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UPPCS Medieval History Gap Sheet: Foreign Travellers and Their Accounts.
UPPCS has asked 18 of these. 3 have not been asked yet. Lock the first list, then read the second: it holds what UPPCS has not used yet.
First, the concept
A traveller’s occupation shapes the account: an ambassador records court access, a merchant follows prices and routes, and a physician may discuss society and government. Match the visitor with the ruler and the actual subject observed.
Travel narratives are evidence with limits. They describe a particular period and experience, not a complete census of India; a European opinion about land ownership is an interpretation, not a law of the empire.
✅ Already asked (18)
Sultanate and Vijayanagara visitors
- Ibn Battuta's Rihla · The Moroccan traveller's narrative records journeys including India under Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
- Postal relays in Battuta's account · His account describes mounted and foot relays for messages.
- Abdur Razzak at Deva Raya II's court · The Persian ambassador visited Vijayanagara in 1443.
- Nicolo Conti's Vijayanagara visit · The Italian traveller visited Vijayanagara in the early fifteenth century.
- Domingo Paes on Krishnadeva Raya · Paes described Vijayanagara during Krishnadeva Raya's reign.
- Fernao Nuniz's historical account · Nuniz wrote about Vijayanagara's past and society during Achyuta Raya's period.
- Marco Polo on the Pandya region · The Venetian traveller described the southern coast and pearl trade in the late thirteenth century.
Mughal visitors and books
- Hawkins at Jahangir's court · William Hawkins sought trading privileges and received the title English Khan from Jahangir.
- Thomas Roe's embassy, 1615–19 · James I sent Roe to Jahangir's court to seek commercial privileges.
- Pelsaert's Agra account · The Dutch merchant described Mughal trade and society during Jahangir's reign.
- Tavernier on diamonds · Jean-Baptiste Tavernier recorded Indian diamond trade and mines.
- Bernier as physician · François Bernier was a French physician who travelled in Mughal India.
- Manucci's Storia do Mogor · The Italian Niccolao Manucci wrote memoirs of Mughal India.
- Peter Mundy on the 1630s famine · The English traveller recorded severe famine during Shah Jahan's reign.
- Ralph Fitch at Agra and Sikri · The English merchant visited these imperial centres during Akbar's reign.
- Vasco da Gama at Calicut, 1498 · The Portuguese voyager reached Calicut by the Cape sea route.
- Monserrate's Akbar mission · Antonio Monserrate joined the first Jesuit mission to Akbar's court in 1580.
- Tavernier's Six Voyages · His travel book records journeys through Asia, including repeated Indian visits.
❌ Not asked yet (3)
🔒 3 items not asked yet
Sultanate and Vijayanagara visitors: 2 · Mughal visitors and books: 1
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⚠️ Ibn Battuta visited Muhammad bin Tughlaq; Roe visited Jahangir; Bernier observed the later Shah Jahan–Aurangzeb period.
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