Richard Craddock's Career with the East India Company - Man Family

8
(‘Butter box’ was a slang term for the Dutch as well as for
sailing vessels and Craddock may have intended a pun).
We should also note that while Craddock was away from
England that country was a republic under the rule of
Parliament and Oliver Cromwell up until 1660 when the
monarchy was restored under Charles II. Cromwell did much
to promote the Company’s strengths and as we shall see
these were continued under the King.
THE SURAT PRESIDENCY in 1655
AT the beginning of this year, when we first meet Craddock,
the English East India Company's factories in the East were
still fairly numerous. They were organized under two
Presidents, of whom one, seated at Surat, controlled the
establishments in western and north-western India and in
Persia, besides superintending such commerce as there was
with Rajapoor in the Deccan, Mokha in the Red Sea, and
Basra, at the head of the Persian Gulf. The other was at
Madras, which looked after trade on the Coast of
Coromandel, Orissa and Bengal, and in the various
settlements in the Far East. Craddock’s career in India
took place entirely under the Presidency of Surat although
for historians have referred to him as a ‘Governor of
Bengal’ which seems to be the traditional term used for any
high ranking employee of the East India Company who had
spent time in India.