xiii] EARLY EUROPEAN SETTLEI3EITS 459
rose steadily till in i683 it stood at £360 per cent. In India, Prosperity
despite some checks, such as Sir Edward Winter's royalist of the
Company,
rebellion at Madras (I665-8), their star was in the ascendant. 1660-83.
In I66i Bombay was ceded to the British Crown as part of Acquisi-
the dower of Catharine of Braganza, but was not delivered up tion of
Bombay,
until i665. The King transferred it to the Company for an i668.
annual payment of ten pounds in I668. The seat of the
Western Presidency was removed to it from Surat in I687.
The direct effect of the Restoration Wars with Holland (I665-7 Restora-
and i672-4) upon our position in India was curiously small. tion Wars
with
In the former a Dutch fleet threatened Surat, but dared not Holland,
land troops for fear of violating the neutrality of the Mughal 1665-7,
empire. By the treaty which ended it England finally 1672-4.
renounced her claim to Pulo Run. In the second War the
fighting fell mainly to the lot of France, who was England's
ally. The Dutch did indeed capture St. Helena, which the
English had occupied since I658, but it was speedily retaken
(I673) and henceforward remained an English possession.
Under the rule of able men, such as Sir George Oxenden
(I662-69), Gerald Aungier (1669-77), and Sir John Child
(I682-90), all Presidents of Surat and also Governors of
Bombay, the trade and influence of the Company was pros-
perously maintained.
Towards the end of the reign of Charles II, the position Trouble
of affairs in India became much less favourable. Keigwin's in India.
rebellion at Bombay (i683-4), and a mutiny at St. Helena
during the same time, injured the reputation of the Company
both at home and in India. More serious were the premoni-
tory signs that heralded the break-up of the Mughal empire.
In I664 and I670 SivAj! was repulsed with difficulty from the
factory at Surat, and he threatened Madras in I677. From
I683 to I687 Aurangzeb was waging in the Deccan a desultory
but destructive war with the Sultans of Bijapur and Golconda.
All over India the forces of rebellion and disruption were
manifest. The trade of Surat and Madras suffered, while in
Bengal the viceroy ShaistS Khan actively oppressed the English
factories. In I686 the Court of Committees, dominated by The Com-
Sir Josia Child, brother of the President of Surat, deliberately pany aims.
at terri-
abandoned their traditional policy of a peaceful commerce, torial
which dated from Roe's time, for one of active reprisals. In power,
the following year they proclaimed in memorable and prophetic 686.
words that they intended to ' establish such a polity of civil and
military power, and create and secure such a large revenue ...
as may be the foundation of alarge, well-grounded, sure English
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