story for another episode. Right now, let's just appreciate this moment when a Mughal emperor made the English East India Company bend the knee. Luna: That's a good place to leave it. And you know, if today's episode was worth a coffee to you, that's the link—buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps keep the show ad-free and lets us keep digging into these stories. Lucas: Absolutely. Every little bit helps, and we're grateful for anyone who supports the show. Luna: Alright, back to the history. For the listener who wants to read more, John Fryer's account 'A New Account of East India and Persia' is a great primary source. And we have a few more episodes left in this Aurangzeb series—what's next? Lucas: Next time, we're going to look at Aurangzeb's relationship with the Rajputs after the war of succession—a story of shifting alliances and broken promises. But for now, thanks for listening.