Feast of Roses

Mehurunnisa met with Abul, Bapa, and Khurran at her father's home. This meeting between the three was a secret and they were summons there by Mehurunnisa. There was discussion about William Hawkins, who considered himself an Ambassador from England. Hawkins wanted Emperor Jahangir to sign trading privileges for the English. Hawkins wanted to leave the country and return to his own but the emperor did not want him to leave. He offered him many things to stay but he left frustrated and no longer hopeful that a treaty would be signed. The Portuguese had been in India for some time before the first conquest of India (page # 90). They were supposed to be in India to try and covert people but the Indians did not believe that this was their mission. Although they were suppose to be there for religious reasons the Portuguese manned the Arabian Sea routes providing protection for the pilgrims as their ships sailed. The Portuguese did not want the English there. The Indians thought that the taxes and the cost of the trade were too high for levies of protection. Prince Khurram questioned why empires could not protect their own ships.
The Indians’ idea of the English was they were highly skillful at sea and that their Navy was very powerful. There was thought of the English protecting them at sea instead of the Portuguese. They also pondered the thought of giving them both the chance to protect the ships and profit from the protection. The Indians were afraid of the fact that the Portuguese would become arrogant if they were unchallenged and the Indians had to do something about them. The ideas were uncertain because of the behavior of an Englishman who robed and harassed defenseless trading vessel. The three were weary if the English could be trusted.
The Indians also thought that they Portuguese were too arrogant.