A Pepys of Mogul India (1653-1708)- An Old and Rare Book

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Niccolao Manucci, the hero of our narrative, ran away from Venice in 1653, being then fourteen. He hid on board a vessal bound for Smyrna, and was fortunate enough to find a protector in a certain Viscount Bellomont, an English nobleman, then on his way to Persia and India. He followed Bellomont through Asia Minor to Persia, and from Persia to India, meeting with many adventures by sea and land. The sudden death of his master near Hodal, in 1656, left Manucci friendless in a strange land.

He seems to have been a youth of considerable resource, however, and fortune favoured him, for he soon found employment as an artilleryman in the service of Prince Dara Shukoh, eldest son of the Emperor Shahjahan. Till Dara's death, in 1659, Manucci followed his varying fortunes in peace and war, and, refusing to transfer his services to Aurangzeb, he gradually adopted the profession of medicine.

Being offered the post of a captain of artillery by Rajah Jai Singh, he returned to soldiering for some years, till apparently he grew tired of it, and resigned his post. He made his way to Bassain, where he narrowly escaped the Inquisition, and thence to Goa, ultimately returning to Agrah and Dihli. Here he took service with Kirat Singh, son of Jai Singh; but when Kirat Singh was ordered to Kabul, Manucci resolved to move to Lahor (end of 1670 or early in 1671) and start in practice as a physician. At the end of six or seven years, having made a little money, Manucci decided to remove into European territory, and made his home at Bandora, on Salsette Island. Before long, however, he lost his money in an unlucky venture, and was obliged to return to the Mogul Court. He obtained an appointment as one of the physicians attached to Shah 'Alam, and followed him to the Dakhin when he went there as Governor in 1678. Shah Alam was recalled in 1680 to take part in a campaign, and from that time they were on the move till early in 1681. Manucci seems to have been found his position some- what irksome, and determined to make his escape to Goa on the pretext of taking leave of absence.