70 CONSOLIDATION OF THE ENGLISH COMPANY

the Moghul Empire was rapidly waning and England was waxing to the plenitude of her maritime suprem- acy. It is true that the Levant and Greece lay adja- cent to Venice and Genoa, while between India and England were six months of sea voyage. But this dis- tance favoured the establishment of British dominion by keeping Indian affairs in the beginning outside the sphere of European politics; and latterly it became a distinct advantage to the nation that could give its commercial colonies a secure base at home, and could hold the sea against all rivals. In this situation it might have been foreseen with- out much difficulty that as decay subsided into dilapi- dation all over the Moghul empire, the vigorous Euro- pean settlements on the coasts of India would enlarge their borders and affirm their independence. When in 1672 Leibnitz advised Louis XIV not to attack Holland, but to seize Egypt as the stepping-stone to a great Asiatic dominion, he wrote, truly, that " the extreme feebleness of the Orientals is no longer a secret "; and India was now certainly the weakest, perhaps also still the wealthiest, part of South Asia. The quarrels and embarrassments of the local governors already pre- vented them from paying much attention to trading factories, except when money was to be extorted or assistance needed. It was clearly as probable that the native usurpers and adventurers who were rising into power would seek aid from the Companies as that they would afford them protection or subject them to con- trol; they were more likely, in this manner, to throw