Sir John Child , first person to be placed in control of all the English East India Company's trading establishments in India. Governor of Bombay from 4th Feb. 1680. Some sources cite him as the child of John Child. English colonialist. Joined East India Co. in youth; deputy governor of Bombay (1679-81); president of Surat (1682-90); first person placed in charge of East India Co.'s entire operation in India; harsh and unscrupulous; selected for expulsion by peace terms after war with Aurangzeb. Encyclodaedia Britannica Dictionary of National Biography Burke's Extinct Baronetcies gives his father as John. Child, Sir John, d. 1690, English administrator in India. In 1680 he was appointed the British East India Company's agent at Surat, then the company's main factory (i.e., trading station) in W India. In 1685, Sir John moved the company's seat of government from Surat to Bombay, and in 1686 he was given authority over all the company's possessions in India. His tyrannical methods alienated many; his defeat by the Mughal emperor led to a demand that he be removed from India, but he died before the issue was settled. Sir John's activities were supported in England by Sir Josiah Child, 1630–99, who was possibly his brother. A merchant and early mercantilist, he made a fortune supplying the navy and from 1681 to 1690 virtually ruled the East India Company, of which he was deputy governor (1684–86, 1688–90) and governor (1681–83, 1686–88). His New Discourse of Trade (final form, 1693) was an early plea for some of the principles of free trade. -------- Child, Sir John, d. 1690, English administrator in India. In 1680 he was appointed the British East India Company's agent at Surat, then the company's main factory (i.e., trading station) in W India. In 1685, Sir John moved the company's seat of government from Surat to Bombay, and in 1686 he was given authority over all the company's possessions in India. His tyrannical methods alienated many; his defeat by the Mughal emperor led to a demand that he be removed from India, but he died before the issue was settled. Sir John's activities were supported in England by Sir Josiah Child, 1630-99, who was possibly his brother. A merchant and early mercantilist, he made a fortune supplying the navy and from 1681 to 1690 virtually ruled the East India Company, of which he was deputy governor (1684-86, 1688-90) and governor (1681-83, 1686-88). His New Discourse of Trade (final form, 1693) was an early plea for some of the principles of free trade.
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