What did the President of East India Company at Bombay do to four useless, worthless horses? He gifted them to eminent natives. Here is an interesting extract from the consultation of Bombay Council meeting held on Friday, 22nd May 1724 –
“…. There being four horses in the stables altogether unserviceable, and if offered to sale not likely to fetch anything, the President proposes presenting them to four of the most considerable Banian Merchants on the Island, which may be courteously taken, and to render them the more acceptable offers the dressing of them with a yard and a half of Red cloth, which the Board agreeing to, the Warehouse-keeper is hereby directed to issue six yards for that purpose to be presented on His Majesties Birthday the 28th instant.”
(Present day State Bank of India and Horniman Circle, respectively)
© British Library Board [Photo 2/3(8) No. 8]
But Natives cannot use horse hackeries
Somewhere along the way, natives were barred from using horse hackeries and thus could use only bullock or donkey driven hackeries. Moreover, their hackeries were allowed into the Fort only through the Bazar Gate. In 1784, a group of prominent inhabitants appealed against these restrictions. The consultation of the Board meeting held on 4th May 1784 records –
“….. a petition from the principal merchants of this Island praying that the late regulations respecting the natives not using palankeens or horse hackeries may be countermanded, & that the restriction of passing in hackeries by any of the gates excepting the bazar one may be taken off :
…..
The Board having taken into consideration the above petition ….. do unanimously resolve to reject every part of the former except that respecting the gate, and as our granting them an indulgence may not be attended with any particular inconvenience, it is resolved that in future the native inhabitants be permitted to pass & repass in their hackeries at the Church Gate as well as at the Bazar Gate. This indulgence to be continued to them only whilst they do not abuse it, & not do extend to carts except those already licensed.”
Addendum:
Situation of natives in this regard seems to have changed for the better in the next half-century or so as is evident from the following extract from the book by Miss Emma Roberts who travelled to Bombay in 1839:
“The higher classes of natives have adopted European equipages, and are the owners of the handsomest carriages and horses in Bombay. Chariots, barouches, britschkas, and buggies, appear in great numbers, filled with Mohamedan, Hindu, or Parsee gentlemen. The less fashionable use the palanquin carriage, common in Bengal, but which at this place is called a shigram; these are often crammed full of servants and children.”
Interesting. It is vignettes like these which reveal the true mind of the English towards the natives rather than some lofty statements.
It depended a lot on the Governor/President of the day. In fact Gerald Aungier, for all purposes the first real Governor of Bombay, was a visionary and a just and benevolent leader. If Bombay today is a melting pot of all religions and cultures, a lot of credit for this would go to him. British initially came to India as traders and traded at the pleasure of Indian rulers. However, Bombay was their own domain and they were the rulers. Many of those who followed Aungier, behaved as rulers and treated the natives as an inferior class to the Europeans.… Read more »
Interesting. I believe that once they framed a law, it was applicable equally to rich and poor, unlike present-day India, where , depending on one’s social status, differential treatment is meted out. What do your studies reveal ?
Not really. Europeans were on a higher pedestal. All those who worked for British – traders and contractors, all became very rich. Obviously, British were very dependent on natives to actually carry out orders. They encouraged all their contacts in Surat to move to Bombay. That is why Surat (nee Swally) lost its dominance as a port and Bombay became the pre-eminent trading port city. Most of the famous Parsi, Gujarati and Marwari families owe their empire to those times. Mughal rulers used to give the British a tough time in Surat.
There were some more reasons for the British (EIC) to shift their base from Surat to Bombay. Shivaji looted Surat twice in 1664 and 1670 by making flash raids. Though the British saved themselves by fortifying their factory, they realised their vulnerability. At the same time, Bombay island came under EIC’s control. They sent a team to inspect the place and understood its value to be developed as a self-defendable port. The efficacy of Surat as a port was also declining due to silting. By the way, ‘Swally’ is an aberration of a seaside village called ‘Suvali’ near Surat.
Sanjay,
We would be playing football (instead of Cricket) like Brazil if Portugues had won the Suvali battle (skirmish?).
Here is a link describing its importance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQtgBDQM7aY
An interesting read. What I liked the most was the tenor of the minutes/ resolution.It was comprehensive to protect the status of the British and at the same time offering an intent of inclusiveness of Indians.
Here we are looking at the 18th-century feudal society. The class and creed or caste (in the Indian context) differences and hierarchy were the mainstays of this society. The Britishers were staunch believers in the distinctions made by birth, occupation and wealth, and the House of Lords is a remnant of their aristocracy-centric socio-political past. Even the English cricket teams distinguished between the amateurs and the professionals till 1960s. In the scorecard also, only an amateur’s name was prefixed ‘Mr’, like Mr Jardine, while a great professional like Sir Jack Hobbs was just Jack Hobbs. Sir Pelham Wodehouse made his… Read more »
A direction was issued in 1834 that the following gentlemen should be addressed as “Esquire” –
Jugganath Sunkersett, Cursetjee Cowasjee, Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Cursetjee Ardaseer Dady, Dadabhai Pestonjee, Mohammed Ali Rogay, Dhagjee Dadujee, Cursetjee Rustomjee, Bomanjee Hormasjee, Mohammed Ibrahim Macha, Framjee Cowasjee, Hormasjee Bhicajee Chinoy, Nowrojee Jamsetjee.