stablished an agency and did very considerable
business; later they formed a fortified sub-agency at Armagaum, a good way
down the coast, not far from Nellore. At first their fortunes went well;
but local rulers exacted ruinous dues, and at Armagaum in particular the
local ruler, alarmed at the influence that the English merchants had
gained, set himself so seriously to the work of handicapping their trade
that Mr. Francis Day, the Company's representative at Armagaum and a member
of the Masulipatam Council, proposed to the Council that he should be
allowed to seek a field for commercial enterprise more favourable than
either Armagaum or Masulipatam. To Mr. Francis Day was committed the
business of finding a suitable spot for a fresh settlement.

It was an important commission. The East India Company's existence
depended entirely upon the profits of their trade. The Company's
enterprise at Armagaum was hopeless; at Masulipatam it was very
unsatisfactory; and Mr. Francis Day was appointed to find a place
where the commercial prospects would be bright.

It should always be remembered that the East India Company was
established purely as a commercial association, with its head office
in London, and that its employees in India were men with business
qualifications, appointed to carry on the Company's trade. The prime
concern even of an Agent or a Governor was the making of good bargains
on the Company's behalf--and sometimes on his own--getting the best
prices for European broadcloths and brocades, and buying as cheaply as
possible Indian muslins and calicoes and natural produce, for
exportation to London, where they were sold at a large profit. Any
fighting in which the Company's servants engaged was merely incidental
to the pursuit of business in a land in which the ruling sovereigns,
as well as the many small chiefs, were constantly at war. It is a
maxim that 'Trade follows the Flag;' but in the case of India the Flag
has followed Trade.

It is as a commercial man, therefore, that we must picture Mr. Francis
Day setting out on his commercial mission; but it can be imagined that
the English merchant, starting on an expedition in which he would be
likely to seek personal interviews with rajas and nawabs and bid for
their favour, set out in such style as would do the Company credit. In
our mind's eye we picture Master Francis Day, Chief of Armagaum,
standing on the deck of one of the Company's vessels lying at anchor
in