Abstract
This paper seeks to explore how, although in reality the inferior partner in trade, the English in India thought of themselves as superior. To do this, I will analyze the journal of Sir Thomas Roe, the first official English ambassador to the Mughal Court, in light of English and Mughal history, English cultural constructions, and the works of contemporaries such as Edward Terry and the Emperor Jahangir. This paper will show that Roe judges the people of the Mughal court by English cultural standards, and uses these assump- tions to claim English superiority. Furthermore, the paper will show that, while not intentionally written with imperialist aims, Roe's journal does demonstrate that the basic attitudes of the later imperialist.
Recommended Citation
Schwartz, Katherine
(2010)
"Sir Thomas Roe at the Mughal Court: Seventeenth Century English Cultural Assumptions,"
Proceedings of GREAT Day: Vol. 2009, Article 12.
Available at:
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/proceedings-of-great-day/vol2009/iss1/12