INTRODUCTION
from Takmilla-i-Akbarnāma in Elliot, vol. vi., from the Sanskrit work Ghataka-kārikā, from the Portuguese accounts of De Barros and Souza, from the records of other foreign travellers like Varthema and Ralph Fitch, and lastly from some old Bengali poems and songs preserving local tradition. In the reign of Aurangzeb the principal sources of our information regarding the maritime activities of the Ferenghies and of the imperial fleet are the Fathiyyah-i-ibriyyah, translated by Blochmann, and the contemporary Persian Account of Shihab-ud-dīn Talish in MS. Bodleian 589, Sachau and Ethé's Catalogue, which is translated by Professor Jadunath Sarkar, M.A. Among foreign travellers who supply us with information for this period we may mention Thomas Bowrey, in whose account of the countries round the Bay of Bengal we have many interesting details regarding shipping and commerce. Dr. Fryer is also another similar source of our information. The same period also witnessed the development of Maratha shipping and maritime activity under Sivaji and the Peshwas, details regarding which may be derived from some of the standard works on Maratha history.
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