When Tolerance Became Good for Business: Sir Thomas Roe, the Mughal Empire, and Early British Capitalism

In 1641 the renowned diplomat Sir Thomas Roe (d.1644), the one-time English ambassador to both the Mughal and Ottoman courts, delivered an impassioned speech in parliament on the state of the English economy, the text of which was also soon published and circulated as a pamphlet under the title Sir Thomas Roe, His Speech in Parliament; Wherein He Sheweth the Cause of the Decay of Coyne and Trade in this Land [i.e. England], especially of Merchants Trade, and also Propoundeth a Way to the House, How They May be Increased.  This presentation will attempt to situate this remarkable text within the larger context of trade, circulation of ideas, and the connected histories of global early modernity.  For in his speech Roe not only offered a remarkable primer on mid-seventeenth-century British views of the emergent capitalist political economy, he also looked specifically to the Mughal Empire as an exemplary model worth emulating -- both for the latter's ability to harness India's proverbial wealth through relatively laissez faire trade policies, as well as, Roe insisted, the extraordinary levels of religious tolerance that he himself had witnessed and experienced in Mughal India (and which in turn promoted commerce).  What would taking a somewhat overlooked text like this seriously mean for the larger histories of capitalism, religious tolerance, and global early modernity more generally?  The answer is not entirely clear; but hopefully by (re)introducing it for discussion, and offering a provisional interpretation, a productive conversation about its potential implications will ensue.