Who Was The First British to Visit India?

The first British to visit India is John Mildenhall. Vasco Da Gama was the first Portuguese to visit India. However, Columbus also tried his level best to find India which proved to be of no use as proven by Amerigo Vespucci. John Mildenhall later made himself, the ambassador of the British East India Company. Britishers sent him on the voyage to sell their goods in the Eastern Mediterranean. But he flew the British officials and got settled in Persia. Later, he came to India where the Ajmer governor helped Britishers to catch him and put him in jail. 

John Mildenhall’s Journey in India 

John Mildenhall ditched his country which is why Britishers never accepted him. It led to fewer mentions of him in the records of the Britishers. So we have less information about the first British to visit India.

Event	Date	Details
Letter to East India Company		Offered “privileges” from the Indies for 1500 pounds
Appointed as Factor	Oct 1608	Rejected due to further demands
Entrusted with Levant Sales	1599	After travelling through Persia and Afghanistan
Reached Lahore	1603	Goods confiscated received compensation
Deceived East India Company	1599	Escaped to Persia with company goods
Captured and Released	1614	Goods confiscated, received compensation
Reached Agra		Travelled with Richard Newman
Met with Emperor Akbar	1603	Discussed but not officially sponsored

Interesting facts About John Mildenhall

With whatever is provided in the records, the following is what can be read and understood. 

1. John Mildenhall is the first Britisher in India whose burial is recorded in Agra, a city in Uttar Pradesh, India.

2. The Mughal emperor Akbar, was a well-known personality among all the people John Midenhall interviewed.  

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