The Moghul
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Of the English characters, only Huyghen and Roger Symmes are beholdento single, recognizable individuals: being Jan van Linschoten and RalphFitch, respectively. Brian Hawksworth is largely a fictional composite,whose experiences recall in part those of William Hawkins (in Indiafrom 1608 to 1613) and in part those of other seventeenth-centuryEuropean adventurers. His defeat of the four Portuguese galleons wasonly a slight dramatization of historic victories by severelyoutnumbered English frigates off Surat in 1612 and 1614 commanded byEnglish captains Thomas Best and Nicholas Downton, both sailing for theearly East India Company. Hawksworth's mercurial relationship with theMoghul and his experiences at the Moghul's court were re-created inpart from the letters and diaries of William Hawkins and those of hissuccessor, Sir Thomas Roe. As did Brian Hawksworth, William Hawkinsadopted the Indian style of life in dress and diet, much to theastonishment of his European contemporaries. Brian Hawksworth's loveaffair with Shirin was suggested by William Hawkins' marriage to anIndian women of noble descent, possibly a member of the Moghul's court,on the encouragement of Jahangir, who suspected the Jesuits ofattempting to poison him and wanted his food monitored. Hawkins' wifelater journeyed to London, where she caused the East India Companyconsiderable disruption over their responsibilities toward her, andeventually she returned to India.
Although most of the early Englishmen in India resembled our GeorgeElkington far more than they did Brian Hawksworth, there was one earlytraveler, Thomas Coryat, whose cultural and human sensibilities wouldnot have clashed greatly with those of Brian Hawksworth at the end ofhis story.
The sudden appearance of the bubonic plague in India was taken from thecourt history of the Moghul Jahangir. Similarly, the capture of theMoghul's trading vessel by the Portuguese, intended to intimidate himand forestall an English trade agreement, and his retaliatory closureof Jesuit missions happened essentially as described. The Jesuits wereallowed to reopen their missions a few years later, but the damage wasdone. There seems evidence that the Portuguese did conspire to assistthe forces opposing the succession of Shah Jahan, whom they justifiablyfeared. The rebellion of Shah Jahan extended over several years, anddid include at one point a stay on the Udaipur island of Jagmandir,where some historians now believe he first saw inlay work of the typethat later became a distinguishing feature of his crowning creation,the Taj Mahal.
For those who may wish to gain more familiarity with Moghul India,various sources can be recommended. Lively historical works on theMoghul period include Waldemar Hansen's classic panorama The PeacockThrone and the even more recent Cities of Mughul India by Gavin Hambly,to mention two of my favorites. For those still more curious, andadventurous, there are the original writings from the seventeenthcentury, which will require more digging but are decidedly worth theeffort. Readers with access to a major library may be able to findreprinted editions of the diaries of several seventeenth-centuryEnglish and European travelers in India. These are the works, withtheir trenchant firsthand accounts, that all students of the era findindispensable. Perhaps the most easily obtainable is a collectionentitled Early Travels in India, William Foster, ed., which containsedited versions of the diaries of William Hawkins and several others.Following this, the most thorough account of England's early diplomacyin India is contained in the diary entitled The Embassy of Sir ThomasRoe (1615-1619), written by England's first real ambassador to India.Many subsequent diaries and letters of seventeenth-century Europeantravelers have been reprinted by the Hakluyt Society, whosepublications comprise a virtual bibliography of the era.
The most relevant Indian writings, also obtainable in Englishtranslation from a fine library, are the memoirs of the Great MoghulJahangir, entitled the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, and an encyclopedicdescription of court life in late sixteenth-century India entitled theAin-i-Akbari, set down by Akbar's chief adviser and close friend, AbulFazl.