Travels in the Mughal Empire
Also called: Travels in the Mogul Empire · Topic: Medieval India through Travellers' Eyes · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Through the Eyes of Travellers"
Meaning
Travels in the Mughal Empire is François Bernier's book about Mughal India. Bernier was a French doctor who lived in India from 1656 to 1668. He dedicated the book to King Louis XIV of France. Throughout, he compared India with Europe and showed India as worse in almost every way. Thanks to print, this book became the main European image of India.
Example
The book was published in France in 1670–71. Within five years it was translated into English, Dutch, German and Italian. It was reprinted eight times in French by 1725. In it, Bernier argued that there was no private property in land in India, and that this led to poverty and "no middle state". His ideas later fed into Montesquieu's theory of "oriental despotism".
Don't confuse with
- Rihla and Kitab-ul-Hind: Arabic accounts by Ibn Battuta and Al-Biruni. They circulated as handwritten manuscripts, generally unpublished before 1800. Bernier's book was printed and widely read.