India during the medieval period witnessed the arrival of European visitors and companies which served the needs of their respective empires. They have left behind numerous accounts of their experiences which in turn served as an important source for understanding and reconstructing India’s past by British officials and modern historians. This smallvolume covers the profiles of various European travellers who came to India during the fifteenth to the seventeenth century. Most of the European visitors came from powerful nations such as Portugal Italy France and England and formed colonies in substantial parts of Asia America and Africa. This book covers the Christian missionary accounts active in parts of Goa and south India. It also covers the travelogue writers and other accounts written during the reign of Vijayanagar Deccani Sultanates Malabari and other south Indian kingdoms in the above said period besides the arrival of English travellers during the reign of Mughal emperors Jahangir (r.16051627) Shah Jahan (r.16281658) and Aurangzeb (r.16581707) as the English East India Company was founded in 1600 to serve English interests. There are also separate sections on famous travellers such as JeanBaptiste Tavernier Francois Bernier Niccolao Manucci and miscellaneous travellers who came during the Mughal era. About the Author E.F. Oaten (18841973) was a professor of History at the Presidency College Calcutta. He was a member of the Indian Educational Service and served from 1909 to 1928. He is the author of My Memories of India The Evidence Afforded by Them with Respect to Indian Social Institutions and the Nature and Influence of Indian Governments and A Sketch of AngloIndian Literature.
