On The 22d Mr Barker And Other Merchants Were Sent To
Surat To Provide Furniture For A House To Accommodate The Lord
Ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe.
They were searched most narrowly, even their
pockets, and the most secret parts of their dress, according to the
Base
manner of this country, in which a man has to pay custom for a single
dollar in his purse, or a good knife in his pocket; and if one has any
thing rare, it is sure to be taken away by the governor, under pretence
of purchase.
[Footnote 168: In the Pilgrims this person is named Zuipher-Car-Chan,
but we believe the orthography in the text is more correct. - E.]
The lord ambassador landed on the 25th, accompanied by our general, all
the captains and merchants, and eighty men under arms, part pikes, and
part muskets. Forty-eight guns were fired off from the ships, which were
all dressed out with colours and streamers, flags and pendants. On
landing, he was received in a splendid tent by the chief men of Surat,
who welcomed him to India. There was much to do about their barbarous
search, which they would have executed on all his attendants, which he
strenuously resisted, and at length he and three or four of his
principal followers were exempted, while the rest were only slightly
handled for fashion-sake. A great deal passed on this occasion between
the governor and the ambassador, about these rude and barbarous
exactions, Sir Thomas justly contending for the honour and immunity of
an ambassador from an independent king; while they insisted to make no
difference between him and others of similar rank in those parts, and of
our own likewise, who had formerly assumed the name of ambassadors.
Their barbarous usage not only perplexed him there, and detained him
long till an order came from court, but gave him much plague all the
time he remained in the country, as will appear afterwards from his own
journal.
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