%0 Journal Article
%T 'I will do as my father did': On Portuguese and other European views of Mughal succession crises
%A Jorge Flores
%J E-Journal of Portuguese History
%D 2005
%I The University of Porto, Brown University
%X The Mughal succession crises occurring between the political downfall of Akbar (c. 1600) and AurangzebĄ¯s death (1707) were portrayed in detail by a considerable number of European observers. This essay intends to study the way those critical moments, that would eventually lead to the disintegration of the Mughal empire, were openly desired both in Goa and Lisbon: they somewhat represented the life insurance of a defenseless Estado da ¨Ēndia forced to face a giant ¨C the Gr o Mogor ¨C that could not be controlled. On the other hand, and for different reasons, the agents of the English East India Company, operating on the ground, as well as the theatergoers that saw John DrydenĄ¯s plays in London, favored the dynastic stability of Timurid India. This represents an interesting diversity of European images of the Mogor, and asks for a careful analysis of their motives and impact.
%K Mughal empire
%K Portuguese India
%K political succession
%K dynastic crises
%K European perceptions of Asia
%K early modern world
%U http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Portuguese_Brazilian_Studies/ejph/html/issue6/html/flores_main.html