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Bernier Travels to India

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Francois Bernier travels to India

Francois Bernier (1620 - 1688) was born in Joue, near Gonnord, in Anjou to a family of
cultivators of the soil. Concurrent with his birth, was Shah Jahan's accession to the Mughal
throne in 1628. A few decades later, Bernier would find his path intertwined with this cross-
continental concurrence. He would find himself in the midst of the fratricidal addendum to
Shah Jahan's waning, in an attempt to unveil the underlying idiosyncrasies in the Mughal
milieu.

Bernier's education found him in the tutelage of the French philosopher Pierre Gassendi
(1592 – 1655), who not only taught him physiology and tutored him for the Physician's
examinations, but also nurtured his philosophical world-view. His characteristic keen eye for
systematic observation seems to have been a direct influence of Gassendi's method (Rubies,
53). Bernier's active engagement with the philosophical traditions, that he was himself a
product of, has been widely attested to. Oaten notes that “he was acquainted with the leading
philosophers of his day and was fully conversant with the newest historical and philosophical
methods” (Oaten, 69). His cerebral context was dominated by the infant inklings of proto-
modernist medieval French philosophy. The beginnings of Modern Philosophy saw the
writings of Montaigne abash the didacticism of the age. Descartes shifted the impetus of
Philosophy from the unearthly inflexions of metaphysics (primarily ontology) to the
convoluted dynamics of human knowledge; epistemology. The Age of Enlightenment found
its substance in Medieval French philosophy and exuded its influence to the Modern
episteme. Domiciled by this period in philosophy wherein the focus lies on knowledge
creation, and by extension to knowledge systems, it comes as no surprise that Bernier
qualified to be a physician, but developed a special inclination towards political philosophy.
In fact, the infamous tradition of British Indology also borrowed heavily from the writings of
Montesquieu and Volatire in their methodology (Wink, 449). The juxtaposition of this 'proto-
modernist' milieu with the 'mehfils' of Aurangzeb's court represents the epitome of the kind of
trans-epistemic exchange that intercontinental travel enabled for mankind. It represents the
dynamism of knowledge, and not just trade, facilitated by mankind's discovery of both sea
and land routes over millennia; cross-epistemic exchange and interaction in its most palpable
form.

Part I: Bernier travels to Mughal India

The tradition of Europeans travelling to India dates back to the days of the ancient Greek era.
From the days of Ctesias, Scylax and Megasthenes, the Indian sub-continent has managed to
accost European curiosity. The Middle ages saw Europeans from different nations exploring
India with both commercial and intellectual motivations. “The medieval period of Indian
history may conveniently be regarded as opening with the first plundering expedition of
Mahmud of Ghanzni in 1001 A.D., and reached cessation with the death of Aurangzeb, in
1707 A.D” (Oaten, 7). Thus, the tradition of Indology that began with the Ancient Greeks and
Romans, was carried into its medieval form by the academic curiosity of Islamic writers like
Al Beruni (10th – 11th cent. AD). The second half of this period is when European exploration
of India gained significant currency through diplomatic excursions like in the case of Marco
Polo (13th century AD), missionary proselytisation by Christians like St. Xavier (16th cent.
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AD) and commercial colonialism of South-East Asian trade by Vasco Da Gama (15th – 16th
cent. AD).

While the accounts of Portuguese and Italian writers have acquired considerable popularity,
French accounts of 17th and 18th century India seldom find currency in discourse. Jean
Parmentier of Dieppe voyaged to Sumatra in 1521, a voyage that marked the first excursion
of the French in Indian waters (Oaten, 45). However, the first French expedition to indulge in
Indian trade came with the French emulation of Dutch enterprise. In 1601, the Croissant and
the Corbin set sail with the intention of establishing trade relations with India. Aboard these
two ships were Frenchmen, most of whom failed miserably in their efforts and suffered fatal
consequences. On the Corbin, a Frenchman named Francois Pyrard, a citizen of Laval, wrote
about the voyage and its tragedy. This account of Francois Pyrard de Laval was the first
account that came remotely close to documenting French exploration of the Indian waters and
consequently, gained considerable popularity (Oaten, 45).

The French did not establish contact with India and its peoples till the 17th century. There has
been considerable speculation as to why the French interest in the Orient kindled so late as
compared to other European powers and the pertaining explanations range from France's
counter-strategic inland geographical disposition, the typical Frenchman's disinterested
attitude towards trade and commerce to poor teamwork among the envoys delegated to
explore. It is, however, a truism that their efforts to establish any control over Oriental trade
were at best, paltry (Cadell, 193). Despite this unimpressive beginning, the French – through
Napoleon - posed a serious threat to the British stronghold in India. They threatened to march
through British India and consequently, seize control over their colonies. This time around,
they intended to accost control by boastful force (Huttenback, 590). By the time of
Napoleon's dominance, in addition to their military might, the French had also established an
intellectual tradition in the Orient. According to many, this tradition far surpassed its
European counterparts in the intellectual exploration of India. The 17th and 18th century
French accounts have been lauded for their 'open-minded', Enlightenment attitude in contrast
to the early British suspension of the Indian milieu in a typically colonial and reductionist
framework of decadence and barbarism (Wink, 449).

Towards the end of the 18th century, the volume of French accounts of India grew
substantially and a peculiar tendency emerged. The late 18th century French images of
Hindustan or 'Bharat' were painted with glorifying shades of Indomania. Their astonishment
at the sheer size of the Indian continent, as they called it, was surpassed only by their praise
for Indian political organization and agriculture. They envisioned India as a continent that
was the progenitor of religious and scientific wisdom and was metamorphosing through their
renaissance by the sheer spirit of their religious fervour for agriculture (Wink, 450). The
veracity of their claims remains to be testified to, but their adulation is overt. The antecedent
to this Indomanic plethora of French literature on India, however, was not tainted with a uni-
dimensional perspective.

In the 17th century, three Frenchmen, whose accounts of India became the progenitors of the
French tradition of Indology, were all present in the ‘continent’ at the same time. Bernier,
Tavernier and Thevenot form the trinity of French travellers to India whose accounts
spawned French writings on India. In addition to them, Chardin also visited India, but
restricted his focus to Persia (Oaten. 64). The trinity of Francois Bernier, Jean-Baptiste
Tavernier and Jean de Thevenot is similar only in that they were French travellers to India in
the middle of the 17th century and in 1666, all of them were on Indian soil. Save this
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similarity, they were different in every other regard. Tavernier was a jewel and gem
merchant, a trait that made his accounts the victim of disgruntled criticism by other travellers.
He made one voyage to the Indian mainland and is considered to be an authority only on
Indian diamond mines in the 17th century (Ibid. 65). Thevenot was a botanist and belonged to
a family of nobles and intellectuals. His uncle, whom he is often confused with, was a
renowned scientist, traveller, and cartographer. Where Tavernier was entertaining, Thevenot
was informative in his accounts. He compiled valuable statistics about Indian cities by virtue
of his access to Indian authorities (Ibid. 66). Neither Tavernier, nor Thevenot embodied the
open-minded, enlightenment approach that was lauded by many, and later got dispersed in
the Indomania of later French writings. Francois Bernier, on the other hand, was of pure,
intellectual motivation and produced a considerable volume of highly analytical writing on
political and social philosophical undercurrents in the Mughal milieu. His account, while
undoubtedly tainted with ethnocentrism, attempts to maintain a detached, discerning point of
view. These features, in conjunction, made him the most invaluable member of the French
trinity, who embodied what the Age of Enlightenment had stood for.

Part II: Bernier's India

In 1654, Bernier travelled to Syria and Palestine (Constable, xx). In 1656, he extended his
travels to Egypt where he contracted the Plague. Post-recovery, instead of following up with
a trip to Abyssinia, Bernier decided to travel to Surat and finally stepped foot on Indian soil
in 1658 or early 1659 (Dufrenoy, 27). His motivation, as he puts it, was to explore the extent
of the world and seemingly, nothing else. Thoughts of far-off lands and intellectual curiosity
were sufficient to be a voyager and the same motives got him to India. His conviction in
intellectual exploration is reflected by the content and style of his writing.

“The desire of seeing the world, which had induced me to visit Palestine and Egypt, still prompted me to extend
my travels” - Bernier qtd. in Oaten, 69

Bernier’s association with the Mughal emperors began with his meeting with the defeated
Prince Dara on his way from Surat to Agra. After his battle with his brother Aurangzeb at
Deora, Dara was in search of a medical man for his wife, who had contracted erysipelas
(Dufrenoy, 27). The Frenchman’s medical prowess had got him out of potentially being
killed by Indian robbers on one occasion previously, and his skill didn’t fail to prove its
mettle on this occasion either. Bernier’s treatment alleviated the Princess’s pain and Dara
appointed him his private physician (Constable, xx). Upon betrayal by his own servants, Dara
fled, leaving the Frenchman behind. Bernier found refuge with a Mughal nobleman, who
accompanied him to Aurangzeb’s court in late 1659 or 1660 (Ibid. 21).

Bernier stayed at Aurangzeb’s court for twelve years and became a physician for the Royal
family, associating with scholars and nobility alike. The distillate of his stay at the Mughal
court emerged in the form of Histories de la dernière Revolution des Etats du Grand Mogul
(Travels in the Mughal Empire), published in 1670, after acquiring the French King's Licence
for printing and publishing in Paris (Constable, xxi). In addition to this, the letters that he
wrote to his fellow Frenchmen back home, especially those written to the French finance
minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, complete the literature that he produced on India (Oaten, 70).
These texts acquired great significance because firstly, they were, and to some extent, still are
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considered to be veritable authorities on Aurangzeb and Mughal Indian political organization

of the time. His accounts facilitated the dynamism of commerce from France to India and
consequently, formed the foundation of knowledge used to establish the French East India
Company. However, reducing Bernier’s account to its commercial value would be a gross
perversion of his intellect for his words encapsulate not only the politico-economic structures
of a ‘continent’, but also the expedient conundrum that the four princes of the Mughal
domain found themselves in at the prospect of accession to Shah Jahan's throne.

Bernier begins his account by positing a historical context to the situation he found himself
in. By acknowledging the impending war between the sons of Shah Jahan, the King of the
world, he portrays this event as pivotal to his account (Bernier, 4). Circumventing this
cataclysmic conflict which spanned five years, he begins to unfold his narrative and his
ability to intrigue the reader becomes, at once, evident. Bernier paints the character and
circumstance of all the participants in the war for the throne, as writing an exposition to a
grand narrative. Aurangzeb's image of a cunning, scheming, devout Muslim stems out of the
words of Bernier, which paint him as a convincing antagonist. This is not to say that Bernier's
biases were overt. In fact, it becomes apparent that while he grimaces at the cruelty of the
situation that he comments in, his discerning mind can explain it, or at least, rationalise it as a
cruel Oriental idiosyncrasy. Perhaps, this is the reason why Bernier is able to maintain a
reasonable distance despite having been personally involved in taking sides in the war.

While Bernier narrates the events building up to Aurangzeb's victory with a storyteller’s
dexterity, his analytical world-view reveals itself in the detailed description that he
embellishes his account with. As he narrates the tension in Dara's camp awaiting Aurangzeb's
attack, he simultaneously describes, in great detail, the ethnic composition of Dara's pre-
emptive army (Bernier, 48). His narration of the war traces the war from its antecedent to its
culmination, attempting to be encyclopaedic in its detail. All the while, Bernier maintains the
position of a passive commentator, reflecting upon the cruelty of accession. “There was now
no choice between a kingdom and death”, he remarks, reflecting upon the conundrum that
had caused brothers to kill each other (qtd. In Oaten, 70). Bernier even describes the situation
after Aurangzeb's victory, outlining important alliances and enemies (Ibid. 115).

“In this manner terminated the war which the lust of domination had kindled among these four brothers. It
lasted between five and six years; that is to say, from about the year 1655 to the year I66O or I66I ; and it left
Aureng-Zebe the undisputed master of this mighty Empire” - Bernier, 115

Within his narrative, one half of Bernier's images of India emerges as underlying 'narrative
logic'. For instance, he discerns several ethnographic aspects of Mughal social classifications
and blends them into his narrative as if he those categories had been naturalised in his
conception of India. Bernier has been known to have a keen eye for taxonomies based on
differences in physical traits. In fact, his New division of the earth, published anonymously in
1684, can be placed at the 'beginning' of the long and complex intellectual trajectory of
modern racial thought (Stuurman, 2). In the same exposition, he posits an alternative to
purely geographical classification of the peoples of the world. His typology classifies human
beings into four or five categoricals, based on biological 'racial' difference, since in these
cases, the differences are so overt, that it can justly serve as the basis for a new division of the
earth', displacing geography and establishing a sort of 'Bioligisation of geography' (Douglas,
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334). His keen eye for classification of peoples meticulously ascribes their appropriate racial
and class identifiers to the Indian populace. He describes the ethnic classification of the
people of the Mughal courts and in doing so, meticulously distinguishes between ‘Firangis’,
‘gentiles’, ‘moros’ and ‘mogols’ and even demarcates the physical traits of a ‘mogol’
(Bernier, 3). While Bernier makes no ‘racist’ remarks in the modern sense, he did hint at a
hierarchy in the Mughal kingdom. ‘Whiteness’ became a symbol of superiority because to be
a mogol, one had to be white and a Muslim (Stuurman, 8).

Bernier's letters to his colleagues (most notably Colbert, the finance minister of France under
King Louis XIV) reveal much of his analysis of Hindustan. In addition, the letters also reveal
Bernier's servile language, alluding to his allegiance to his king. Thematically, most of his
analyses can be broadly divided into political-economy and commerce, a tendency that
reveals an ulterior motive to his accounts. It becomes clear that in India, he saw a monarchy
that his nation could learn from and prosper by establishing intercontinental commerce.
While his account of his travels itself acts as a commentary, his letters read like detailed and
analytical reports to his authorities. It is no surprise then, that he is described as a
philosophical writer (Stuurman 7), blending narration with social analysis and at the same
time is also considered to be pivotally important in the establishment of the French East India
company. His reports familiarised the French with commercial opportunities in India and the
mechanisms of State, society and most importantly, merchants in India. While the
aforementioned motives are intuitively deduced, some have argued that a third one was also
on his agenda. Sakul Kundra argues that because Bernier constantly draws parallels between
Indian and French monarchy, he uses his commentary on the Mughals as a subversive note of
caution to King Louis XIV as to the dangers of unrestrained power of the ruler (Kundra, 2).
Perhaps, this motive was even more personal to him than his intellectual ambition. After all,
he was a product of the Age of enlightenment.

By virtue of being a philosophical writer, Bernier’s images of India emerge as critiques

through his philosophical convictions. His accounts highlight the habitual topics of sixteenth
and seventeenth-century anthropology, religion, political organization, customs and manners
(Stuurman, 7). In fact, like Tavernier, he also frequently compares European society with his
South-Asian subject on these grounds. However, while he is similar to his counterparts in that
regard, he was unique in that he was one of the only, as Diderot calls him, ‘philosophes’ of
his time (qtd. in Stuurman, 8). His brand of ethnocentrism is not akin to that of his European
counterparts like St. Xavier, whose ethnocentrism is based on theological value judgements.
He does not place his own culture above the Mughal’s. In fact, he portrays both the French
and the Indians as ignorant and does so in a mocking tone. His tonality acquires an even more
sardonic tone when he writes about the philosophies of the Hindu and the Muslim religion
(Stuurman, 7). At superstition and cruel customs, he contemptuously grimaces and laughs
mockingly, but he does so for every religion and creed, even his own. The only reason why
his writing might seem to favour the French in opposition to the Indians at times is that he
believed that the French had hope in that they could salvaged from their ignorance by the
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Enlightenment. True to the spirit of Enlightenment, his criterion for dismissal seems to have
been ‘reason’.

Bernier’s political analysis of India was dominated by his identification of the central flaw in
the Mughal system: despotic power of the ruler. In his letter to Colbert on political economy
(Bernier, 200-238), he provides a highly influential analysis of how Oriental monarchies
consume themselves due to excessive power in the hands of the ruler. In the case of the
Mughals, Bernier blamed the land system for disabling private ownership and in turn, making
the emperor omnipotent. The ‘Omrahs’ are left helpless as their only supply of income is the
king.

“if we call to mind that the omrahs of Hindustan cannot be proprietors of land, or enjoy an independent
revenue, like the nobility of France, or of other Christian states. Their income, as I said before, consists
exclusively of pensions which the king grants or takes away, according to his own will and pleasure. When
deprived of this pension, they sink at once into utter insignificance, and find it impossible even to borrow the
smallest sum” - qtd. In Oaten, 70.

While this analysis spawned the tradition of criticism of Oriental despotism and was highly
influential, it failed to account for the zamindars in India and thus loses merit (Rubies, 62).
While Bernier's assessment of the Mughal land system is fallacious, it reveals his cogitation
for a socio-political inference to explain the seeming perfidy of the omrahs during the battle
between Aurangzeb and Dara. In addition, he blames the decline of Mughal prosperity to the
fallacious land system of the Mughals. While he does so, he argues that the decline in French
trade in the Indian Oceans due to Louis XIV’s establishment of political stronghold over
commercial expanse (Kundra, 10). He does so in sycophantic rhetoric that is typical of his
tonality in his letters to Colbert, asserting his humble subversion to the king. He warns his
authorities of the poison of unrestricted power but while he shows his contempt for ignorance
through mockery, he disguises his caution of despotism in servile salutations. By doing so, he
maintains his rapport with his crown and simultaneously, facilitates the attainment of another
one of his motives: establishing trade with India.

In Minute, a memoir written by Bernier in 1664 prior to his departure to Europe, he expresses
the fruits of establishing trade with India, both for the French and the Indians (Morison, 2).
His letters describe Shah Jahan as a supremely wealthy ruler, even though evidence suggests
that his accounts were somewhat exaggerated. He painted India as a land of precious stones
and metals. “gold and silver come from every quarter of the globe to Hinduostan” (Bernier
qtd. in Kundra, 28). He expresses the need to be cautious in establishing a symbiotic
relationship with the Indians and learns from the actions of the Portuguese and the Dutch
companies. He even mentions important officials to pursue and establish communication
with. In this regard he was so meticulous that he even outlined the exorbitant tradition of gifts
in Indian courts (Kundra, 34). In addition to purely commercial advice, his letters also inform
Colbert of the cultural relativities that will have to be accommodated. In this regard, he
stresses the importance of a good interpreter, comments on the traditional salutation of salam
and even attempts to advocate for the tediousness of the Indian system (Kundra, 36). His
Siddhant Kalra Images of India LE201276652

compilation of letters in conjunction with Minute, served as a manual on establishing trade

relations with India and facilitated the establishment of the French East India company. The
tonality of Bernier’s accounts dealing with commerce suggests that unlike Tavernier,
Bernier’s admiration for India’s wealthy image was of a pragmatic nature as opposed to an
ornamental, aesthetic one.

Bernier’s account clearly reflects an idealism that he deduces by negating faults in Mughal
India. This sort of underlying bias is more akin the vision of a revolutionary from the Age of
enlightenment, as one might expect of him, than the ethnocentrism of most other travellers of
the time. While he maintains an observant distance in his narration of his account, he is by no
means an objective researcher (like the Islamic scholar, Al Beruni). His biases aren’t
underlying and invisible. Instead, they are passionate and deliberate. For instance, his belief
in the futility of religious philosophy and superstition and his weariness of a despotic ruler
were convictions more than they were biases. Francois Bernier was a man of supreme insight
and an analytical disposition, as is evident from his scholarly distance from an account that he
was so personally involved in. He was also a man of aspirations, as is evident from the
construction of his account. He understood the impetus that a man in his position could set
for his nation and made full use of it. Driven by the spirit of enlightenment, Bernier managed
to mould his nation in alignment with his conviction.

Bernier’s commercial aspirations for his nation caused him to not only communicate images
of India, but also to create them. His painting of India as an extremely viable trade connection
exaggerated the reality that he was probably cognisant of himself. This is perhaps, not the
first instance of a traveller indulging in image-creation. The Ancient Greeks are known to
have a liar among them who is said to have catered his accounts to his audience. Ulterior
motives of religion and commerce have often tainted to eyes of the likes of Xavier, Hieun-
Tsang and Vasco Da Gama. Images, by their nature, are painted representations of reality,
limited in the eyes of their painter.
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1 (Mar., 1950), pp. 27-29. The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of
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3) Bernier, François. Translated by Irving Brock, edited by Archibald Constable. Travels in the
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