Sam Dalrymple

The trials of England’s first ambassador to India

After landing in Surat in 1615, Sir Thomas Roe was studiously ignored, and months passed before he was finally received by the Mughal emperor

James I’s envoy Sir Thomas Roe waited several months before he was finally received at the Mughal court. Painting by William Rothenstein (British school, 19th century). [Alamy]
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  • Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire

    Nandini Das

    Bloomsbury, pp. 480, £30

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