"There was no middle state. A man must be of the highest rank or live miserably."

"Most towns in Hindustan are made up of earth, mud, and other wretched material; that there is no city or town (that) …"

"In eastern countries, the weak and the injured are without any refuge whatever; and the only law that decides all con…"

"[In these circumstances the peasant had little interest in cultivating the land. Bernier observes that] “as the groun…"

"No artisan can be expected to give his mind to his calling in the midst of a people who are either wretchedly poor, o…"

"[Francois Bernier, late in the seventeenth century, talks of originally “real Mongols”, “White men, foreigners”. He a…"

"[According to Bernier, the Mughals maintained] “a large army for the purpose of keeping people in subjection… No adeq…"

"The Omarahs mostly consist of adventurers from different nations who entice one another to the court; and are general…"

"[Describing the bazar held in Delhi near the Red Fort, Francois Bernier (seventeenth century) says that] “Hither, lik…"

"The Great Mogol is a foreigner in Hindustan, a descendent of Tamerlane, chief of those Mogols from Tartary who, about…"