ABSTRACT
Catrou, the French historian of the Mogul Empire, who wrote in 1705, had access to Niccolao Manucci's original manuscript, and, though he drew from other sources as well, made Manucci's record the " fondement " of his work. Manucci's manuscript then disappeared; and subsequent writers, in quoting Catrou, notably Robert Orme and Mr S. Lane-Poole, have lamented the fact that they had no means of authenticating Catrou's history by a reference to the source from which he derived most of his facts. Before Aurangzib's first campaign, Manucci abandoned the service of ShahAlam, and, reaching Surat, made his way by boat to Daman and Goa. The Portuguese Viceroy had but been defeated by Sambaji, Sivaji's successor, in a skirmish, and eagerly availed himself of Manucci's services with a view to the negotiation of an agreement, though all the Venetian's endeavours came to nothing.
